No negotiation over Naga national flag: NSCN (I-M)    

The Naga peace process has remained unresolved after more than 80 rounds of talks with the Centre

GUWAHATI

The National Socialist Council of Nagalim, also called the Isak-Muivah of the NSCN or NSCN (I-M), has ruled out any negotiation over the Naga national flag.

The extremist group has been insisting that there can be no solution to the “Indo-Naga” peace process without the Naga flag and Yehzabo (Naga constitution).

The Naga national flag is all about the “God-given history” and identity of the Naga people, the outfit said in the November issue of Nagalim Voice, its monthly mouthpiece.

“The principle of ‘one people-one nation’ as symbolised by the Naga national flag is being targeted desperately,” the NSCN (I-M) said in an apparent attack on the Centre for the stalemate over the contentious issues of a separate Naga flag and Constitution.

These two issues have stalled the peace process after more than 80 rounds of talks between the Centre and the Naga extremist groups, primarily the NSCN (I-M) since it declared ceasefire in mid-1997.

Former government interlocutor R.N. Ravi, currently the Governor of Tamil Nadu, had rejected the NSCN (I-M)’s demand for a separate flag and Constitution on a number of occasions.