In what perhaps negates the possibility of further negotiation, NSCN-IM, the Naga rebel group has made it clear that the demand for a separate flag and Constitution for the Nagas is non-negotiable.
Chairman of the outfit, Q. Tuccu said that the Centre was aware of "political significance" of the two issues for the Naga people but "came short" of giving official recognition to be made a part of the final agreement expected to be signed to end the decades-old conflict.
"NSCN's stand is clear enough before the Naga people. We strongly detest any kind of piecemeal solution, short of Naga National Flag and Yehzabo (Naga Constitution). We have stood our ground on these two non-negotiable issues and we shall continue to stand till the last man standing. NSCN shall be failing before God and before Naga people if we stumble at this most decisive moment of our history. Naga people can not be lured into accepting highly attractive economic package at the expense of our exalted position with sovereign rights. We have to prove our worth as Nagas by upholding our Flag and Yehzabo," Tuccu said in a statement emailed to DH.
Naga groups including NSCN-IM claim that they were never part of India and have been fighting an armed battle since the Independence. The outfit, however, declared a ceasefire in 1997 and signed a "Framework Agreement" in August 2015, based on the contour of which a final agreement is to be signed.
The Centre also signed another agreement separately with Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs), a forum of seven other rebel groups. The NNPGs is ready to ink the final deal without emphasising on the issue of flag and Constitution but NSCN-IM's insistence on the two has become a stumbling block.
The NSCN-IM recently said that talks were on with the Centre on the issues of flag and Constitution but Tuccu's statement made many in Nagaland believe that the negotiation perhaps failed to reach to a conclusion.