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| Sunday, 1 August 2004 |
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India and Nagaland rebels agree to extend ceasefire BANGKOK, July 31 (AFP) The Indian government and separatists from the northeastern state of Nagaland have extended a ceasefire for another year to allow further peace talks, they said in a joint statement Saturday. New Delhi's peace negotiator K. Padmanabhaiah and Thuingaleng Muivah, the leader of a faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), signed the extension agreement after two days of talks in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. The NSCN's chief demand is the creation of a "Greater Nagaland" by carving slices off the neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Manipur - all of which have sizeable Naga populations. The demand is, however, not acceptable to other states in the northeast. The Bangkok talks marked the latest meeting aimed at reaching a solution in Nagaland, a state of two million people where more than 25,000 people have been killed since India's independence in 1947. "The two sides reiterate their commitment to the peace process and confirmed that no new conditions have been imposed on or changed made to the agenda and the scope of the talks," the statement said. "All issues will continue to be discussed with a view of reaching a mutually acceptable and honorable settlement as soon as possible," it added. "The parties therefore decided to extend the ceasefire by another year beyond the July 31, 2004," the joint statement said. A source close to the negotiation said there were no plans for the rebels to meet visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who is attending a summit of seven Asian nations in the Thai capital. The NSCN entered a ceasefire with New Delhi in 1997 and the two sides have since held several rounds of talks in Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia. NSCN leaders have in the past held meetings with former prime ministers P.V. Narashima Rao, I.K. Gujral, and A.B. Vajpayee both in India and abroad. |
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