Nagalim: Ceasefire Extended
Naga peace talks have reached an agreement to extend a ceasefire in the region for an indefinite period from 1 August.
Below is an article published by Times of
The Centre and the NSCN(I-M) on Tuesday [01 August 2007] agreed to extend the ceasefire between them for an indefinite period from August 1.
[Read the UNPO appeal for an extension of the ceasefire]
The agreement was reached at a meeting between representatives of the Centre and NSCN (IM) at Dimapur, the commercial capital of Nagaland. Both sides said they hoped to move towards an "honourable" settlement of the decades-old Naga crisis.
The current ceasefire, which first began in August 1997, was to end on Tuesday night. "Reviewing the status of talks and the ceasefire, it was decided to extend the truce indefinitely from August 1, subject to the progress of talks," said a joint statement issued by the Centre's interlocutor, K Padmanabhaiah, and NSCN(IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah after the meeting.
The statement said the Centre and the NSCN (IM) agreed to strengthen the ceasefire monitoring mechanism to ensure that the ground situation remains conducive for the continuance of the ceasefire. The NSCN(IM) leadership hoped that the Centre would be sincere in resolving the issue at the earliest.
