Tripartite talks fail to address Alternative Arrangement issue

S Jaiyaraman, Internal Security Special Secretary speaks to media after the meet.

Imphal, February 12, 2013: The 5th round of formal ‘tripartite talks’ involving the United Naga Council (UNC), Manipur Government and the Government of India was held at Senapati district headquarters on Tuesday. However, the theme of the talks i.e. the ‘Alternative Arrangement’ was not discussed.

  The Naga leaders said they had clearly submitted “their aspiration” to the Government of India but today’s talk had belied these expectations. If this attitude of the government is displayed in the next round of talks, the UNC has said that they will go back to the people, hinting that serious agitations will be initiated. Also, the UNC conveyed that in the next round, the talks should be at the ‘political level’.

Meanwhile, in today’s talks, S Jaiyaraman, Internal Security Special Secretary and Sambhu Singh, Joint Secretary (NE) of Union Home Ministry represented the Government of India while Manipur Government was represented by Chief Secretary DS Poonia, Additional Chief Secretary Ameising Luikham and Principal Secretary (Home) DR J Suresh Babu.

UNC was represented in the talks by its President L Adani, Vice President TS Warngam, General Secretary Gaidon Kamei, former UNC chief KS Paul Leo, Asinpao Gangmei and four other members. Senapati district Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jha, Superintendent of Police Pushpanjali and Commandant, 59th Mountain Bragadier were also present during today’s parleys.

“The outcome of the talks was positive,” Chief Secretary DS Poonia told journalists after the meeting wherein the three sides focused on devolution of power to the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) to bring development in the hill areas of Manipur. Responding to a media query, Poonia said that the talks did not discuss about the “Alternative Arrangement” of the Naga people outside Manipur Government pending a solution to the Naga political problem.

Internal Security Special Secretary Jaiyaraman said that the proposal of the UNC for an Alternative Arrangement for the Nagas must be decided by the Manipur Government and the Constitution. The schedule for the next round of tripartite talks would be decided after due consultations with the higher authorities, he said.

Naga leader KS Paul Leo said that today’s talks contradicted the 4th round of tripartite talks held on August 31, 2012 in New Delhi. The UNC has stated that since theirs is a political issue hence it wants to hold talks on its demands with political leaders and not with officials of the Manipur and Central Governments.

He said the UNC’s demand for an Alternative Arrangement was to “safeguard their culture, identity and arrangement of separate legislature, administration, judiciary and finance for the Naga people”.

“We have no bias on any particular community, but we cannot live under the rule of Chief Minister O Ibobi who is communal,” Leo accused. During the meeting, Chief Secretary D.S Poonia strongly opposed the idea of destroying the territorial integrity of Manipur, Leo cited.

Paul Leo alleged that Manipur Government has neglected the hill people for a long time and vowed that the UNC would continue to struggle for fulfillment of the aspiration of the Naga people. UNC had in the 4th round of tripartite talks urged the Government of India that the Nagas want that the Indo-Naga issue be settled at the earliest, apart from the demand for an Alternative Arrangement outside Government of Manipur.