The Naga peace talks have hit rough weather even as the leadership of NSCN-IM led by T Muivah (86) held a detailed meeting with two Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials in New Delhi on Monday. NSCN wants interlocutor R.N Ravi to be removed. I report
thehindu.com/news/national/…
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A senior government official said, “The letter by Nagaland Governor alluding to the NSCN-IM as an armed gang was seen as an insult by the leadership. The movement is more than 70 years old and they feel that the trust they established with the interlocutor is now broken.”
The official said the security agencies were trying to end the stalemate and find a middle ground so that talks do not collapse.
“Since it is a tribal set up, most people are related to each other. The July 7 order asking government officials to declare if family members or relatives were members of underground groups seemed insensitive,” said the official.
On August 8, V. Horam, an executive member of the NSCN-IM steering committee told The Eastern Mirror newspaper that “Mr. Ravi had portrayed Naga national workers as gangsters with an attempt to turn Naga issue into a law and order issue and not political as intended.”
Mr. Horam also said the “agreement goes as such that Nagas will not be under Indian Constitution….but co-exist as two entities.”
Mr. Ravi had said last year that “endless negotiation under the shadow of guns is not acceptable” and that there will be no separate national flag or constitution for the Nagas as demanded by the NSCN-IM.
The NSCN-IM, one of the largest Naga groups with which the Govt of India signed a framework agreement on August 3, 2015, is reportedly peeved with Ravi, and has demanded that he be removed from the position. The agreement was signed by Mr. Ravi in the presence of PM Narendra Modi
Photo of 86-year T.Muivah,leader of NSCN-IM leading the negotiation with IB officials yesterday. Interlocutor R.N Ravi is obviously not present in the meeting. 
