Dimapur | March 19 : The four-member fact-finding team of lawyers, constituted to look into the working of the ceasefire in Naga areas, has observed that both the Nagas’ demand for integration of all the Naga areas under one administration, and the Meiteis’ demand for unity of Manipur State are “political demands”. And these can be settled only through “political negotiations and democratic people’s movement”, the study said.
In this regard, it has been suggested that the ceasefire between the Union of India and the NSCN (IM) be extended to the State of Manipur with an explicit mention that the extension of ceasefire has “no implication whatsoever on the political negotiations and it is merely an administrative measure to create a political atmosphere where both the political demands can be discussed”.
It has been pointed out that the Naga demand “can be well-settled within the constitution of India since the change of State boundaries requires a simple majority decision within the Parliament and the consent of the State is not required”. However, according to the study, the demand for the integrity of Manipur is not protected by the Indian constitution ‘since we do not have a federal system’. “Therefore the Meitei demand requires a change in the Constitution of India”, the report said.
PART V
Significantly the fact-finding team reiterated that the two political demands can be settled only by political negotiations, “not only with the Union of India but also with each other”. “In order to create conducive atmosphere, free from communal hatred and suspicion it is necessary that there is a ceasefire”, the study suggests. It observed that “there has been an uneasy but effective unofficial ceasefire in Manipur but the events in Shirui have vitiated the political atmosphere” so far.
It was also disclosed that the said proposal was discussed with Meitei political leaders and opinion makers. A majority of them told the fact-finding team that “it would be difficult but not impossible”. The Meitei leaders also raised objections that the ceasefire was sought to be extended without even consulting the State of Manipur. In this regard, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi’s statement was pointed out that there was no ceasefire in the State of Manipur and there were no designated camps of the NSCN (IM) within it.
On this, the report observed that the root cause of “this denial of the unofficial ceasefire and opposition to the extension of the ceasefire to the State of Manipur, is political”. So both the Nagas’ demand for integration and the Meiteis’ demand for unity of Manipur can be settled only through political negotiations and democratic people’s movement.