NEWS

Muivah says he's happy with India's response

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
June 24, 2005 22:27 IST

Thuingaleng Muivah, leader of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim, denied news reports saying that he was fed up with the manner in which the government of India is carrying on negotiations with his delegation and that he will return to the Netherlands and never return to India.

In an exclusive interview to rediff.com, Muivah said negotiations between the NSCN and the government of India were now progressing satisfactorily.

"I never said I will go back. I am happy with the manner in which the government is responding to our position. They are now seeing things from our point of view," he said.

Muivah, who has been camping in New Delhi ever since his arrival on December 5, 2004, is carrying on negotiations with government of India representatives from there.

"I am not getting restive of the prolonged negotiations. I understand that such things do take time. If things progress on a positive note, then I will come back to continue negotiations a break," he said.

He admitted that the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence has played some role in the Nagaland insurgency, but claimed that it may not be as significant as is being made out by the Indian government.

Asked whether he was running a parallel government in Nagaland, he said, "What do you mean by running a parallel government? We have our own government in Nagaland because we -- the Naga people -- have a unique history of our own. We have never been part of India either by conquest or otherwise. We tax people and run our administration," he pointed out.

On being asked about the departure of Issac Swu, Muivah said, "He has some medical problems and he had to leave."

If all goes well, the NSCN delegation is expected to leave for Amsterdam in July. " I hope to have a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is a sincere man, before going back," he said.

Muivah was not very happy with the role played by former chief minister of Nagaland and present governor of Goa S C Jamir. He minced no words while talking about Jamir. "Jamir did not want the talks to succeed and kept playing his own games," Muivah said.

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

NEXT ARTICLE

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email