Naga leaders in Myanmar to woo NSCN-K

Kohima, Feb 8: In a move to bring lasting peace to Nagaland, a group of people representing the civil society in the state has reached Myanmar to bring the NSCN-K back on the peace path.

Representatives of the apex body Naga Hoho and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples Organisation (ENPO) planned to meet leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang, informed sources said.

The NSCN-K, led by its chairman S.S. Khaplang, signed a ceasefire with the Indian government in 2001. But in March last year it dumped the accord and resumed armed attacks on security forces.

Last year, the outfit ambushed a convoy at Chandel in Manipur and killed 18 soldiers. The central government then banned the outfit for five years.

"A joint team comprising eight members representing the Naga Hoho and ENPO has reached Myanmar and is waiting to meet Khaplang. Let us see what the outcome is," ENPO president Khoiwang Konyak said in a statement.

The joint statement by the ENPO and Naga Hoho said the team met Kyaw Win Swe, an emissary from the Ceasefire Monitoring Group of the NSCN-K, at Mandalay.

The statement said Khaplang had been urged to again go for a truce with New Delhi.

The Nagaland assembly last year resolved to urge the central government and the NSCN-K to go back to the ceasefire agreement to create the right atmosphere for a political dialogue in Nagaland.

IANS