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Syed Zarir Hussain in Guwahati
The government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim - Isak/Muivah on Tuesday expressed confidence that a final settlement to the northeast insurgency was expected within a 'year or two', officials said.
"Both sides are positive and confident that with mutual trust and determination an agreement for a final settlement can be arrived within a year or two," a joint statement by the government and the banned NSCN-IM said.
The statement was released at the end of two-day peace talks held at The Hague last week between government negotiator K Padmanabhaiah and NSCN leaders led by the outfit's general secretary, Thuingaleng Muivah.
"Talks on substantive issues were held in the meeting," the statement said.
It added, "The two sides reaffirm their commitment to the peace process to bring about a negotiated political settlement to the long-standing problem."
The two sides would meet again next month 'at a mutually convenient venue'.
The NSCN, fighting for an independent tribal homeland in Nagaland, had entered into a ceasefire with the government in August 1997 following several rounds of negotiations.
The peace talks, however, ran into trouble over the ceasefire jurisdiction, with the NSCN demanding the truce be extended beyond Nagaland to cover all Naga inhabited areas in the northeast - a move opposed by the regional governments and other pressure groups.
In June the government decided to extend the ceasefire to Naga-inhabited areas in neighbouring Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh that have sizeable Naga populations.
This triggered off violent demonstrations in the three states because people feared the government would take part of their territory to create a 'greater Nagaland', a concept mooted by the NSCN.
New Delhi was eventually forced to go back on its decision.
More than 25,000 people have been killed in more than five decades of insurgency in the region since India's independence in 1947.
Indo-Asian News Service
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