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G Vinayak in Guwahati
With the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) accepting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's invitation to continue talks in India, the Naga peace process is set to move forward.
"The invitation we have received from the prime minister of India to speed up the search for the way to an honourable solution to the Indo-Naga issue is, we think, a good gesture," the NSCN (I-M) said in a statement released in Kohima, Nagaland.
The outfit called for "sincerity on part of the Centre to remove all obstacles in the way for the success of the peace talks".
The outfit, however, rejected Nagaland Chief Minister S C Jamir's announcement that the government was ready to revoke arrest warrants against Isak and Muivah to facilitate their visit to Nagaland.
There is no love lost between the NSCN (I-M) and Jamir, as the underground outfit considers him to be soft towards the rival NSCN (Khaplang) faction.
Although the NSCN (I-M) and New Delhi agreed to end hostilities way back in August 1997, there has been very little progress in the subsequent talks.
Several rounds of discussions have taken place between the prime minister's emissaries and Isak-Muivah at various venues abroad. Three prime ministers -- P V Narasimha Rao, H D Deve Gowda and Vajpayee -- have also met the NSCN (I-M) leaders.
Vajpayee's last meeting with the duo was in Osaka, Japan early this year. The prime minister's emissary, former home secretary K Pamanabhaiah, met the two leaders in Malaysia early this month and conveyed the message that talks should henceforth be held in India.
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