The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) on Thursday said that it cannot be a part of the Naga National Political Groups solution for a final settlement to the Naga dispute, reported The Morung Express. The Naga National Political Groups is a coalition of seven Naga armed groups.

In a statement, the NSCN (IM) said that the Agreed Position signed by the Naga National Political Groups with the Indian government is “betrayal to the Naga people’s mandate of the 1929 Simon Commission Memorandum, 1947 Naga Independence Declaration and 1951 Plebiscite”.

For over six decades, Naga nationalists have fought the Indian state for a sovereign ethnic homeland. Over the decades, the Naga armed movement split into several factions, including the NSCN(IM), which is the largest of them all.

In 1997, the NSCN (IM) signed a peace treaty and started a dialogue with the Union government. Since then, seven other groups have followed suit.

The NSCN (IM) wants a Naga flag and a separate Constitution and had signed a framework agreement with the Union government in 2015. The demands by the group had led to a deadlock in the peace talks. However, in 2019, the Centre and NSCN (IM) agreed to sign an accord without a separate Naga Constitution and with a “conditional flag” that could only be allowed for non-governmental purposes.

The final agreement is yet to be signed. Separately, in 2017, the Naga National Political Groups had signed an Agreed Position with the Centre. Unlike the NSCN (IM)’s demand for a Naga flag and a separate Constitution, the Naga National Political Groups had said it was willing to sign the final accord and continue dialogue with the government after that, reported PTI.

In its statement issued on Thursday, the NSCN (IM) said that the Naga National Political Groups can go ahead with the solution. The group said that it will never be able to “sell out the Naga’s political nationality and identity”.

The statement added, “We are never going to surrender our rights so tamely. History will judge and we simply cannot betray the sacrifices of the thousands of martyrs.”

The NSCN (IM) also accused the Indian government of creating a “third force” to defend its interests against the rights of the Nagas, reported NorthEast Now.

The group said that any solution by the Naga National Political Groups “will only pave the way for a bigger disaster”.