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| Thursday, 9 December 2004 |
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Indian PM promises solution to oldest tribal revolt NEW DELHI, Wednesday (AFP) India's premier told self-exiled leaders of the country's oldest revolt that he would seek "an honourable solution" to the insurgency that has claimed 25,000 lives in the far-flung northeast. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met for 40 minutes with the two leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), the most powerful of about 30 rebel armies in the revolt-racked northeast. There was no immediate word from either side on when the peace talks - the first on Indian soil - would resume. A ceasefire has been in effect between the two sides since 1997. "I am in favour of a mutually acceptable and honourable solution that can ensure that the Naga people live a life of peace with dignity and self-respect," the premier's spokesman quoted Singh as saying. The rebel leaders, NSCN Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah, arrived from Bangkok Sunday for the talks and are to remain in New Delhi for a week. They told the premier "a solution cannot be found in violence and blood... and they wanted to resolve issues through dialogue," Singh's spokesman added. Swu and Muivah, accompanied by a Naga delegation, also met Home Minister Shivraj Patil and senior officials. "Various issues linked to the Naga question were discussed in a cordial and frank manner," a senior government official told AFP. |
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