Kohima, Aug 09: In a significant development, the NSCN (K) has categorically stated that there would be no dialogue with the centre on the naga issue without a political consensus and unity among all sections of the naga society. NSCN (K) General Secretary Kitovi Zhimomi told the reporters here today that unity among the naga groups was imperative before embarking on any serious talk with the centre on the future of the nagas.
It was pertinent to note that the outfit had earlier made it clear that it would hold a comprehensive dialogue with all sections of the nagas before going for formal political talks with the centre to arrive at a solution to the protracted naga issue.
Zhimomi commented that a lot of ground work had to be done at home before negotiating with the centre.
Moreover, reiterating his commitment favouring unity and understanding among various spectrum of the naga opinions, the NSCN (K) top brass extended support to the idea of forming a United Naga National Council (UNNC). The council was proposed by the Naga National Council (NNC), the oldest underground group of the state some years back.
''We support the idea and are still open to such an idea,'' he said.
Speaking about the reported proposal of the centre to grant the union territory status to the naga-inhabited areas outside the state of Nagaland, the separatist leader stated that if the nagas of those areas concerned accepted the offer, the oufit would not object.
He further remarked that the proposal was much lower in terms of political status than statehood, if the reported proposal was true, and such a proposal could have been accepted if the aspiration of the nagas of those areas had been limited to this. But the nagas had lost ''thousands of their comrades in the struggle for something much higher than the union territory and states''.
When asked to comment on the reported attack on the outfit's council headquarters at Saiging division in South West Myanmar last month by the military, Zhimomi rejected the report, stating that the said camp had been deserted by his cadres in May this year anticipating a military operation in that area.
Bureau Report