NSCN (IM) warns against moves ‘beyond’ Framework Agreement

DIMAPUR — The NSCN (IM) has reiterated its long-held position that the Framework Agreement signed with the government of India in 2015 remains the only legitimate basis for a Naga political settlement.

In a statement issued through its Tatar Hoho secretariat on Friday, the group cautioned against “false political teachers” and narratives that, it claimed, seek to create division within Naga society.

The outfit said that following the “fall of the NNC,” the Naga National Assembly had mandated NSCN to continue the political struggle, and maintained that it remains the “only authentic political organisation” recognised by the government of India for formal talks at the prime minister’s level.

Stating that it has ruled out any “military solution,” the NSCN (IM) recounted its past engagements with international organisations and dignitaries, including its membership in the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), participation in UN human rights platforms, and its signing of the Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment.

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Calling the 2015 Framework Agreement a “historic” milestone achieved through decades of sacrifice, the group warned that any move to seek an alternative arrangement or platform outside the NSCN (IM) would set back the political process by “another fifty years or more.”

It also alleged that “viruses of rebellion and disloyalty” had influenced some individuals within and outside its system, and cautioned that such tendencies could weaken the Naga political movement if left unchecked.

Reaffirming key elements it attributes to the Framework Agreement—including recognition of Naga history, identity, land, sovereignty and the right to integrate Naga territories—the NSCN (IM) stated that it now views India as a “potential partner” but warned that any backtracking by New Delhi would constitute a “murder of human rights and history.”

Reacting to the Forum for Naga Reconciliation’s statement titled ‘Beyond Framework Agreement,’ the group termed the position an “antithesis” to the pact and condemned it as an attempt to undermine the agreement.