Naga rebels set for talks
The Indian government will hold talks with Nagaland separatists to strike a peace deal, a rebel Naga leader said yesterday.
Leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), which is fighting for the expansion of the mountainous Nagaland state in India's remote northeast into a "Greater Nagaland", arrived in the Indian capital on Saturday from self-imposed exile in The Netherlands.
Guerrilla leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah said they were invited by the Indian government to hold talks and were optimistic that several key demands would be accepted.
"It is a pretty long time that we have been talking to the government of India. In more than 10 years, they could not solve the problem so they are responsible for that," said Thuingaleng Muivah.
The rebel group's demand for a "Greater Nagaland" that would unite 1.2 million Nagas has been strongly opposed by the surrounding neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
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