June 16, 2001

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

It is most unfortunate that the Vajpayee government has decided to extend the four year-old cease-fire with the NSCN (I-M) for another year extending it to the entire North-East without consulting the state governments in the region.

It is well-known that the NSCN (I-M) has been advocating the creation of a greater Nagaland, including Naga-populated areas in the other North-Eastern states. The extension of cease-fire without territorial limits in the entire North-East would amount to threaten the territorial integrity of the other North-Eastern states by lending a sense of legitimacy to the greater Nagaland demand.

Past experience suggests that unless clear-cut ground rules are defined during the cease-fire and are strictly implemented, normalcy would be elusive. The Central government and the Home Ministry must clearly give the assurance that the cease-fire will not be misused by the NSCN (I-M) to continue to extend help to other extremist outfits operating in the North-Eastern states.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) calls upon the Vajpayee government to take into confidence the state governments of the North-Eastern states and ensure that the problem of insurgency does not get aggravated.