Kohima/New Delhi, June 8: The Khole-Kitovi group of the NSCN has dismissed reports of a split in the outfit after the chairman of the group, S.S. Khaplang, was impeached and expelled yesterday for his alleged dictatorial leadership.
Khaplang was expelled during a meeting of militant leaders loyal to general secretary N. Kitovi Zhimomi at the Khehoi designated camp near Dimapur, thereby creating two factions of the outfit — one led by Khaplang and the other by Zhimomi and Khole.
Khole, commander-in-chief of the group, was elected its acting chairman.
The group said Khehoi camp would be designated as the council headquarters.
Sources also said some of the top leaders from the Konyak community did not attend yesterday’s meeting.
Naga organisations were optimistic that the split would not hamper the ongoing reconciliation process among the rebel outfits.
But the convener of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, Rev. Wati Aier, refused to comment on the split. “I do not want to say anything now.”
Naga Hoho, the apex Naga organisation, said the development should not be an obstacle to the reconciliation process.
Hoho general secretary Chuba Ozukum, while saying no one should create any hindrance in the reconciliation process as it was supported by all sections of Naga society, did not rule out repercussions from Khaplang’s faction.
The Khole-Zhimomi group said Khaplang was ousted because of his arbitrary actions.
The group also vowed to take forward the reconciliation process while stopping all forms of fratricidal killings.
The NSCN (I-M), however, has implied that security agencies had engineered the split. “There is someone behind the split,” an NSCN (I-M) leader told The Telegraph.
The development will cha-nge the dynamics of not only Naga rebel factions but also of valley-based groups in Manipur and of Ulfa led by now Myanmar-based Paresh Barua.
The split is also indicative of how security and intelligence agencies have “opened all fronts” whether on Myanmar, Bangladesh or Bhutan vis-à-vis insurgency in the Northeast.
For the past two years, the excellent rapport with Dhaka has resulted in Indian agencies netting major Ulfa and NDFB leaders. Isolating a Myanmar-based insurgent leader with influence in India will reap benefits.
Though Khaplang last year signed in favour of reconciliation between the warring outfits, the Muivah group did not trust him. Now, with a split in the outfit and Khaplang’s men controlling operations in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh and in Zeliangrong-dominated Tamenglong district of Manipur, the NSCN (I-M) may choose to cosy up to old friend Khaplang.
“Let us see, we are ready to talk with whoever comes forward, Khaplang or Khole,” said an NSCN (I-M) functionary.
For the Centre, an insurgent group severing ties with a Myanmar-based head is a major development.
“That the Myanmar axis is cut off is important so that we may engage with our Indian citizens,” said a senior official.
What made the government welcome a split — though the official position of the government is that it is “their internal matter” — was the increasing incursions of the NSCN (I-M) into Myanmar.
Khaplang was based in the Sagaing division of Myanmar and his tie-ups with Myanmarese groups were a major concern for Indian security agencies.
Since NSCN (K)'s camps were training bases for Barua’s Ulfa and Manipur-based groups like the UNLF, those outfits were now likely to steer clear of Khaplang's men in Nagaland. Many cadres who hail from Nagaland but are now in Myanmar will return under Khole who is a Konyak Naga from the frontier Mon district.
Khole assuming leadership of an outfit may also be perceived by what are called the eastern Naga communities of Mon, Kiphire, Tuensang and Longleng districts, as a kind of emancipation. The eastern Nagas, who recently demanded statehood citing isolation and neglect since Nagaland attained statehood in 1963, could gain a psychological advantage from Khole’s leadership. Since New Delhi would be in a mood to bestow legitimacy on Khole, “eastern Nagaland” could be effectively appeased.
However, there are questions still unanswered. The loyalties of Wangting Konyak, another senior leader from the Konyak community, are unclear. If Wangting is on Muivah’s side, divisions may continue and reconciliation will only remain a dream for the Church and the Church-inspired Forum for Naga Reconciliation.