A poster of NSCN-IM general secretary Th. Muivah and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a wall in Manipur’s Ukhrul district. (AP)

Kohima, April 5: The chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, Isak Chishi Swu, said there had been some headway in the dialogue before the next round of crucial Naga peace talks.

Swu who is also the president of the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN) had convened a joint council meeting at the NSCN (I-M) headquarters in Camp Hebron yesterday and briefed about the status of the current peace process with the Centre.

The joint council consists of kilonsers (ministers), tatars (MP) and members of the steering committee, the highest policy-making body of the outfit. Stressing the need for total commitment of the national workers to God, he quoted St John8:32 — “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

Swu urged the “home authorities” to encourage one another and build up better co-ordination among them. He concluded his briefing with a note of caution to firmly shoulder the responsibilities placed on each one.

A total 38 armed cadres of the Khaplang group of the NSCN and the Federal Government of Nagaland (Sing-nya) who returned to the NSCN (I-M) were felicitated.

Delivering the welcome address, Rh. Raising, kilo kilonser (home minister) expressed happiness for the right step taken by them. He said: “To err is human but to rectify one’s mistake is wisdom.”

“If a man be fallen, he should not only stand up but also move foreword,” he exhorted the “homecomers”. Raising assured the homecomers that as long as they professed one faith, one nation and one principle, no force on earth could divide them.

Speaking on behalf of the homecomers, Kiyekhu Awomi, a senior member of the Khaplang group said: “We do admit our misadventure as we were misinformed and misled.”

“There is no agenda for political talks with the government of India and Naga reconciliation,” Awomi quoted the general secretary of the NSCN (K), Kitovi Zhimomi, as saying.

“In Khaplang’s Khehoi Camp we see no future, no political vision and no system of governance,” Awomi said. He alleged that members of Khaplang faction only indulged in amassing wealth for individuals. According to them, with no future prospect for the Naga nation, they had left Khehoi camp and came to serve the “nation” under the leadership of chairman Isak Chishi Swu and general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah.

“We urge you to please forgive us for our mistakes,” Shikato Chishi Swu and Qhehoshi Chishi Swu, all senior ministers in the Khaplang faction, sought forgiveness from the collective leadership of the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).

Khehoi designated camp of the NSCN (K), some 15km from Dimapur, is the secretariat of the outfit where currently general secretary Zhimomi and “commander-in-chief” Khole are camping.