IMPHAL, Feb 8: In a joint letter addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, 21 Members of Parliament (MPs) from various political parties have called for a detailed update on the stalled Naga peace process in Parliament and for the appointment of a full-time interlocutor to revive the negotiations.

The letter, which has been widely circulated on social media, warns that the stagnation of the talks could “threaten to erode nearly three decades of painstaking progress.” The MPs expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and momentum in the peace process, which has been ongoing for decades.

The MPs highlighted that since the resignation of the last interlocutor in September 2021, the Government has yet to appoint a full-time negotiator. Instead, an official has been handling the process on an ad-hoc basis. The letter notes that this absence of a dedicated, full-time interlocutor has led to an unsettling inconsistency, with disrupted communication channels and sporadic meetings between the negotiating parties.

Such an approach, the MPs warned, risks eroding the progress made over nearly three decades and jeopardizes the trust and goodwill carefully cultivated over the years. They also expressed concern over the growing discontent among stakeholders, particularly the systematic exclusion of elected representatives from meaningful engagement in the negotiations.

“The opacity surrounding the matter,” the letter states, “has rendered the process vulnerable to the whims of a select few within the political and bureaucratic establishment.” The MPs emphasized that peace negotiations should not be relegated to bureaucratic maneuvering without democratic oversight.

Furthermore, the MPs pointed out that Parliament has remained uninformed about the status of the negotiations since the signing of the Framework Agreement. “It is imperative that the Government provides clarity and updates Parliament on the current status of the Naga peace process, including the details of the negotiations and developments since the signing of the Framework Agreement and the reasons for the perceived stagnation of the process,” the MPs said.

The letter was signed by MPs Manoj Kumar, Sanjay Yadav, John Brittas, AA Rahim, P Sandosh Kumar, Sushmita Dev, Javed Ali Khan, Dr. Fauzia Khan, Priyanka Chaturvedi, MM Abdulla, Dr. Kanimozhi NVN Somu, Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, PP Suneer, V Sivadasan, PV Abdul Wahab, Haris Beeran, S Venkatesan, K Radhakrishnan, R Sachithanantham, and three other MPs whose names could not be deciphered from their signatures.