Guwahati: The NSCN(IM) suffered its biggest organisational rupture since its 1988 split with the Khaplang faction after it expelled two top commanders of its Myanmar-based Eastern Flank, accusing them of forming a “breakaway parallel organization.”This expulsion order by NSCN (IM) Yaruiwo (president) Q Tuccu on Tuesday comes weeks after the Eastern Flank publicly accused the outfit’s top leadership of abandoning the 2015 Framework Agreement with central government and compromising Naga territorial interests over the ‘Kuki homeland’ within areas it claims as Nagalim in Manipur.The faction has also accused its central leadership of compromising on Naga sovereignty, the separate Naga flag and the constitution— the core issues that remain the principal stumbling blocks in finalising the Naga peace accord.The Eastern Flank is clearly active in Manipur, although its traditional strongholds and command structure remain in the Naga areas of north-western Myanmar. This new development is likely to cast a shadow over the already stalled Naga peace process, raising fresh questions over who represents the insurgent group’s rank and file, particularly in the and Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur.The expulsion order states that ‘Lt Gen (Retd) HS Ramsan and Lt Gen (Retd) A Raman” have repeatedly defied the Hebron’s (CHQ) reconciliation initiatives, defrauding the ‘Government of People’s Republic of Nagaland’ over a prolonged period, and forming a parallel breakaway organization for their own whims and personal interests.The order adds that the two leaders have been expelled from the organization for “disloyalty”, “mutiny”, “rebellion”, “treason”, “desertion”, “unauthorised alliances”, “extortion”, “drug trafficking”, “embezzlement” and, significantly, “formation of a breakaway parallel organization”.The Eastern Flank has repeatedly described the killing of its four cadres at Honbei in manipur;s Kamjong district in March incident as a “fratricidal” attack, alleging that its cadres were killed by fellow NSCN(IM) members.This is the first major division within the NSCN(IM) since the 1988 split that led to the formation of the Isak-Muivah and Khaplang factions—an event that reshaped the Naga insurgency for decades.The NSCN was formed by Isak Chishi Swu, Thuingaleng Muivah and SS Khaplang after breaking away from the Naga National Council in opposition to the Shillong Accord in 1980. The NSCN also proclaims the Government of the People’s Republic of Nagaland (GPRN).Eight years later violent internecine clashes split the NSCN into NSCN(Isak–Muivah) (NSCN-IM) and NSCN(Khaplang) (NSCN-K), reshaping the Naga insurgency. While the NSCN (IM) remained cohesive, the NSCN(K) has fragmented multiple times, producing several factions.
