Truce in danger

The negotiations on the Naga tribals' demands for a homeland in the remote northeast will be held in Bangkok December 15 and 16, a rebel leader said.

"There can be no solution without merging all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast and if our rights are denied we shall have no option but to pull out of the ceasefire," senior guerrilla leader Kraibo Chawang told AFP.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in 1997 as part of a drive aimed at ending one of South Asia's longest-running insurgencies that has cost at least 25,000 lives.

Last December hopes were high that an end to the dispute could be in sight. But the mood has soured since then and the Naga rebels have been complaining bitterly about what they say is a lack of progress in talks with New Delhi.

"The talks are delicately poised," Chawang said by telephone from Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland state.

"The Indian government's response to our demands will be very crucial in deciding whether or not the peace process continues."

The talks will be held between the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland led by Isak Chishi Swu and T. Muivah and Indian negotiators, led by the minister for programme implementation, Oscar Fernandes, Chawang said.

There was no immediate official comment from the government on the threat to end the truce. But a home ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said the government was aware of the "belligerent mood" among the Nagas.

"A single wrong move at this stage could well jeopardize the eight-year-old peace process," the official said. "We've worked out certain back-up plans and ideas that will be shared with the Naga leadership during the talks."