NISHIT DHOLABHAI
New Delhi, Jan. 24: India has proposed joint action with Myanmar along the international border to check rising insurgency but Myanmar has so far only promised not to allow Northeast militants to use its territory as a base to create trouble during Manipur polls.
Myanmar gave the assurance to India during the 17th national-level meeting between the two countries at Nay Pyi Taw, the Myanmarese capital, last week.
Since Manipur Assembly elections were announced, the CorCom or seven-outfit coordination committee has caused disturbances by exploding grenades in the state, especially in Manipur valley. The outfits are the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak), Prepak (Pro), Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and the United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK).
Official sources said Union home secretary R.K. Singh had made a special mention to Myanmar’s deputy home minister, Brigadier-General Kyaw Zan Myint, during the meeting that Indian insurgent groups were planning largescale disturbances in the run-up to and during the January 28 elections in Manipur.
“The leader of Myanmar delegation assured that Myanmar would never allow insurgents to use its territory to engage in any hostile activities against its neighbour India,” they added.
“We wanted joint action along the border,” a source said. However, there seems to have been a gap in the understanding of what would mean joint action. “While Myint was ready, a senior member on the Myanmar side expressed reservations,” he added.
According to the ministry of home affairs, the joint action would not mean security forces making a single team but working in coordination on their respective sides. “When we are in an operation, they should block and vice-versa,” a senior official said. “We may be able to start joint action only after the elections as we are re-communicating our point of view,” he added.
The two sides, however, agreed on closer interaction between the nodal points and respective commanding officers of border guarding forces of the two countries and to share real-time intelligence. Myanmar also agreed to share interrogation reports of arms smugglers arrested by its security forces.
In Manipur, the CorCom has put the spanner in the works in the run-up to the election. It has exploded grenades and engaged in shoot-and-scoot tactics with its bases in Myanmar. Earlier this month, the consortium even “banned” the Congress party.
Recalling the traditionally close relationship between India and Myanmar, the delegates of the two countries promised to strengthen socio-economic cooperation and maintain peace and tranquillity on the border.
The Union home secretary sought exchange of intelligence information and steps to check arms smuggling along the 1,640km international border. Singh also mentioned Indian insurgent groups’ camps and training facilities in Myanmar and sought that country’s cooperation in dealing with the militants.
The hills of Manipur will also be involved in border relations with plans for a Border Liaison Office (BLO) at Ukhrul in India and at Somra in Myanmar. Singh agreed to provide the requisite communication facilities for the additional BLO and interactions at the level of commanding officers, the sources said.
In the meantime, both the countries are satisfied with the meetings of the BLOs at deputy commissioner and superintendent of police-level at Moreh (Manipur)/Tamu (Myanmar) and Zowakhatar (Mizoram)/Rhi (Myanmar) to discuss measures for combating arms smuggling, drug-trafficking, smuggling of wildlife parts and other issues. “BLO meetings will be held more frequently,” one of the officials said.
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