NEW DELHI, Jun 1 – In a fresh initiative to lure away youths from joining militancy, the new National Youth Policy 2012 proposes to frame an action plan to tackle the menace particularly in conflict-affected areas of North-East.
The exposure draft released on Thursday by Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Ajay Maken proposes to revise the target age group of youths from the existing 13-35 years to 16-30 years. In a first, Youth Development Index (YDI) is proposed to be incorporated as part of the policy to serve as the baseline and ready reckoner for evaluation.
The new Youth Policy divides the target groups into six categories including the Youth at Risk and Violent Conflicts. The Ministry has proposed to hold consultations with various stakeholders. As part of the regional consultations, the discussion on the youth policy would be held at NEHU University in Shillong in the third week of July.
The draft policy states that due to a number of factors, chiefly economic, young people are drawn to armed conflicts and align with organisations and groups that spearhead the disruptive activities. Young people with little means of subsistence may be easily lured by the extremists by the promise of proper meals, shelter and clothing by these outfits.
Several categories of young people appear to be particularly at risk, unemployed university graduates, young people who have migrated from rural to urban areas, tribal youths, young people who have been victims of discrimination or injustice or youth, who have been misguided by concerted propaganda by perpetrators of separatism and militancy.
Regardless whether they participate in violent conflicts or are victims, young people are undoubtedly the worst sufferers. Their future gets severely compromised, the draft policy said. Even when they desire to return to normal life after realising that they had wrongly got themselves inducted into conflict, the society does not offer them an opportunity.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
India asks Myanmar to handover arrested NE insurgents
India has requested Myanmar not to allow its territory to be used for anti-India activities and to hand over arrested northeast insurgent leaders and its response was "encouraging".
Home minister P Chidambaram said the dialogue between India and Myanmar during the just concluded visit
of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to that country was "very fruitful".
"Response are very encouraging. But what follow up action will be taken by government of Myanmar, we have to wait and see," he said at a press conference here today.
Chidambaram said India's concerns regarding Myanmar are two-fold -- firstly New Delhi does not want any part of Myanmar territory to be used as camps by Northeast insurgent groups.
"Secondly if the government of Myanmar is able to apprehend any of the insurgent leaders, we would like them to be handed over to India. We have made these requests, response are encouraging. But we will have to wait and see what action is taken on the ground," he said.
Asked about the reported tie up between the leader of anti-talk faction of ULFA Paresh Baruah and the Naxals, the Home minister said Baruah himself was not in India but his faction was indeed active.
"I have already said that there are contacts between his faction and CPI(Maoist)," he said.
On the National Telecom Policy, Chidambaram said it has taken care of all security concerns of the Home Ministry.
Home minister P Chidambaram said the dialogue between India and Myanmar during the just concluded visit
of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to that country was "very fruitful".
"Response are very encouraging. But what follow up action will be taken by government of Myanmar, we have to wait and see," he said at a press conference here today.
Chidambaram said India's concerns regarding Myanmar are two-fold -- firstly New Delhi does not want any part of Myanmar territory to be used as camps by Northeast insurgent groups.
"Secondly if the government of Myanmar is able to apprehend any of the insurgent leaders, we would like them to be handed over to India. We have made these requests, response are encouraging. But we will have to wait and see what action is taken on the ground," he said.
Asked about the reported tie up between the leader of anti-talk faction of ULFA Paresh Baruah and the Naxals, the Home minister said Baruah himself was not in India but his faction was indeed active.
"I have already said that there are contacts between his faction and CPI(Maoist)," he said.
On the National Telecom Policy, Chidambaram said it has taken care of all security concerns of the Home Ministry.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Myanmar ultimatum to NE militant groups to pack up by June 10
To shore up its ties with India, Myanmar government has ordered Manipur-based militant outfits to shut their camps and training facilities and leave its soil by June 10.
Quoting intelligence inputs, official sources said the Myanmar Army's order was issued on May 24 -- three days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh embarked on his visit to the neighbouring country -- and the move is considered as a goodwill gesture from Nay Pyi Taw.
There are 12 to 15 camps of Manipur based insurgent groups like PLA and PREPAK across the Indo-Myanmar border where more than 2,000 armed cadres are taking shelter, they said.
The militants often come to Manipur to carry out subversive activities and leave the state to escape action by security agencies. The sources said if the Manipur militant groups are forced to close down their camps by the Myanmar Army, it would have significant impact on the security situation in the northeastern state.
Besides, they said, other northeastern militant groups having bases in Myanmar may also have to face the heat of the neighbouring country with improved bilateral relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Singh will return to New Delhi today after a three-day visit to Myanmar.
Quoting intelligence inputs, official sources said the Myanmar Army's order was issued on May 24 -- three days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh embarked on his visit to the neighbouring country -- and the move is considered as a goodwill gesture from Nay Pyi Taw.
There are 12 to 15 camps of Manipur based insurgent groups like PLA and PREPAK across the Indo-Myanmar border where more than 2,000 armed cadres are taking shelter, they said.
The militants often come to Manipur to carry out subversive activities and leave the state to escape action by security agencies. The sources said if the Manipur militant groups are forced to close down their camps by the Myanmar Army, it would have significant impact on the security situation in the northeastern state.
Besides, they said, other northeastern militant groups having bases in Myanmar may also have to face the heat of the neighbouring country with improved bilateral relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Singh will return to New Delhi today after a three-day visit to Myanmar.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
The spread of Red
Oinam Sunil
Way back in 1978, a Manipuri student of IIT-Bombay, Bedamani Singh, left his studies mid-way to participate in what he called the "Maoist revolution" in eastern India. He met students from the North-east in Delhi, Guwahati and Imphal to spread the ideology. The same year, recall old-timers, about 10 Delhi University students from Manipur dropped out to join the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
This was the beginning of the spread of Maoist ideology in the North-east. In 1976, N Bisheswar Singh along with other Manipuri youths crossed over to China to obtain ideological training from the Chinese communists. They returned to form the PLA, a militant group that was crushed by the army in the 1980s but managed to regroup by the early 1990s.
Maoism now appears to have returned to the northeast. On the morning of May 9, Assam policemen killed four
senior armed Maoist cadres, including a local commander Siddhartha Borgohain, in an encounter at Sadiya in Tinsukia district. The other three killed were identified as Rajib Gogoi, Arup Chetia and Kamala Burhagohain. Three AK-47s, two grenades and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from them.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who visited Arunachal Pradesh recently, had expressed concern about Maoist presence in the area. He said the state governments in the region had been instructed to deal with the Reds with a firm hand. "There will be no compromise with Maoists trying to destabilise peace in the region and police have been instructed to take stern action," Chidambaram said. The home minister, however, added that there was small presence of Maoists here, and commended the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments for dealing with them firmly.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had asked PM Manmohan Singh during his visit to the state last month for additional central paramilitary forces to deal with the growing Maoist menace. Assam police have so far arrested 20 cadres, but several of them, including top leader Aditya Bora, have jumped bail.
Intelligence agencies have also got inputs about CPI(Maoist)'s links with Ulfa, UNLF, NSCN(IM) and the PLA. UNLF chairman Rajkumar Meghen was even charged by the National Investigation Agency of planning a broad tie-up between Manipuri rebel outfits and the Maoists. The Maoist-Ulfa link, however, has more to do with arms dealing than ideology.
In Manipur too, some rebel outfits are inclined towards the Red ideology. A faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) has rechristened itself as the Maoist Communist Party of Manipur. But the bigger headache for the security agencies is the spread of Maoists in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
In Assam, at least 300 youths, who have been found to be missing from their homes for the last two years, are suspected to have joined the Maoists. The cops carried out a survey over the last two months to track Maoist recruits in all districts. There are 100 listed Maoists cadres in the state.
"These youngster left home on the pretext of taking up jobs elsewhere. But they have yet to communicate with their families. They are untraceable and we believe they might have gone underground as Maoist recruits," says a security source.
Unlike other states, the initial recruits in Assam have mostly been from communities other than Adivasis.
"The pattern in other states is that the recruits are mainly from the marginalised groups, but that has not been reflected yet in Assam. There is only a sprinkling of Adivasi youths among the listed cadres," the source says. "The Adivasis here live under relatively better conditions than those in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Odisha. The pattern seen so far is that wherever governance has failed and Ulfa is on the wane, the Maoists have moved in. They also keep a watch on mass protests to pick up potential cadres."
Security forces are now on the lookout for top Maoist leader Moina Dohotiya even as the CPI(Maoist) has entrusted its key members with the responsibility of using the North-east as a staging post primarily for two things - creating a base and strengthening its link with Manipur's PLA for arms supply.
The Centre is worried over the development as the region borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Maoists are bringing in arms through Myanmar with the help of the PLA. Two top PLA leaders, who were arrested in New Delhi last year, had revealed that the Manipuri outfit was imparting arms training to the Maoist cadres and supplying arms.
Way back in 1978, a Manipuri student of IIT-Bombay, Bedamani Singh, left his studies mid-way to participate in what he called the "Maoist revolution" in eastern India. He met students from the North-east in Delhi, Guwahati and Imphal to spread the ideology. The same year, recall old-timers, about 10 Delhi University students from Manipur dropped out to join the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
This was the beginning of the spread of Maoist ideology in the North-east. In 1976, N Bisheswar Singh along with other Manipuri youths crossed over to China to obtain ideological training from the Chinese communists. They returned to form the PLA, a militant group that was crushed by the army in the 1980s but managed to regroup by the early 1990s.
Maoism now appears to have returned to the northeast. On the morning of May 9, Assam policemen killed four
senior armed Maoist cadres, including a local commander Siddhartha Borgohain, in an encounter at Sadiya in Tinsukia district. The other three killed were identified as Rajib Gogoi, Arup Chetia and Kamala Burhagohain. Three AK-47s, two grenades and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from them.
Union home minister P Chidambaram, who visited Arunachal Pradesh recently, had expressed concern about Maoist presence in the area. He said the state governments in the region had been instructed to deal with the Reds with a firm hand. "There will be no compromise with Maoists trying to destabilise peace in the region and police have been instructed to take stern action," Chidambaram said. The home minister, however, added that there was small presence of Maoists here, and commended the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments for dealing with them firmly.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had asked PM Manmohan Singh during his visit to the state last month for additional central paramilitary forces to deal with the growing Maoist menace. Assam police have so far arrested 20 cadres, but several of them, including top leader Aditya Bora, have jumped bail.
Intelligence agencies have also got inputs about CPI(Maoist)'s links with Ulfa, UNLF, NSCN(IM) and the PLA. UNLF chairman Rajkumar Meghen was even charged by the National Investigation Agency of planning a broad tie-up between Manipuri rebel outfits and the Maoists. The Maoist-Ulfa link, however, has more to do with arms dealing than ideology.
In Manipur too, some rebel outfits are inclined towards the Red ideology. A faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) has rechristened itself as the Maoist Communist Party of Manipur. But the bigger headache for the security agencies is the spread of Maoists in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
In Assam, at least 300 youths, who have been found to be missing from their homes for the last two years, are suspected to have joined the Maoists. The cops carried out a survey over the last two months to track Maoist recruits in all districts. There are 100 listed Maoists cadres in the state.
"These youngster left home on the pretext of taking up jobs elsewhere. But they have yet to communicate with their families. They are untraceable and we believe they might have gone underground as Maoist recruits," says a security source.
Unlike other states, the initial recruits in Assam have mostly been from communities other than Adivasis.
"The pattern in other states is that the recruits are mainly from the marginalised groups, but that has not been reflected yet in Assam. There is only a sprinkling of Adivasi youths among the listed cadres," the source says. "The Adivasis here live under relatively better conditions than those in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand or Odisha. The pattern seen so far is that wherever governance has failed and Ulfa is on the wane, the Maoists have moved in. They also keep a watch on mass protests to pick up potential cadres."
Security forces are now on the lookout for top Maoist leader Moina Dohotiya even as the CPI(Maoist) has entrusted its key members with the responsibility of using the North-east as a staging post primarily for two things - creating a base and strengthening its link with Manipur's PLA for arms supply.
The Centre is worried over the development as the region borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Maoists are bringing in arms through Myanmar with the help of the PLA. Two top PLA leaders, who were arrested in New Delhi last year, had revealed that the Manipuri outfit was imparting arms training to the Maoist cadres and supplying arms.
NIA vindicates exposé on PLA-Maoist nexus
The NIA chargesheet says the banned Manipur outfit trained and armed Maoist cadres in Jharkhand. TEHELKA broke this story in December 2011
THE NATIONAL investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) chargesheet against the top leadership of the banned outfit in Manipur, the Peoples’ revolutionary Army (PLA), filed on 21 May in a special NIA fast-track court, has endorsed the TEHELKA exposé of the PLA–Maoists nexus in December 2011.
In its article (Kishenji’s N-E Nexus Exposed, by Ratnadip Choudhury; 17 December 2011), TEHELKA had exposed how secret exchanges between the Maoists and a Manipuri rebel outfit show that the slain naxal leader, Kishenji, was seeking an access to China. According to NIA sources, the chargesheet clearly establishes intimate links between the PLA and CPI(Maoists); how trainers from the PLA travelled all the way to Maoist bases in Jharkhand two years ago and trained Maoist cadres in combat. The chargesheet also talks about how the PLA helped the Maoists with arms and latest communication equipment. These did not come for free though; the Maoists had to pay a hefty amount that exchanged hands in Kolkata.
In October 2011, the Delhi Police arrested N Dilip Singh alias N Wangba, the external affairs chief of the PLA, in a raid at a hotel in Paharganj, near the New Delhi railway station. Along with Dilip, 51, his deputy, Arun Kumar Singh Salam, 36, was also arrested. Interrogation by the NIA revealed startling information about how the nexus between the CPI(Maoist) and the PLA had blossomed ever since the two outfits signed a joint declaration on 22 October 2008 against the Indian government.
TEHELKA had accessed secret letters between the Maoists and the PLA leadership, all routed through Dilip, which reveal how the nexus was formed and how the scheme was the brainchild of slain Maoist leader Kishenji himself. Although the authenticity of the letters could not be independently proved then, the NIA chargesheet has vindicated TEHELKA’s exposé.
The story revealed how the PLA was given a contract to procure Chinese-made rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and high-end wireless sets. It also talked of how Maoist leader Kishenji was trying to develop secret links with other rebel groups in the Northeast, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the national socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) or NSCN (IM). The latter’s chief arms procurer Anthony Shimray, currently in NIA custody, confessed that a huge cache of arms for the Maoists was purchased from a Chinese company. The consignment included automatic rifles, rocket launchers and grenades. TEHELKA was informed by an insider from the anti-talk faction of ULFA that Kishenji was in touch with ULFA chief Paresh Barua, who led him to Shimray.
The NIA sprung into action after the arrest of top PLA leaders N Dilip Singh, Senjam Dhiren Singh alias Raghu and KH Arnold Singh. During its investigation, the agency also found how the PLA and CPI(Maoist) hobnobbed between 2006 and 2008.
THE NATIONAL investigation Agency’s (NIA’s) chargesheet against the top leadership of the banned outfit in Manipur, the Peoples’ revolutionary Army (PLA), filed on 21 May in a special NIA fast-track court, has endorsed the TEHELKA exposé of the PLA–Maoists nexus in December 2011.
In its article (Kishenji’s N-E Nexus Exposed, by Ratnadip Choudhury; 17 December 2011), TEHELKA had exposed how secret exchanges between the Maoists and a Manipuri rebel outfit show that the slain naxal leader, Kishenji, was seeking an access to China. According to NIA sources, the chargesheet clearly establishes intimate links between the PLA and CPI(Maoists); how trainers from the PLA travelled all the way to Maoist bases in Jharkhand two years ago and trained Maoist cadres in combat. The chargesheet also talks about how the PLA helped the Maoists with arms and latest communication equipment. These did not come for free though; the Maoists had to pay a hefty amount that exchanged hands in Kolkata.
In October 2011, the Delhi Police arrested N Dilip Singh alias N Wangba, the external affairs chief of the PLA, in a raid at a hotel in Paharganj, near the New Delhi railway station. Along with Dilip, 51, his deputy, Arun Kumar Singh Salam, 36, was also arrested. Interrogation by the NIA revealed startling information about how the nexus between the CPI(Maoist) and the PLA had blossomed ever since the two outfits signed a joint declaration on 22 October 2008 against the Indian government.
TEHELKA had accessed secret letters between the Maoists and the PLA leadership, all routed through Dilip, which reveal how the nexus was formed and how the scheme was the brainchild of slain Maoist leader Kishenji himself. Although the authenticity of the letters could not be independently proved then, the NIA chargesheet has vindicated TEHELKA’s exposé.
The story revealed how the PLA was given a contract to procure Chinese-made rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles and high-end wireless sets. It also talked of how Maoist leader Kishenji was trying to develop secret links with other rebel groups in the Northeast, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the national socialist Council of Nagaland (Issac-Muivah) or NSCN (IM). The latter’s chief arms procurer Anthony Shimray, currently in NIA custody, confessed that a huge cache of arms for the Maoists was purchased from a Chinese company. The consignment included automatic rifles, rocket launchers and grenades. TEHELKA was informed by an insider from the anti-talk faction of ULFA that Kishenji was in touch with ULFA chief Paresh Barua, who led him to Shimray.
The NIA sprung into action after the arrest of top PLA leaders N Dilip Singh, Senjam Dhiren Singh alias Raghu and KH Arnold Singh. During its investigation, the agency also found how the PLA and CPI(Maoist) hobnobbed between 2006 and 2008.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Jharkhand Maoists being trained in People Liberation Army's Myanmar camps
GUWAHATI: Maoists from Jharkhand are now being trained in the camps of Manipur's People Liberation Army (PLA) located at Mindat in the southern Chin state of Myanmar, according to a recent government report on Maoist activities in the northeastern region, which is turning out to be their new base.
"The two groups signed an agreement 'for better understanding' in September, 2008 and the first batch of three Maoist cadres from Jharkhand trained at the PLA's 251 battalion camp at Mindat. Maoists now plan to send their cadres to Manipur to be trained by the PLA," a security source said.
The Maoists of Assam were first trained in Lohit district of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and the first training camp was started as recently as April last year. "At the camp in Lohit, training in arms was imparted by Maoists leaders from Assam. The camp was closed down after two Adivasi trainees fled the place," the source said.
These reports of the PLA training Maoists in Myanmar, based on confession statements of arrested PLA leaders here, have come at a time when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet at the special court here against the PLA for imparting training to the cadres of CPI (Maoist) and supplying arms and ammunition to the outfit.
"The investigation established that in and around June 2006, the PLA leadership met the top leaders of CPI (Maoist), followed by several other meetings between the two terrorist organisations between 2006 and 2008," the NIA chargesheet says.
It adds that in 2008, senior leaders of CPI (Maoist) met PLA members in a foreign country and "signed a joint declaration for the unified action of waging war against India".
"In this meeting, CPI (Maoist) requested the PLA to provide them sophisticated weapons and the PLA in turn sought help for procurement of ammonium nitrate (explosive) from the former," the NIA stated.
The NIA chargesheet states that a team of PLA cadres comprising four senior functionaries had visited the Dandakaranya forest in Chhattisgarh sometime in the middle of 2009.
"Investigation has established that two training programmes, comprising signal training and military training, were carried out for CPI (Maoist) cadres by the PLA in Saranda Forest of Jharkhand. The first programme was carried out from 11 September, 2010 to 20 November, 2010 and the second started on 7 October, 2010 and ended on 10 November, 2010," the chargesheet adds.
"The two groups signed an agreement 'for better understanding' in September, 2008 and the first batch of three Maoist cadres from Jharkhand trained at the PLA's 251 battalion camp at Mindat. Maoists now plan to send their cadres to Manipur to be trained by the PLA," a security source said.
The Maoists of Assam were first trained in Lohit district of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh and the first training camp was started as recently as April last year. "At the camp in Lohit, training in arms was imparted by Maoists leaders from Assam. The camp was closed down after two Adivasi trainees fled the place," the source said.
These reports of the PLA training Maoists in Myanmar, based on confession statements of arrested PLA leaders here, have come at a time when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a chargesheet at the special court here against the PLA for imparting training to the cadres of CPI (Maoist) and supplying arms and ammunition to the outfit.
"The investigation established that in and around June 2006, the PLA leadership met the top leaders of CPI (Maoist), followed by several other meetings between the two terrorist organisations between 2006 and 2008," the NIA chargesheet says.
It adds that in 2008, senior leaders of CPI (Maoist) met PLA members in a foreign country and "signed a joint declaration for the unified action of waging war against India".
"In this meeting, CPI (Maoist) requested the PLA to provide them sophisticated weapons and the PLA in turn sought help for procurement of ammonium nitrate (explosive) from the former," the NIA stated.
The NIA chargesheet states that a team of PLA cadres comprising four senior functionaries had visited the Dandakaranya forest in Chhattisgarh sometime in the middle of 2009.
"Investigation has established that two training programmes, comprising signal training and military training, were carried out for CPI (Maoist) cadres by the PLA in Saranda Forest of Jharkhand. The first programme was carried out from 11 September, 2010 to 20 November, 2010 and the second started on 7 October, 2010 and ended on 10 November, 2010," the chargesheet adds.
Dragon tries to spread influence in India's backyard
People's Liberation Army
Beijing is now trying to enter India's strategic backyard with a vengeance which has rung alarm bells in South Block and is ramping up its pearl of strings strategy to encircle India, according to a report accessed by Headlines Today, compiled by the intelligence agencies sent to the Foreign Office.
China is ramping up its strategy to increase influence in India's neighbour hood. Late last month, former Chinese Envoy to India Zhou Gang was sent as the special envoy of the Chinese government to Thimphu and he met the 4th King of Bhutan and senior government officials
The Chinese Envoy told his interlocutors that if Thimphu wants to settle the boundary dispute with China it should allow Beijing to open a diplomatic mission in Bhutan.
For long India has resisted attempts to influence Bhutan by countries like China which wants to dominate the country's affairs that is a strategic buffer between India and China.
China has a 470-km unfenced border with China, and there have been reports of Chinese trying to ramp up their strategic infrastructure and intrusions of Chinese soldiers in their country.
Currently Bhutan only has three diplomatic missions in Thimphu, while India has the biggest mission, Bangladesh and Kuwait also have an embassy in Thimphu besides a diplomatic mission of the UN.
"Besides the two permanent missions at the UN in New York and Geneva, Bhutan has embassies in New Delhi, Dhaka, Bangkok, Kuwait and Brussels. These missions cover the 37 countries with which Bhutan has diplomatic relations while the embassies of these countries in Delhi and Dhaka cover Bhutan. India, Bangladesh and Kuwait have resident missions in Thimphu. Opening of missions by countries that have diplomatic relations with Bhutan are decided through mutual consultation," said V. Namgyel, Bhutan's ambassador to India.
For India any package deal that Bhutan has with China will have strategic ramifications and a Chinese diplomatic mission in Thimphu may also undermine Indian influence. Already China's designs on making inroads in Bhutan have worried policy makers in New Delhi.
In November 2007, Chinese forces dismantled several unmanned posts near the Chumbi valley. They distorted the Sino-Bhutanese border near Sikkim, with Chinese forces only a few kilometres away from the Siliguri corridor.
Chumbi Valley, a vital tri-junction between Bhutan, India and China border, is significant as it is 500 km from Siliguri corridor-the chicken neck which connects India to North East India and Nepal to Bhutan.
Meanwhile, Chumbi Valley is of geostrategic importance to China because of its shared borders with Tibet and Sikkim. The North-Western areas of Bhutan which China wants in exchange for the Central areas lie next to the Chumbi Valley tri-junction.
So the potential of any strategic deal on India, would have grave strategic consequences, although New Delhi is now working overtime to ensure it nixes any deal that Beijing has with Bhutan.
The intelligence assessment accessed by Headlines Today also notes that earlier in March, Beijing gave its Jianghu II frigates which were rechristened UMS Mahar Bandoola and UMS Mahar Thiha Thura. "China has supplied these frigates in order to regain influence over Myanmar and Bay of Bengal region," says the assessment coming ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar later this week.
China is ramping up its strategy to increase influence in India's neighbour hood. Late last month, former Chinese Envoy to India Zhou Gang was sent as the special envoy of the Chinese government to Thimphu and he met the 4th King of Bhutan and senior government officials
The Chinese Envoy told his interlocutors that if Thimphu wants to settle the boundary dispute with China it should allow Beijing to open a diplomatic mission in Bhutan.
For long India has resisted attempts to influence Bhutan by countries like China which wants to dominate the country's affairs that is a strategic buffer between India and China.
China has a 470-km unfenced border with China, and there have been reports of Chinese trying to ramp up their strategic infrastructure and intrusions of Chinese soldiers in their country.
Currently Bhutan only has three diplomatic missions in Thimphu, while India has the biggest mission, Bangladesh and Kuwait also have an embassy in Thimphu besides a diplomatic mission of the UN.
"Besides the two permanent missions at the UN in New York and Geneva, Bhutan has embassies in New Delhi, Dhaka, Bangkok, Kuwait and Brussels. These missions cover the 37 countries with which Bhutan has diplomatic relations while the embassies of these countries in Delhi and Dhaka cover Bhutan. India, Bangladesh and Kuwait have resident missions in Thimphu. Opening of missions by countries that have diplomatic relations with Bhutan are decided through mutual consultation," said V. Namgyel, Bhutan's ambassador to India.
For India any package deal that Bhutan has with China will have strategic ramifications and a Chinese diplomatic mission in Thimphu may also undermine Indian influence. Already China's designs on making inroads in Bhutan have worried policy makers in New Delhi.
In November 2007, Chinese forces dismantled several unmanned posts near the Chumbi valley. They distorted the Sino-Bhutanese border near Sikkim, with Chinese forces only a few kilometres away from the Siliguri corridor.
Chumbi Valley, a vital tri-junction between Bhutan, India and China border, is significant as it is 500 km from Siliguri corridor-the chicken neck which connects India to North East India and Nepal to Bhutan.
Meanwhile, Chumbi Valley is of geostrategic importance to China because of its shared borders with Tibet and Sikkim. The North-Western areas of Bhutan which China wants in exchange for the Central areas lie next to the Chumbi Valley tri-junction.
So the potential of any strategic deal on India, would have grave strategic consequences, although New Delhi is now working overtime to ensure it nixes any deal that Beijing has with Bhutan.
The intelligence assessment accessed by Headlines Today also notes that earlier in March, Beijing gave its Jianghu II frigates which were rechristened UMS Mahar Bandoola and UMS Mahar Thiha Thura. "China has supplied these frigates in order to regain influence over Myanmar and Bay of Bengal region," says the assessment coming ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Myanmar later this week.
Why India is wary of Myanmar-NSCN-K agreement
The ceasefire agreement between a Naga rebel faction and Myanmar was signed without India being informed.
It is likely to have long-term implications for India's northeast and Myanmar, says Rahul Mishra.
The first in a series on India-Myanamar relations, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits that country on May 27, the first visit by an Indian leader in many years.
Taking another step forward to pacify decades-old ethnic unrest and bring back the marginalised ethnic communities to mainstream politics, the Thein Sein-led Myanmar government signed a ceasefire agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang in Myanmar.
Signed on April 9, the agreement paves the way for autonomy to the NSCN-K in three districts: Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun, which fall in Sagaing -- a northwestern administrative region of Myanmar.
The agreement also provides NSCN-K members with the freedom to move 'unarmed' across the country. Moreover, as per the ceasefire agreement, the group is allowed to open a sub-office in Hkamti district.
It has also been reported that NSCN-K is trying to acquire more rights in the Naga areas of Kachin and Sagaing region.
Interestingly, Myanmar's 2008 constitution provides for the grouping together of Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun in a Naga self-administrative zone, which proves beyond doubt that the autonomy deal is part of a comprehensive plan of Nay Pyi Taw rather than an ad-hoc move.
The most promising aspect of the deal is that it might put an end to ethnic hostilities in coming days and give peace a chance in dispute resolution.
The agreement is widely projected as an achievement by both the parties involved. While the Thein Sein government is taking it as another feather in its cap, the NSCN-K projects the agreement as a stepping stone to become a trans-nationally recognised ethnic group.
From the statements of NSCN-K leaders, it is evident that they look at the Kurdish group Peshmerga -- which has signed peace deals with Iran, Iraq, and Turkey -- as a role model for themselves. The NSCN-K considers it as one of their cherished objectives. Clearly, with the inking of the deal, the group has inched closer to its long-term objective.
The decision, which has invoked mixed responses from both within and outside, is likely to have long-term implications not only on the ethnic politics of the Naga-inhabited regions, but also for India's northeast and Myanmar.
Incidentally, the other two significant players in the Naga politics -- THE NSCN-IM (Isak Muivah) and NSCN-Khole-Kitovi have expressed their displeasure, although citing different reasons. For the record, all three factions have different visions for Nagaland.
While the NSCN-IM wants the incorporation of neighbouring Naga-inhabited areas with existing boundaries of Nagaland and the NSCN-K aims to incorporate Myanmarese Naga with Nagaland, NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, to a great extent, holds a status quo-ist position on the boundary demarcation of Nagaland.
By virtue of being an immediate neighbour infested by the insurgent groups, India is likely to get affected by the new twist in the situation.
Considering that India was not informed beforehand of the NSCN-K or the Myanmar agreement, it did not go well within the Indian establishment.
To be sure, India renewed the ceasefire agreement with the NSCN-K in early May, only after seeking numerous clarifications regarding the NSCN-K-Myanmar agreement.
In order to pre-empt any unpleasant situation along the borders, the Indian authorities have clearly stated that India does not want the NSCN-K to overtly or covertly support insurgents operating from outside the country.
India has imposed conditions on the NSCN-K, as part of the ceasefire agreement to ensure that insurgent groups like the Paresh Barua-led United Liberation Front of Asom and the Manipur-based Peoples Liberation Army do not use the NSCN-K controlled region of Myanmar for anti-India activities.
The conditions include: First, strictly adhere to ceasefire ground rules; secondly, do not extend any help to anti-India insurgent groups; thirdly, make all possible efforts to stop factional killings and refrain from violence; and finally, 45 of the group's top functionaries will have to carry hologram-bearing identity cards, so that their whereabouts are kept track of during the ceasefire.
New Delhi's apprehensions seem justified as it has been reported lately that at least 14 rebel groups from the region had congregated at the NSCN-K's base in Myanmar to forge a united front to fight Indian forces.
To cap the NSCN-K's capabilities and influence in inflicting damage in the future, India is mulling over the initiation of a dialogue with the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, which is seemingly the only faction intending to solve the problem within the present boundaries of Nagaland. The dialogue process is likely to commence in June.
Analysts have also indicated towards an emerging policy trend in India -- to use the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and NSCN-IM as forces to counter an ambitious NSCN-K. One may argue that noting their relatively weaker position in Nagaland, the NSCN-K agreed to all the conditions imposed by India.
Evidently, the NSCN-K stronghold is Myanmar, whereas the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and NSCN-IM are more powerful in India. Ongoing feuds among these groups have limited their capabilities in dealing with India.
Furthermore, India has also sought details from Myanmar about the deal during a regional border meeting of the two countries held recently.
India is likely to take up the matter again with the Thein Sein government during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Myanmar from May 27 to 29.
Considering the current situation, the NSCN-K-Myanmar peace deal is likely to remain confined within the borders of Myanmar. Nonetheless, it is highly likely that the NSCN-K might try to use the agreement with Myanmar as a bargaining chip in dealing with India.
However, it would be naive to think that India would yield to such pressure tactics. This is evident from the fact that India not only inquired about the NSCN-K's deal with the Myanmar government and firmly imposed conditions on the NSCN-K, but also categorically said that it would not tolerate any cross-border insurgency that involves the NSCN-K.
One may say that the time is ripe for India and Myanmar to endeavour to beef up the joint mechanism to deal with insurgency issues. Both India and Myanmar will have to make sure that the objectives of gaining short-term peace do not hamper their long-term national security interests.
While one cannot deny the possibility of the agreement leading to a greater understanding for more mature talks, ethnic reconciliation, and long-lasting peace in Myanmar -- there are several concerns which cannot be overlooked.
It goes without saying that India has to put its act together and tread a cautious path in dealing with northeast insurgent groups.
A long-lasting and peaceful resolution will have to be arrived at sooner than later.
Rahul Mishra is a researcher specialising on Southeast Asian affairs at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi.
It is likely to have long-term implications for India's northeast and Myanmar, says Rahul Mishra.
The first in a series on India-Myanamar relations, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits that country on May 27, the first visit by an Indian leader in many years.
Taking another step forward to pacify decades-old ethnic unrest and bring back the marginalised ethnic communities to mainstream politics, the Thein Sein-led Myanmar government signed a ceasefire agreement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang in Myanmar.
Signed on April 9, the agreement paves the way for autonomy to the NSCN-K in three districts: Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun, which fall in Sagaing -- a northwestern administrative region of Myanmar.
The agreement also provides NSCN-K members with the freedom to move 'unarmed' across the country. Moreover, as per the ceasefire agreement, the group is allowed to open a sub-office in Hkamti district.
It has also been reported that NSCN-K is trying to acquire more rights in the Naga areas of Kachin and Sagaing region.
Interestingly, Myanmar's 2008 constitution provides for the grouping together of Lahe, Leshi and Nanyun in a Naga self-administrative zone, which proves beyond doubt that the autonomy deal is part of a comprehensive plan of Nay Pyi Taw rather than an ad-hoc move.
The most promising aspect of the deal is that it might put an end to ethnic hostilities in coming days and give peace a chance in dispute resolution.
The agreement is widely projected as an achievement by both the parties involved. While the Thein Sein government is taking it as another feather in its cap, the NSCN-K projects the agreement as a stepping stone to become a trans-nationally recognised ethnic group.
From the statements of NSCN-K leaders, it is evident that they look at the Kurdish group Peshmerga -- which has signed peace deals with Iran, Iraq, and Turkey -- as a role model for themselves. The NSCN-K considers it as one of their cherished objectives. Clearly, with the inking of the deal, the group has inched closer to its long-term objective.
The decision, which has invoked mixed responses from both within and outside, is likely to have long-term implications not only on the ethnic politics of the Naga-inhabited regions, but also for India's northeast and Myanmar.
Incidentally, the other two significant players in the Naga politics -- THE NSCN-IM (Isak Muivah) and NSCN-Khole-Kitovi have expressed their displeasure, although citing different reasons. For the record, all three factions have different visions for Nagaland.
While the NSCN-IM wants the incorporation of neighbouring Naga-inhabited areas with existing boundaries of Nagaland and the NSCN-K aims to incorporate Myanmarese Naga with Nagaland, NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, to a great extent, holds a status quo-ist position on the boundary demarcation of Nagaland.
By virtue of being an immediate neighbour infested by the insurgent groups, India is likely to get affected by the new twist in the situation.
Considering that India was not informed beforehand of the NSCN-K or the Myanmar agreement, it did not go well within the Indian establishment.
To be sure, India renewed the ceasefire agreement with the NSCN-K in early May, only after seeking numerous clarifications regarding the NSCN-K-Myanmar agreement.
In order to pre-empt any unpleasant situation along the borders, the Indian authorities have clearly stated that India does not want the NSCN-K to overtly or covertly support insurgents operating from outside the country.
India has imposed conditions on the NSCN-K, as part of the ceasefire agreement to ensure that insurgent groups like the Paresh Barua-led United Liberation Front of Asom and the Manipur-based Peoples Liberation Army do not use the NSCN-K controlled region of Myanmar for anti-India activities.
The conditions include: First, strictly adhere to ceasefire ground rules; secondly, do not extend any help to anti-India insurgent groups; thirdly, make all possible efforts to stop factional killings and refrain from violence; and finally, 45 of the group's top functionaries will have to carry hologram-bearing identity cards, so that their whereabouts are kept track of during the ceasefire.
New Delhi's apprehensions seem justified as it has been reported lately that at least 14 rebel groups from the region had congregated at the NSCN-K's base in Myanmar to forge a united front to fight Indian forces.
To cap the NSCN-K's capabilities and influence in inflicting damage in the future, India is mulling over the initiation of a dialogue with the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi, which is seemingly the only faction intending to solve the problem within the present boundaries of Nagaland. The dialogue process is likely to commence in June.
Analysts have also indicated towards an emerging policy trend in India -- to use the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and NSCN-IM as forces to counter an ambitious NSCN-K. One may argue that noting their relatively weaker position in Nagaland, the NSCN-K agreed to all the conditions imposed by India.
Evidently, the NSCN-K stronghold is Myanmar, whereas the NSCN-Khole-Kitovi and NSCN-IM are more powerful in India. Ongoing feuds among these groups have limited their capabilities in dealing with India.
Furthermore, India has also sought details from Myanmar about the deal during a regional border meeting of the two countries held recently.
India is likely to take up the matter again with the Thein Sein government during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Myanmar from May 27 to 29.
Considering the current situation, the NSCN-K-Myanmar peace deal is likely to remain confined within the borders of Myanmar. Nonetheless, it is highly likely that the NSCN-K might try to use the agreement with Myanmar as a bargaining chip in dealing with India.
However, it would be naive to think that India would yield to such pressure tactics. This is evident from the fact that India not only inquired about the NSCN-K's deal with the Myanmar government and firmly imposed conditions on the NSCN-K, but also categorically said that it would not tolerate any cross-border insurgency that involves the NSCN-K.
One may say that the time is ripe for India and Myanmar to endeavour to beef up the joint mechanism to deal with insurgency issues. Both India and Myanmar will have to make sure that the objectives of gaining short-term peace do not hamper their long-term national security interests.
While one cannot deny the possibility of the agreement leading to a greater understanding for more mature talks, ethnic reconciliation, and long-lasting peace in Myanmar -- there are several concerns which cannot be overlooked.
It goes without saying that India has to put its act together and tread a cautious path in dealing with northeast insurgent groups.
A long-lasting and peaceful resolution will have to be arrived at sooner than later.
Rahul Mishra is a researcher specialising on Southeast Asian affairs at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses, New Delhi.
Manipuri women militants arrested in Meghalaya
Three woman militants of Manipur's People's Liberation Army and Kanglei Yawol Kanna were among five apprehended by the BSF on the Indo-Bangladesh border, the BSF said today.
The women were apprehended while they were trying to enter India from Bangladesh at around 3:30 pm last evening, they said.
According to the BSF, 52-year-old Lily Leima Devi, a resident of Manipur's Imphal West was the publicity secretary of the Revolutionary People's Front/PLA.
The other two women, 52-year-old Memma Devi was a PLA cadre and Laiman 34-year-old Chandra Rani a KYKL cadre with both from Komgkham village in Bishnupur district.
Chandra Rani reportedly told the BSF that her husband, Shoba Singh, was a top cadre of the KYKL.
Rs 2,49,400 in cash, gold items, mobile phone and personal luggage were seized.
The two others were minors identified as Ibngo and Shamila.
They were later handed over to Meghalaya police for interrogation.
The women were apprehended while they were trying to enter India from Bangladesh at around 3:30 pm last evening, they said.
According to the BSF, 52-year-old Lily Leima Devi, a resident of Manipur's Imphal West was the publicity secretary of the Revolutionary People's Front/PLA.
The other two women, 52-year-old Memma Devi was a PLA cadre and Laiman 34-year-old Chandra Rani a KYKL cadre with both from Komgkham village in Bishnupur district.
Chandra Rani reportedly told the BSF that her husband, Shoba Singh, was a top cadre of the KYKL.
Rs 2,49,400 in cash, gold items, mobile phone and personal luggage were seized.
The two others were minors identified as Ibngo and Shamila.
They were later handed over to Meghalaya police for interrogation.
Monday, May 21, 2012
DHD militant outfit to sign accord with Centre
The government of India is all set to sign a tripartite agreement next month with both the Dima Hasao Daogah factions, it is reliably learnt. The DHD (Nunisa) faction chief Dilip Nunisa along with some of his colleagues met the Joint Secretary (North East), Ministry Home Affairs, Shambhu Singh on Monday afternoon in the North Block and discussed in detail the terms and conditions of the draft agreement.
Describing this crucial meeting as an "unofficial" meeting, the DHD chief Dilip Nunisa said that his group has reiterated its demand for the "incorporation of all the contiguous villages with the present Dima Hasao district" for smooth passage of the proposed tripartite agreement.
However, the Indian government has categorically told Nunisa that only one contiguous village can be incorporated with the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district. He has been asked to accept whatever is offered to him. Otherwise, he would be "left behind" and the government would ink the tripartite agreement with the Jewell Garlosa faction of the DHD. The other faction has already signed the draft agreement.
Nunisa had earlier demanded incorporation of 94 contiguous villages with the existing Dima Hasao district from the neighbouring Cachar, Naogaon and Karbi Anglong districts. They also raised the issue of over 20,000 Dimasa tribe inhabited in Nagaland and demanded that the government make a special provision for the Dimasas of Nagaland as and when it signs an agreement with the NSCN leadership.
The government of India and the Assam government rejected the demand. Later, the DHD reduced the number of villages to 80 and asked for inclusion with the Dima Hasao district. The Assam government and the Central government officials made an on the spot survey and found out most of the claimed villages are several kilometers away from the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district.
The government had initially agreed to incorporate those villages that were within a distance of 10 kilometers from the existing boundary. However, the DHD group insisted that all the villages are "very much within ten kilometers distance of the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district.
Describing this crucial meeting as an "unofficial" meeting, the DHD chief Dilip Nunisa said that his group has reiterated its demand for the "incorporation of all the contiguous villages with the present Dima Hasao district" for smooth passage of the proposed tripartite agreement.
However, the Indian government has categorically told Nunisa that only one contiguous village can be incorporated with the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district. He has been asked to accept whatever is offered to him. Otherwise, he would be "left behind" and the government would ink the tripartite agreement with the Jewell Garlosa faction of the DHD. The other faction has already signed the draft agreement.
Nunisa had earlier demanded incorporation of 94 contiguous villages with the existing Dima Hasao district from the neighbouring Cachar, Naogaon and Karbi Anglong districts. They also raised the issue of over 20,000 Dimasa tribe inhabited in Nagaland and demanded that the government make a special provision for the Dimasas of Nagaland as and when it signs an agreement with the NSCN leadership.
The government of India and the Assam government rejected the demand. Later, the DHD reduced the number of villages to 80 and asked for inclusion with the Dima Hasao district. The Assam government and the Central government officials made an on the spot survey and found out most of the claimed villages are several kilometers away from the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district.
The government had initially agreed to incorporate those villages that were within a distance of 10 kilometers from the existing boundary. However, the DHD group insisted that all the villages are "very much within ten kilometers distance of the existing boundary of the Dima Hasao district.
NIA files charge sheet against 3 suspected Manipuri rebels
New Delhi, May 22 : In the first documentary evidence
submitted before a court about nexus between northeast
insurgents and Maoists, the NIA today filed a charge sheet
against three suspected Manipuri rebels for providing training
and supplying arms and ammunition to Naxal groups.
The case was filed before the designated court of NIA in
Guwahati against N Dilip Singh, Senjam Dhiren Singh alias
Raghu and Arnold Singh under various sections of Unlawful
(Activities) Prevention Act, an official spokesperson said.
Dilip, self-styled chief of the 'foreign external affairs
department' of banned terrorist organisation People's
Liberation Army, was arrested by Delhi Police, Dhiren was
nabbed by Kolkata Police and Arnold was picked up by NIA last
month, he said.
The three were charged with imparting training to the
cadres of banned CPI (Maoist) and supplying arms and
ammunition to them.
The National Investigation Agency had on July 11, 2011
registered a case on the basis of reliable information that
PLA, a banned terrorist group of Manipur, has formed alliance
with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) for procuring arms,
ammunition and communication devices for the latter for
carrying out terrorist activities.
The investigation indicated that in and around June 2006,
the PLA leadership met the top leaders of CPI (Maoist), which
followed several other meetings between the two groups in
2006-2008.
These meetings resulted in establishment of an office of
PLA in Kolkata towards the end of 2006 which started
coordinating activities of these outfits in procurement of
arms and ammunition and communication devices.
Ulfa's bomb-making unit busted; 2 held
Guwahati, May 22 : Security forces have busted a bomb-making unit of the banned outfit United liberation Front of Asom (UlFA) and arrested two people in this connection at the Assam-Meghalaya border, police said Monday. Some explosives and detonators were also recovered from the unit.
"Based on a specific tip-off, we launched a search operation in Agama area in lower Assam's Goalpara district Sunday night," said a senior official of Assam Police.
The area is located along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the district, he said.
"We have recovered about four kg of explosives, a detonator, some remote-control device. Two Ulfa linkmen - identified as Jyotisaran Boro and Bekingson Marak - were also arrested," he said.
Investigation is on to find out if there was any plan to carry out any subversive activities in and around Guwahati, police said.
Goalpara district has a strong presence of the UlFA and Garo Hills-based Garo National liberation Army (GNlA).
Meanwhile, in another incident, security forces Monday arrested two suspected cadres of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) from Kokrajhar district of lower Assam.
Two .9mm pistols, 24 rounds of live ammunition and some extortion notes addressed to some businessmen were recovered from their possession, police said.
"Based on a specific tip-off, we launched a search operation in Agama area in lower Assam's Goalpara district Sunday night," said a senior official of Assam Police.
The area is located along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the district, he said.
"We have recovered about four kg of explosives, a detonator, some remote-control device. Two Ulfa linkmen - identified as Jyotisaran Boro and Bekingson Marak - were also arrested," he said.
Investigation is on to find out if there was any plan to carry out any subversive activities in and around Guwahati, police said.
Goalpara district has a strong presence of the UlFA and Garo Hills-based Garo National liberation Army (GNlA).
Meanwhile, in another incident, security forces Monday arrested two suspected cadres of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) from Kokrajhar district of lower Assam.
Two .9mm pistols, 24 rounds of live ammunition and some extortion notes addressed to some businessmen were recovered from their possession, police said.
Friday, May 18, 2012
NSCN ultra injured in shootout in Assam
One NSCN ultra was injured in a shootout with security forces in Assam's hill district of Dima Hasao today.
Based on a tip off, a joint team of army and police raided remote Nrianam village at 3 pm, the police said.
The Naga ultras who were holed up in a house fired on the advancing security forces and in the ensuing gun battle one ultra was injured while his accomplices managed to escape into the dense jungle.
He was yet to be identified, the police said.
Based on a tip off, a joint team of army and police raided remote Nrianam village at 3 pm, the police said.
The Naga ultras who were holed up in a house fired on the advancing security forces and in the ensuing gun battle one ultra was injured while his accomplices managed to escape into the dense jungle.
He was yet to be identified, the police said.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
BSF apprehends Garo National Liberation Army linkman
SHILLONG: Acting on specific inputs, troops of the ex-50 battalion of the BSF deployed at the Maheshkhola border outpost in south Garo Hills district of Meghalaya apprehended one linkman of the recently outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) on Monday evening while carrying out a special operation.
The linkman, from Gadigiri village, was caught while infiltrating into Indian territory near border post 1188/2-S. He has been identified as Sonion Marak (32). The BSF troops recovered Bangladeshi currency (Taka 8,500), Indian currency (Rs 500) and one mobile phone with a Bangladesh sim card.
During preliminary questioning, Marak confessed that he was working with the GNLA and facilitating trans-border movement of GNLA cadres, an official at the Assam and Meghalaya frontier headquarters of the BSF here said. The apprehended person along with the seized items has been handed over to the concerned police station for necessary action.
Recently, BSF troops of stationed at Balughat in West Garo Hills recovered a bag containing heroine worth around Rs 2,50,000. BSF troops of Meghalaya frontier have been carrying out extensive operations on the border and apprehending militants, infiltrators and smugglers, a BSF spokesperson said.
In April, the BSF seized 688 bottles of phensedyl, 500 norphine injections and 1,535 bottles of liquor from the bordering areas. Besides, the troops also apprehend 11 smugglers, out of which seven were from Bangladesh and three from India. The BSF is taking all efforts to check smuggling of drugs and any other cross-border crime, the spokesperson iterated.
The linkman, from Gadigiri village, was caught while infiltrating into Indian territory near border post 1188/2-S. He has been identified as Sonion Marak (32). The BSF troops recovered Bangladeshi currency (Taka 8,500), Indian currency (Rs 500) and one mobile phone with a Bangladesh sim card.
During preliminary questioning, Marak confessed that he was working with the GNLA and facilitating trans-border movement of GNLA cadres, an official at the Assam and Meghalaya frontier headquarters of the BSF here said. The apprehended person along with the seized items has been handed over to the concerned police station for necessary action.
Recently, BSF troops of stationed at Balughat in West Garo Hills recovered a bag containing heroine worth around Rs 2,50,000. BSF troops of Meghalaya frontier have been carrying out extensive operations on the border and apprehending militants, infiltrators and smugglers, a BSF spokesperson said.
In April, the BSF seized 688 bottles of phensedyl, 500 norphine injections and 1,535 bottles of liquor from the bordering areas. Besides, the troops also apprehend 11 smugglers, out of which seven were from Bangladesh and three from India. The BSF is taking all efforts to check smuggling of drugs and any other cross-border crime, the spokesperson iterated.
Monday, May 14, 2012
NSCN-K bags autonomy in 3 Myanmar areas
Group hopes for peace and development in the Naga areas for a better future
NISHIT DHOLABHAI
New Delhi, May 15 : Myanmar has granted autonomy to the NSCN (Khaplang), a Naga rebel group, in three districts of Sagaing, an administrative region in the northwest of the country, bordering Nagaland and Manipur to its north.
Y. Wangtin Naga, an NSCN (Khaplang) leader from India who was one of the six signatories of the April 9 ceasefire with the Myanmar government, told this correspondent, “Nagas have autonomy in Lahe, Layse and Nanyang in Sagaing region and we are looking for self-administration in more Naga populated districts in Kachin.”
Having struck a peace deal with Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar, the rebels are hoping it will give them greater bargaining power with New Delhi.
“This is the first time in 70 years of Naga fighting that any organisation has signed agreements with two countries,” Wantin said.
The Khaplang cadres, who are now free to move unarmed anywhere in Myanmar, also want self-administration in the Naga areas of Mawlaik, Phongpyn and Homlin in Sagaing and Tanai (Teniang) and Shingbwiyang areas in Kachin state.
The group has managed to extract wee-bits of concessions by getting a ceasefire office at Khamti in northwest Myanmar and promises for developing roads, bridges and school buildings besides medical facilities in the districts already under self-administration.
Asked about democracy and the outfit’s view of National Democratic League leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangtin said the group had decided to keep silent and watch rather than comment on the political developments in Myanmar. He added that his group “respects” the Nobel laureate.
It was probably the new democratic movement that pushed Naypyidaw to begin striking peace deals. Wangtin, however, insisted that decks were being cleared for the talks at least for the past two years.
One belief has now become fundamental — without development, there is no future and without peace there won’t be development.
“The ceasefire (in Myanmar) was on public demand. Unless the economy is developed, people will be doomed,” said Wangtin, dressed immaculately in a crisp branded designer shirt and jeans, a departure from the camouflaged cargos and sweat-stained shirts worn in the humid jungles of Myanmar.
With peace and development as the new bywords, the Naga districts of Sagaing region, which has just one motorable road — the Ledo-Kunming Stilwell road built during World War II — are hungry for connectivity. Dirt roads are being built in Lahe, Shingbwiyang and Nanyang areas.
Wangtin, the first Indian rebel leader perhaps to go and sign an official deal with another country, also wants to keep peace on this side. His outfit had signed a ceasefire with New Delhi in 2001. Last week, it extended it for a year. “But talk from your hearts with Nagas, not simply with your minds,” he said in a veiled hint in favour of negotiation.
He said his group would remain silent on relations with the other rival Naga groups and rebel groups like Ulfa and those based in Manipur valley.
In the meantime, the outfit’s chairman, S.S. Khaplang, is trying to keep his flock together.
The group’s mix of ethnicity was also seen in the composition of the delegation that signed the ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government at Khamti on April 9. Among the other five signatories were senior leaders Chowangsing and Angkan (both kilonsers or ministers), “brigadier” Angmei of Tangsang Naga tribe, Tikhak of Tangsa tribe, and a regional council member, Shanwang. Only Wangtin, a Konyak from Mon district of Nagaland, was an Indian.
“We had a precondition that three languages should be used while negotiating: Nagamese, English and Burmese,” Wangtin said. Accordingly, a Naga from Nagaland but with knowledge of Burmese was used as an interpreter that day.
The NSCN (K) was formed in 1988 after a power struggle in the undivided NSCN that was formed in 1980. Groups loyal to Khaplang dominate the Naga areas in Myanmar, an area estimated to be four times the Nagaland state.
In India, however, the NSCN faction led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah is more powerful and in talks with the government of India for the past 15 years. Both factions are at loggerheads.
For both the groups, Naga identity and culture are of utmost importance — a fact that has a bearing on both geography and politics.
The Naga areas of Myanmar and India, just as within India across Manipur and Nagaland, are contiguous.
But the insensitivity in demarcation is glaring. A story goes that in the seventies, during demarcation of the India-Myanmar (then Burma) border, nine wives of the Longwa village angh (king) woke up one morning to find themselves in Burma — the angh had 20 wives, 11 of them living in India. To this day, the international border passes through the centre of this village in Mon district. “The British white men started the division,” said Wangtin.
NISHIT DHOLABHAI
New Delhi, May 15 : Myanmar has granted autonomy to the NSCN (Khaplang), a Naga rebel group, in three districts of Sagaing, an administrative region in the northwest of the country, bordering Nagaland and Manipur to its north.
Y. Wangtin Naga, an NSCN (Khaplang) leader from India who was one of the six signatories of the April 9 ceasefire with the Myanmar government, told this correspondent, “Nagas have autonomy in Lahe, Layse and Nanyang in Sagaing region and we are looking for self-administration in more Naga populated districts in Kachin.”
Having struck a peace deal with Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar, the rebels are hoping it will give them greater bargaining power with New Delhi.
“This is the first time in 70 years of Naga fighting that any organisation has signed agreements with two countries,” Wantin said.
The Khaplang cadres, who are now free to move unarmed anywhere in Myanmar, also want self-administration in the Naga areas of Mawlaik, Phongpyn and Homlin in Sagaing and Tanai (Teniang) and Shingbwiyang areas in Kachin state.
The group has managed to extract wee-bits of concessions by getting a ceasefire office at Khamti in northwest Myanmar and promises for developing roads, bridges and school buildings besides medical facilities in the districts already under self-administration.
Asked about democracy and the outfit’s view of National Democratic League leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangtin said the group had decided to keep silent and watch rather than comment on the political developments in Myanmar. He added that his group “respects” the Nobel laureate.
It was probably the new democratic movement that pushed Naypyidaw to begin striking peace deals. Wangtin, however, insisted that decks were being cleared for the talks at least for the past two years.
One belief has now become fundamental — without development, there is no future and without peace there won’t be development.
“The ceasefire (in Myanmar) was on public demand. Unless the economy is developed, people will be doomed,” said Wangtin, dressed immaculately in a crisp branded designer shirt and jeans, a departure from the camouflaged cargos and sweat-stained shirts worn in the humid jungles of Myanmar.
With peace and development as the new bywords, the Naga districts of Sagaing region, which has just one motorable road — the Ledo-Kunming Stilwell road built during World War II — are hungry for connectivity. Dirt roads are being built in Lahe, Shingbwiyang and Nanyang areas.
Wangtin, the first Indian rebel leader perhaps to go and sign an official deal with another country, also wants to keep peace on this side. His outfit had signed a ceasefire with New Delhi in 2001. Last week, it extended it for a year. “But talk from your hearts with Nagas, not simply with your minds,” he said in a veiled hint in favour of negotiation.
He said his group would remain silent on relations with the other rival Naga groups and rebel groups like Ulfa and those based in Manipur valley.
In the meantime, the outfit’s chairman, S.S. Khaplang, is trying to keep his flock together.
The group’s mix of ethnicity was also seen in the composition of the delegation that signed the ceasefire agreement with the Myanmar government at Khamti on April 9. Among the other five signatories were senior leaders Chowangsing and Angkan (both kilonsers or ministers), “brigadier” Angmei of Tangsang Naga tribe, Tikhak of Tangsa tribe, and a regional council member, Shanwang. Only Wangtin, a Konyak from Mon district of Nagaland, was an Indian.
“We had a precondition that three languages should be used while negotiating: Nagamese, English and Burmese,” Wangtin said. Accordingly, a Naga from Nagaland but with knowledge of Burmese was used as an interpreter that day.
The NSCN (K) was formed in 1988 after a power struggle in the undivided NSCN that was formed in 1980. Groups loyal to Khaplang dominate the Naga areas in Myanmar, an area estimated to be four times the Nagaland state.
In India, however, the NSCN faction led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah is more powerful and in talks with the government of India for the past 15 years. Both factions are at loggerheads.
For both the groups, Naga identity and culture are of utmost importance — a fact that has a bearing on both geography and politics.
The Naga areas of Myanmar and India, just as within India across Manipur and Nagaland, are contiguous.
But the insensitivity in demarcation is glaring. A story goes that in the seventies, during demarcation of the India-Myanmar (then Burma) border, nine wives of the Longwa village angh (king) woke up one morning to find themselves in Burma — the angh had 20 wives, 11 of them living in India. To this day, the international border passes through the centre of this village in Mon district. “The British white men started the division,” said Wangtin.
Tripura fears rebel rerun
Agartala, May 15 : The Tripura government is worried over the prospect of resurgence of militancy in the state in the run-up to the next Assembly elections, slated tentatively for February 2013.
Though rebel groups have been lying low over the past few years following largescale desertion and surrender by cadres along with vigorous anti-insurgency operations, the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has allegedly initiated low-key activities like abduction of farmers from remote areas bordering Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
Last year, rebels of the outfit had abducted 32 indigenous people, mostly farmers, at gunpoint from remote areas under Raisyabari and Damcherra police stations. While 24 of them returned home safely, the remaining eight reportedly died in rebel custody.
On May 7, four more farmers — Pradhanjay Tripura, Charmajay Tripura, Mongchang Tripura, and Rabijay Tripura — were abducted by the outfit from Bhagirathpara village along the Indo-Bangla border. A ransom of Rs 2 lakh has been demanded for release of the quartet, who are still in militant custody.
A source from the special branch (intelligence wing) of state police said the outfit had always stepped up activities in the run-up to Assembly polls since 1983 and the current year “should be no exception”.
“They have become weak over the past nine years and cannot do much to disrupt the polls. Given a chance, they may even surrender. What they want is political concession as given earlier to Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) in 1988, but the Left Front will never give any such thing to the rebels,” the source said.
He said Tripura State Rifles camps were still in place in strategic areas to prevent movement of militants within the state from bordering areas and these camps would be further strengthened. “Our report is that the militants are planning to attack TSR camps in remote areas for scaring them away, but it will not be easy because over the years the TSR has proved its mettle as a fighting force and this is the only force feared by the militants,” the official said.
He added that stray abductions or killings might mar the polls preparations but NLFT would not be in a position to cause largescale disturbance.
Though rebel groups have been lying low over the past few years following largescale desertion and surrender by cadres along with vigorous anti-insurgency operations, the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has allegedly initiated low-key activities like abduction of farmers from remote areas bordering Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
Last year, rebels of the outfit had abducted 32 indigenous people, mostly farmers, at gunpoint from remote areas under Raisyabari and Damcherra police stations. While 24 of them returned home safely, the remaining eight reportedly died in rebel custody.
On May 7, four more farmers — Pradhanjay Tripura, Charmajay Tripura, Mongchang Tripura, and Rabijay Tripura — were abducted by the outfit from Bhagirathpara village along the Indo-Bangla border. A ransom of Rs 2 lakh has been demanded for release of the quartet, who are still in militant custody.
A source from the special branch (intelligence wing) of state police said the outfit had always stepped up activities in the run-up to Assembly polls since 1983 and the current year “should be no exception”.
“They have become weak over the past nine years and cannot do much to disrupt the polls. Given a chance, they may even surrender. What they want is political concession as given earlier to Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) in 1988, but the Left Front will never give any such thing to the rebels,” the source said.
He said Tripura State Rifles camps were still in place in strategic areas to prevent movement of militants within the state from bordering areas and these camps would be further strengthened. “Our report is that the militants are planning to attack TSR camps in remote areas for scaring them away, but it will not be easy because over the years the TSR has proved its mettle as a fighting force and this is the only force feared by the militants,” the official said.
He added that stray abductions or killings might mar the polls preparations but NLFT would not be in a position to cause largescale disturbance.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Dima Halam Daoga's call halts work on national projects for 36 hours
SILCHAR: What is considered as a threat to the much-hyped normalcy in the once-troubled Dima Hasao district of Assam - the ongoing work on the Lumding-Silchar gauge conversion project under Northeast Frontier Railway and the Silchar-Saurastra East-West Corridor under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the Barail Hill range - came to a halt for 36 hours in response to a call given by Dima Halam Daoga (DHD), a surrendered militant outfit.
All work on the gauge conversion project from Ditekcherra to Mandardisa across the hill district and the East-West corridor at different points, including Maibang and Jatinga, was stopped from 5am on Tuesday to 5pm on Wednesday, causing a setback in the normal progress of the mega national projects. DHD also called for work to be stopped on ONGC and Neepco projects in the district.
"Work on the projects, including the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge conversion and the East-West Corridor - was stopped during the period. Construction companies complained of huge losses due to the action of the DHD," said a senior official in Haflong on Wednesday. However, the 'programme' of the outfit passed off peacefully. There was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the district, he added.
A spokesman of DHD, which is led by chairman Dilip Nunisa, said they called the agitation programme in protest against the government's lack of initiative in taking forward the ongoing peace talks with DHD over the past decade. "This is the first phase of our 'action'. If the government fails to respond to our demand, we will call for a complete halt of the work on the national projects in the district."
"Our 700 cadres who have been living in five designated camps in Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong district are on the verge of losing patience. We will be compelled to go back to the jungles if the government fails to respond to our demand and create a Dima Raji state," the spokesman said.
DHD surrendered arms on January 1, 2003 and is under a peace agreement with the Centre. The outfit has been demanding a separate state called Dima Raji comprising Assam's Dima Hasao, parts of Cachar, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Nagaland's Dimapur area. The Centre is yet to give any response to the demand.
The national projects in question that run through Dima Hasao were affected by the law and order problems in the district - extortion, killing and kidnappings by Dimasas, Nagas and other militant outfits were rampant. However, the surrender of major Dimasa outfits over the years helped put the projects back on track.
Under such circumstances, the fresh threat of the DHD is a nightmare for the region. All Barak Youths-Students' Association criticised DHD saying that the leaders of the surrendered militant outfit have been working as agents of the "transport lobby" in an aim to derail the rail and road projects. ABYSA said the projects in question have been languishing for decades only because of "influence of the transport lobby on the railway and government machineries."
All work on the gauge conversion project from Ditekcherra to Mandardisa across the hill district and the East-West corridor at different points, including Maibang and Jatinga, was stopped from 5am on Tuesday to 5pm on Wednesday, causing a setback in the normal progress of the mega national projects. DHD also called for work to be stopped on ONGC and Neepco projects in the district.
"Work on the projects, including the Lumding-Silchar broad gauge conversion and the East-West Corridor - was stopped during the period. Construction companies complained of huge losses due to the action of the DHD," said a senior official in Haflong on Wednesday. However, the 'programme' of the outfit passed off peacefully. There was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the district, he added.
A spokesman of DHD, which is led by chairman Dilip Nunisa, said they called the agitation programme in protest against the government's lack of initiative in taking forward the ongoing peace talks with DHD over the past decade. "This is the first phase of our 'action'. If the government fails to respond to our demand, we will call for a complete halt of the work on the national projects in the district."
"Our 700 cadres who have been living in five designated camps in Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong district are on the verge of losing patience. We will be compelled to go back to the jungles if the government fails to respond to our demand and create a Dima Raji state," the spokesman said.
DHD surrendered arms on January 1, 2003 and is under a peace agreement with the Centre. The outfit has been demanding a separate state called Dima Raji comprising Assam's Dima Hasao, parts of Cachar, Karbi Anglong, Nagaon and Nagaland's Dimapur area. The Centre is yet to give any response to the demand.
The national projects in question that run through Dima Hasao were affected by the law and order problems in the district - extortion, killing and kidnappings by Dimasas, Nagas and other militant outfits were rampant. However, the surrender of major Dimasa outfits over the years helped put the projects back on track.
Under such circumstances, the fresh threat of the DHD is a nightmare for the region. All Barak Youths-Students' Association criticised DHD saying that the leaders of the surrendered militant outfit have been working as agents of the "transport lobby" in an aim to derail the rail and road projects. ABYSA said the projects in question have been languishing for decades only because of "influence of the transport lobby on the railway and government machineries."
India Maoists rebels killed in Assam
The Maoists are active in more than a third of India's 600-odd districts
Four
suspected Maoists rebels have been killed in a firefight with the
police in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, officials say.
One policeman was also injured in the fighting which took place in Tinsukia district early on Wednesday.Among those killed in Wednesday's incident was Sanjeev, a local Maoist commander, officials said.
The Maoists have recently spread into the north-east, gaining a foothold in strategically located border states.
They are filling the void created by dwindling ethnic insurgent groups like the Ulfa.
The Maoists are active in more than a third of India's 600-odd districts.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described them as the biggest internal security challenge facing India.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Recruitment of child soldiers opposed
IMPHAL, May 8 – Six students’ organisations in Manipur have started their first phase of agitation opposing recruitment of child soldiers by banned armed outfits operating in the State, and the mysterious death of Richard Loitam in Bangalore.
The AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SWAK and SUK held a meeting here yesterday after which a sit-in protest was held. Government offices will be locked up from May 8, if there is no suitable response from the State Government in regard to the case of recruitment of child soldiers and the alleged murder of Richard in Bangalore.
4 Bangla juvenile delinquents flee
Agartala, May 7 – Four Bangladeshi juvenile delinquents have fled from a juvenile home near Agartala airport, police said.
Three of the four juveniles were arrested with another Bangla national on the charge of stealing at Krishnanagar area here. The juveniles were kept in the juvenile home, but they fled from there with another inmate through a defective collapsible gate, sources said.
Police has launched a search operation and alerted BSF to keep vigil to prevent the juveniles from sneaking back into Bangladesh.
The AMSU, MSF, DESAM, KSA, SWAK and SUK held a meeting here yesterday after which a sit-in protest was held. Government offices will be locked up from May 8, if there is no suitable response from the State Government in regard to the case of recruitment of child soldiers and the alleged murder of Richard in Bangalore.
4 Bangla juvenile delinquents flee
Agartala, May 7 – Four Bangladeshi juvenile delinquents have fled from a juvenile home near Agartala airport, police said.
Three of the four juveniles were arrested with another Bangla national on the charge of stealing at Krishnanagar area here. The juveniles were kept in the juvenile home, but they fled from there with another inmate through a defective collapsible gate, sources said.
Police has launched a search operation and alerted BSF to keep vigil to prevent the juveniles from sneaking back into Bangladesh.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Another Naga outfit signs ceasefire pact
New Delhi: The Kitovi-Khole faction of the Naga Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) has signed the ceasefire agreement with the Centre, but refused give up its arms before a final solution to the decades old Indo-Naga issue is reached.
Addressing media here, N Kitovi Zhimoni, the Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister) of the government of the People's Republic of Nagaland (GPRN) -NSCN said: "We are ready to resolve all issues peacefully with the GoI (Government of India) within a democratic framework.”
The year-long ceasefire came into effect from April 28 and a formal announcement of the peace talks is expected soon.
Supervisor C Singson and “Lt. Gen” NB Neokpao signed on behalf of the NSCN outfit, while Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary (North East) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, signed on behalf of the government.
Earlier on Friday, Joint Secretary Singh revealed that the Centre is positive about the outcome of the discussions that have taken place so far.
Addressing media here, N Kitovi Zhimoni, the Ato Kilonser (Prime Minister) of the government of the People's Republic of Nagaland (GPRN) -NSCN said: "We are ready to resolve all issues peacefully with the GoI (Government of India) within a democratic framework.”
The year-long ceasefire came into effect from April 28 and a formal announcement of the peace talks is expected soon.
Supervisor C Singson and “Lt. Gen” NB Neokpao signed on behalf of the NSCN outfit, while Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary (North East) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, signed on behalf of the government.
Earlier on Friday, Joint Secretary Singh revealed that the Centre is positive about the outcome of the discussions that have taken place so far.
ULFA sets 3-month deadline for its chairman to return
The anti-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam on Sunday made the 'last' call to its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, to come back to the fold of the parent outfit (unbound ULFA) and resume the responsibility of the 'chairman' by giving up the 'unrealistic' path of dialogue with the government to protect the identify of Assamese people without attaining 'sovereignty' for Assam.
The ULFA (anti-talks) given three-months time for Rajkhowa to respond to this or, 'someone suitable' would be appointed in the position to carry forward the 'fight of the ULFA to attain sovereignty' of Assam.
In a statement issued to the media, ULFA's assistant publicity secretary, Arunodoy Assam also called upon all those who were now with Rajkhowa to come back to continue with the struggle for 'sovereignty of Assam' that can't be negotiable at all.
The ULFA statement said, "Everybody knows that the sole aim of the ULFA is to establish a sovereign Assam, respecting the right of self-determination of indigenous people and weighing the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the geographical area to bring into practice scientific socialism."
"But at the moment our chairman (Rajkhowa) being detached from the organisation and living at his residence under bail conditions imposed by the colonial administration and surrounded by bodyguards provided by the enemy power in the name of so called dialogue with the government, is talking off an accord that is not tune with the avowed goals of the ULFA," it said.
"Sovereignty and independence is not negotiable which he (Rajkhowa) used to maintain many a times from the chair. But after being in the prison he has stopped insisting of sovereignty demand and has been talking about safeguarding the identity of Assam along with some minor issues and this has been baffling for the ULFA and the people of Assam," the statement said.
It may be mentioned that the ULFA chairman of many of his senior colleagues were arrested in Bangladesh over two years back and handed over to Indian authorities. He was thrown into jail before releasing on bail so that he could take part in a dialogue with the government. However, the faction of the outfit led by the 'commander in chief' Paresh Barua has remained out of the dialogue process as it was not game to talk on any other issues other than the demand for sovereignty of Assam.
The ULFA (anti-talks) given three-months time for Rajkhowa to respond to this or, 'someone suitable' would be appointed in the position to carry forward the 'fight of the ULFA to attain sovereignty' of Assam.
In a statement issued to the media, ULFA's assistant publicity secretary, Arunodoy Assam also called upon all those who were now with Rajkhowa to come back to continue with the struggle for 'sovereignty of Assam' that can't be negotiable at all.
The ULFA statement said, "Everybody knows that the sole aim of the ULFA is to establish a sovereign Assam, respecting the right of self-determination of indigenous people and weighing the socio-economic conditions prevailing in the geographical area to bring into practice scientific socialism."
"But at the moment our chairman (Rajkhowa) being detached from the organisation and living at his residence under bail conditions imposed by the colonial administration and surrounded by bodyguards provided by the enemy power in the name of so called dialogue with the government, is talking off an accord that is not tune with the avowed goals of the ULFA," it said.
"Sovereignty and independence is not negotiable which he (Rajkhowa) used to maintain many a times from the chair. But after being in the prison he has stopped insisting of sovereignty demand and has been talking about safeguarding the identity of Assam along with some minor issues and this has been baffling for the ULFA and the people of Assam," the statement said.
It may be mentioned that the ULFA chairman of many of his senior colleagues were arrested in Bangladesh over two years back and handed over to Indian authorities. He was thrown into jail before releasing on bail so that he could take part in a dialogue with the government. However, the faction of the outfit led by the 'commander in chief' Paresh Barua has remained out of the dialogue process as it was not game to talk on any other issues other than the demand for sovereignty of Assam.
Four anti-talks NDFB cadres nabbed in Assam
Guwahati, May 2 : Troops from the Red Horns division of the Indian Army, based in Udalguri district of lower Assam, have arrested four hardcore cadres of the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) from a remote location on the Indo-Bhutan border in the district, an official said Monday.
The troops also recovered two pistols, four hand grenades, magazines, live ammunition and extortion notes of the outfit from the possession of the cadres in an operation Sunday.
"Acting on a tip off, an operation was launched in the wee hours Sunday close to the forested foothills bordering Bhutan in the district and the four cadres, along with arms and ammunition, were arrested," a spokesman of the Red Horns Division said Monday.
The foothills of Bhutan have for long served as hideouts and camps for a host of militant groups due to the thick forests and inaccessibility.
The troops also recovered two pistols, four hand grenades, magazines, live ammunition and extortion notes of the outfit from the possession of the cadres in an operation Sunday.
"Acting on a tip off, an operation was launched in the wee hours Sunday close to the forested foothills bordering Bhutan in the district and the four cadres, along with arms and ammunition, were arrested," a spokesman of the Red Horns Division said Monday.
The foothills of Bhutan have for long served as hideouts and camps for a host of militant groups due to the thick forests and inaccessibility.