Imphal, Mar 23 :
Troops of Red Shield Division reportedly apprehended two Hmar Peoples
Convention (Democratic) (HPC(D) cadres on March 19.Basedon specific
information regarding movement of armed HPC (D) cadres in general area
of Tuibong, troops of Red Shield Division established Mobile Vehicle
Check Post (MVCP) at Tuibong village area in Churachandpur district
leading to the arrest of the cadres.
identifying the arrested
persons as Laldikshak (27) s/o Mangaihlien of Saikot and Didi
vanlalthrate (28) s/o Kawai of Saikot, both in Churachandpur district, a
PIB (DW) release informed that two 7.65 mm Pistols (Baretta, Made in
USA and Japan) with six live rounds were recovered from their possession
at the time of their arrest.
Both individuals were later handed over to Police, it added.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Development not insurgency key issue in northeast
Agartala/Guwahati, March 19 (IANS): With regional parties failing to prove themselves in the northeast, both the Congress and the BJP have launched their best efforts to capture all 25 seats in the eight states of the region. However, development is a key issue in the region this time, overlooking the decades-old insurgency, experts say.
"People of the northeast want to forget about militancy. The region has diverse ethnic groups, languages and religions. Political parties have to be familiar with these issues during this election too," said Nani Gopal Mahanta, a professor of political science at Gauhati University and a well-known political analyst.
"In Assam, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have almost identical chances in at least 6-7 of the 14 seats. But in the other states, the Congress is ahead of the BJP. Regional parties have become insignificant this time," Mahanta told IANS.
With a population of over 45 million, the eight states comprising Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim, have 27 million eligible voters for the general elections.
"Six to seven percent vote swing on the basis of religion or ethnicity would be a factor for both Congress and BJP," he said. The Muslim community in the northeast, especially in Assam (33 percent of the population), would have its own impact.
Unlike in the 2009 polls, there is no pre-poll alliance this time between the BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
The AGP, which ruled Assam for two terms - 1985-1990 and 1996-2001 - has been suffering due to splits by senior leaders, many of whom left the party to join other political parties including the BJP.
Of the 25 seats in the region, 14 are in Assam, two each in Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. Congress secured 13 seats across the region in the 2009 polls.
While the BJP got four seats in Assam, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) got two seats in Tripura, Nationalist Congress Party secured one seat in Meghalaya, while the AGP, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) and Naga People's Front (NPF) bagged one seat each.
Congress is in power in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, the CPI-M led Left Front rules Tripura, the NPF-led Democratic Alliance in Nagaland and the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rules in Sikkim.
Of the 566 legislators in the eight states, BJP has five members in Assam, three in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Nagaland.
"Since insurgency has been tamed to a large extent, economic development and backwardness has replaced the militancy issue this time," said political analyst Tapas Dey, who toured the region extensively in recent weeks.
"The five-decade-old insurgency is no longer an election issue. People want development and welfare, education, high-quality health services and sanitation," Dey, also an author and columnist, told IANS.
Congress and BJP leaders say they will capture the maximum seats this time too.
S.S. Ahluwalia, the BJP's national vice president and party in-charge of northeast, said: "During the National Democratic Alliance regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a separate union ministry, DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region), was set up and the 'Look-East policy' was launched to promote the region."
"But the Congress-led government did not utilise the ministry for the development of the region," he told IANS.
Ahluwalia, who is contesting from Darjeeling in West Bengal, said many projects related to railways, roads and bridges launched by the NDA government have been put on hold.
"When Narendra Modi visited the northeast twice for campaigns, we received huge public response, brightening our party's prospects in the elections," he said.
However, rubbishing the BJP's claim, Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath said his party would show their best results this time, as state governments of the Congress have performed well in five of the states.
"The BJP's tally would be zero and Congress would get at least 20 out of 25 seats. This is 1,000 percent sure," Nath told IANS.
"People of the northeast want to forget about militancy. The region has diverse ethnic groups, languages and religions. Political parties have to be familiar with these issues during this election too," said Nani Gopal Mahanta, a professor of political science at Gauhati University and a well-known political analyst.
"In Assam, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have almost identical chances in at least 6-7 of the 14 seats. But in the other states, the Congress is ahead of the BJP. Regional parties have become insignificant this time," Mahanta told IANS.
With a population of over 45 million, the eight states comprising Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim, have 27 million eligible voters for the general elections.
"Six to seven percent vote swing on the basis of religion or ethnicity would be a factor for both Congress and BJP," he said. The Muslim community in the northeast, especially in Assam (33 percent of the population), would have its own impact.
Unlike in the 2009 polls, there is no pre-poll alliance this time between the BJP and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
The AGP, which ruled Assam for two terms - 1985-1990 and 1996-2001 - has been suffering due to splits by senior leaders, many of whom left the party to join other political parties including the BJP.
Of the 25 seats in the region, 14 are in Assam, two each in Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. Congress secured 13 seats across the region in the 2009 polls.
While the BJP got four seats in Assam, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) got two seats in Tripura, Nationalist Congress Party secured one seat in Meghalaya, while the AGP, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) and Naga People's Front (NPF) bagged one seat each.
Congress is in power in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, the CPI-M led Left Front rules Tripura, the NPF-led Democratic Alliance in Nagaland and the Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) rules in Sikkim.
Of the 566 legislators in the eight states, BJP has five members in Assam, three in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Nagaland.
"Since insurgency has been tamed to a large extent, economic development and backwardness has replaced the militancy issue this time," said political analyst Tapas Dey, who toured the region extensively in recent weeks.
"The five-decade-old insurgency is no longer an election issue. People want development and welfare, education, high-quality health services and sanitation," Dey, also an author and columnist, told IANS.
Congress and BJP leaders say they will capture the maximum seats this time too.
S.S. Ahluwalia, the BJP's national vice president and party in-charge of northeast, said: "During the National Democratic Alliance regime headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a separate union ministry, DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region), was set up and the 'Look-East policy' was launched to promote the region."
"But the Congress-led government did not utilise the ministry for the development of the region," he told IANS.
Ahluwalia, who is contesting from Darjeeling in West Bengal, said many projects related to railways, roads and bridges launched by the NDA government have been put on hold.
"When Narendra Modi visited the northeast twice for campaigns, we received huge public response, brightening our party's prospects in the elections," he said.
However, rubbishing the BJP's claim, Congress leader Ratan Lal Nath said his party would show their best results this time, as state governments of the Congress have performed well in five of the states.
"The BJP's tally would be zero and Congress would get at least 20 out of 25 seats. This is 1,000 percent sure," Nath told IANS.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
India Maoists kills 16 policemen in Chhattisgarh
India's prime minister has described the Maoists as the country's biggest internal security threat
Maoist rebels have killed at least 16 policemen in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, police say.
The patrol was on its way to provide security to workers
building a road in Sukma district when rebels fired at them, officials
say.Twenty-five policemen were injured in the attack, senior police officer Mukesh Gupta told BBC Hindi.
Chhattisgarh is a stronghold of the rebels who say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.
The Maoists are active in more than a third of India's 600 districts and control large areas of several states in a "red corridor" stretching from north-east to central India.
Tuesday's ambush happened in the Tongpal area of Sukma.
It is not clear whether the rebels suffered any casualties.
Last May, rebels attacked a convoy carrying state Congress leaders and party workers in Sukma, killing 27 people, including some top state politicians.
And in April 2012, rebels kidnapped a senior government official in the district, which is part of the Maoist-dominated Bastar region. Alex Paul Menon was freed after 12 days in captivity.
The Maoist insurgency began in West Bengal state in the late 1960s and has become, according to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the country's "greatest internal security challenge".
Major military and police offensives in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and levels of violence have fallen.
But hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing hundreds of people every year.
Khaplang loses cadre in feud
Kohima, March 12 : A militant was injured during a shootout between cadres of the Khaplang and Khole-Kitovi factions of the National Socialist Council at Old Ministers’ Hill here.
The injured militant is a cadre of the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) faction.
The incident took place a few metres from the official residence of home minister G. Kaito Aye.
Police rushed to the area but failed to arrest anyone. Posh areas like Old and New Ministers’ hill have become safe havens for the militants.
NSCN (K) spokesman Sangso Mongzar claimed militants from the rival outfit fired upon them first and the cadres intentionally shot the man in the leg and left him at the spot.
“We did not want to create a situation so we did not take his life,” Mongzar said.
The two factions have been waging a turf war after the split of NSCN (K) in 2011. Dozens of cadres from both the groups have been killed in factional clashes.
Recently, a top functionary of the NSCN (K), Kughalu Mulatonu, defected to the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) with four other cadres.
An NSCN (K) source said one of its cadres was shot dead today in Arunachal Pradesh during an encounter with the Assam Rifles.
“Our boys were ambushed by the Assam Rifles,” the source said.
The injured militant is a cadre of the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) faction.
The incident took place a few metres from the official residence of home minister G. Kaito Aye.
Police rushed to the area but failed to arrest anyone. Posh areas like Old and New Ministers’ hill have become safe havens for the militants.
NSCN (K) spokesman Sangso Mongzar claimed militants from the rival outfit fired upon them first and the cadres intentionally shot the man in the leg and left him at the spot.
“We did not want to create a situation so we did not take his life,” Mongzar said.
The two factions have been waging a turf war after the split of NSCN (K) in 2011. Dozens of cadres from both the groups have been killed in factional clashes.
Recently, a top functionary of the NSCN (K), Kughalu Mulatonu, defected to the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) with four other cadres.
An NSCN (K) source said one of its cadres was shot dead today in Arunachal Pradesh during an encounter with the Assam Rifles.
“Our boys were ambushed by the Assam Rifles,” the source said.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Three arms smugglers held in Meghalaya, Assam
Two arms smugglers were arrested in Meghalaya Monday with a cache of arms and ammunition meant for Garo rebels while another was held in Assam with over Rs.1 lakh in cash to buy the weapons, police said.
The arms were smuggled out from Assam' Karbi Anglong district and were to be supplied to the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) outfit, a police official said.
A vehicle loaded with weapons was intercepted and three AK-series rifles and 150 rounds of ammunition were seized in Williamnagar town, Inspector General of Police (Operations) G.H.P. Raju told IANS.
Williamnagar, about 300 km west of Shillong, is the headquarters of East Garo Hills district.
The arrested people were identified as Jotin Marak, Mintu Das and Sagar Chism - all from Karbi Anglong.
"Based on the confession of Marak and Das, Assam Police arrested Sagar Chism from Guwahati and recovered Rs.1,22,900 in cash from his possession which was sent by GNLA military wing chief Sohan D. Shira as advance payment for the arms and ammunition," Raju said.
All the three arrested smugglers are also members of the United Democratic People's Solidarity (UDPS), a rebel group operating in Karbi Anglong.
The arms were smuggled out from Assam' Karbi Anglong district and were to be supplied to the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) outfit, a police official said.
A vehicle loaded with weapons was intercepted and three AK-series rifles and 150 rounds of ammunition were seized in Williamnagar town, Inspector General of Police (Operations) G.H.P. Raju told IANS.
Williamnagar, about 300 km west of Shillong, is the headquarters of East Garo Hills district.
The arrested people were identified as Jotin Marak, Mintu Das and Sagar Chism - all from Karbi Anglong.
"Based on the confession of Marak and Das, Assam Police arrested Sagar Chism from Guwahati and recovered Rs.1,22,900 in cash from his possession which was sent by GNLA military wing chief Sohan D. Shira as advance payment for the arms and ammunition," Raju said.
All the three arrested smugglers are also members of the United Democratic People's Solidarity (UDPS), a rebel group operating in Karbi Anglong.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
GNLA plea for peace
SAIDUL KHAN
Tura, Mar 6 : The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) today appealed United Church Peace Forum and advocate Sujit Dey to act as a mediator to facilitate peace talks with Meghalaya governor K.K. Paul.
A statement issued by its commander-in-chief, Sohan D. Shira said, “We urge the governor to approve the name of advocate Sujit Dey and United Church Peace Forum to facilitate peace talks.”
Sohan’s remark comes a day after the outfit’s political secretary Bikdot Marak said the GNLA was prepared for military action.
“We would like to officially start communication with the governor. Our chairman Champion Sangma will start his communication with the governor,” said Sohan.
The statement also said, “This press release should be treated as an official document for the purpose till the approval of the said mediator.”
On Monday, the GNLA had justified its demand by saying, “We have our own ideology and our ideology contains explanation of facts and history, justification of demands and faith in the ultimate truth of our causes.”
“The GNLA is demanding creation of a separate Garoland state and Bikdot Marak justified this demand. It is a political and social need,” Sohan said. He claimed that anti-Garoland rallies are sponsored by the government.
Bikdot Marak asserted that the GNLA stands for the cause of Garo hills. “If the government is not willing to hold talks with the GNLA, we are prepared to adopt military action. Mukul has underestimated our willingness to come forward.”
On February 24, Marak had said the GNLA was not afraid of any operation against it and its decision to come forward for peace talks was based purely on an appeal made by the governor.
On February 17, the GNLA had expressed its willingness to come forward for peace talks only after the release of its jailed chairman Champion Sangma. Mukul had said the government would examine the “situation and their demand”.
“It is important for the government to understand the situation and then take a call,” the chief minister added.
Tura, Mar 6 : The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) today appealed United Church Peace Forum and advocate Sujit Dey to act as a mediator to facilitate peace talks with Meghalaya governor K.K. Paul.
A statement issued by its commander-in-chief, Sohan D. Shira said, “We urge the governor to approve the name of advocate Sujit Dey and United Church Peace Forum to facilitate peace talks.”
Sohan’s remark comes a day after the outfit’s political secretary Bikdot Marak said the GNLA was prepared for military action.
“We would like to officially start communication with the governor. Our chairman Champion Sangma will start his communication with the governor,” said Sohan.
The statement also said, “This press release should be treated as an official document for the purpose till the approval of the said mediator.”
On Monday, the GNLA had justified its demand by saying, “We have our own ideology and our ideology contains explanation of facts and history, justification of demands and faith in the ultimate truth of our causes.”
“The GNLA is demanding creation of a separate Garoland state and Bikdot Marak justified this demand. It is a political and social need,” Sohan said. He claimed that anti-Garoland rallies are sponsored by the government.
Bikdot Marak asserted that the GNLA stands for the cause of Garo hills. “If the government is not willing to hold talks with the GNLA, we are prepared to adopt military action. Mukul has underestimated our willingness to come forward.”
On February 24, Marak had said the GNLA was not afraid of any operation against it and its decision to come forward for peace talks was based purely on an appeal made by the governor.
On February 17, the GNLA had expressed its willingness to come forward for peace talks only after the release of its jailed chairman Champion Sangma. Mukul had said the government would examine the “situation and their demand”.
“It is important for the government to understand the situation and then take a call,” the chief minister added.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
NE ultras aiding each other in Myanmar
R Dutta choudhury
GUWAHATI, March 5 – The militant outfits having bases in Myanmar have started using each others’ facilities for logistic support and even training following dwindling of their strength and flow of funds.
Meanwhile, despite having signed a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India, the NSCN(K) is still allowing the active militant groups to use its bases in the neighbouring country.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that according to information available with the security agencies, discussions among the militant groups of the region are still on to give a final shape to the proposed platform of all the outfits of the region and the commander-in-chief of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), Paresh Baruah, is playing a key role in this regard.
However, sharing of logistics between the militant groups has started, as such sharing is beneficial for all the groups. However, most of the bases of the North Eastern militants in Myanmar are still located in the Taga area.
Sources said that the NSCN(K) is allowing the other militant groups to use its logistics in return of payment of money, and recently there have been reports of the Naga outfit putting pressure on Paresh Baruah over the failure of the ULFA(I) to make the payments for months. During a recent visit to the Taga area, Baruah even faced pressure from the NSCN(K) members on the payment issue, sources added.
Security sources revealed that the militant groups are procuring rice and other materials from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland because of shortage of food items in the area where they are based in Myanmar. The high price of rice in that area of Myanmar also forced the fund-starved outfits to take food items all the way from India.
On the activities of the ULFA(I), sources said that the outfit is keeping a low profile for some time and some demand notes were sent through linkmen, particularly in upper Assam districts. But of late, there were no report of transfer of substantial amount of fund from India to the camps of the outfits in Myanmar. According to reports available, the ULFA(I) is facing a major financial crisis in the camps in the neighbouring country and there have been instances when the outfit even faced problems in the day-to-day running of the camps due to shortage of money.
GUWAHATI, March 5 – The militant outfits having bases in Myanmar have started using each others’ facilities for logistic support and even training following dwindling of their strength and flow of funds.
Meanwhile, despite having signed a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India, the NSCN(K) is still allowing the active militant groups to use its bases in the neighbouring country.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that according to information available with the security agencies, discussions among the militant groups of the region are still on to give a final shape to the proposed platform of all the outfits of the region and the commander-in-chief of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), Paresh Baruah, is playing a key role in this regard.
However, sharing of logistics between the militant groups has started, as such sharing is beneficial for all the groups. However, most of the bases of the North Eastern militants in Myanmar are still located in the Taga area.
Sources said that the NSCN(K) is allowing the other militant groups to use its logistics in return of payment of money, and recently there have been reports of the Naga outfit putting pressure on Paresh Baruah over the failure of the ULFA(I) to make the payments for months. During a recent visit to the Taga area, Baruah even faced pressure from the NSCN(K) members on the payment issue, sources added.
Security sources revealed that the militant groups are procuring rice and other materials from Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland because of shortage of food items in the area where they are based in Myanmar. The high price of rice in that area of Myanmar also forced the fund-starved outfits to take food items all the way from India.
On the activities of the ULFA(I), sources said that the outfit is keeping a low profile for some time and some demand notes were sent through linkmen, particularly in upper Assam districts. But of late, there were no report of transfer of substantial amount of fund from India to the camps of the outfits in Myanmar. According to reports available, the ULFA(I) is facing a major financial crisis in the camps in the neighbouring country and there have been instances when the outfit even faced problems in the day-to-day running of the camps due to shortage of money.
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