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08/07/2005: "Firing reported near NH 39 in Manipur"


Firing reported near NH 39 in Manipur NDTV Correspondent

,(Imphal): A day after the Centre decided to airlift essential supplies to Manipur, things seem to have eased a bit in the state. The Manipur police today managed to send a convoy carrying essential supplies for the state. There are also reports of firing at Senapati district in Manipur, a Naga-inhabited area near National Highway 39 that connects Imphal to the rest of the North East. Reports suggest that there was a crossfire between Manipur forces and Naga groups.

Grave situation The state has been hit by a six-week-old economic blockade by a Naga group. The price of a cylinder of cooking gas has shot up to Rs 700 while a litre of petrol costs Rs 80. After acknowledging the gravity of the situation, the Home ministry airlifted 45 tonnes of essential items to Imphal. Rajeev Aggarwal, Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry, said the government has made arrangements to airlift essential commodities to Manipur with the help of Assam Rifles.
"The state government has been advised to distribute the material to areas facing shortage," Aggarwal said. He said though there were no serious complaints of shortage of medicines, life saving drugs and medicines were being sent.

Long standoff Manipur Chief Minister Ibobi Singh has said the blockade of the national highways since June 22 by the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) may end soon. After a long standoff, ANSAM has finally started negotiating with the Manipur government's delegation. Ibobi Singh added that the two sides were now close to a breakthrough. "It's a very sensitive issue, but we are very close now," he said.

Bigger crisis Despite the Chief Minister's optimism that talks with the Naga students are making headway, the Centre feels it is now time to intervene. The centre has convened a meeting of top officials from Manipur, Nagaland and Assam to review the blockade. The restraint against coming down heavily on the blockade stems largely from an apprehension that it could trigger off a bigger crisis. It could rekindle the demand for Greater Nagaland, which envisages carving out areas from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

Exercising restraint The police and security forces have also been cautious in their handling of the situation and have opened a new highway route. "It is not as if we have surrendered. We are continuing to bring in our supplies and move convoys when we require. We have moved five convoys recently," said A K Parashar, Director General of Police, Manipur. While the state government claims there is no problem, a queue more than a kilometre-long at a petrol station conveys a different picture. Naga student's body, the ANSAM launched its economic blockade on June 22 - of the Imphal-Guwahati NH 39 and Imphal-Silchar NH 53 - to protest against the Manipur government's decision to declare June 18 as a holiday to observe "state integrity day."
Zeliangrong bodies ask SF to behave on NH-53 Sangai Express Newmai News Network
Dimapur, Aug 6 : The Zeliangrong Union (ZU) and All Zeliangrong Students' Union (AZSU) of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland have warned of dire consequences if the security forces deployed along National Highway-53 in Tamenglong district continue to harass the general public. The ZU informed Newmai News Network that it welcomes the deployment of security forces along NH-53 but expressed displeasure over the manner in which the security personnel incon- venience the general public in the area. The AZSU alleged that villagers living in Tamenglong district particularly those living along NH-53 have been used as forced labourers by the security forces in clearing jungles and other hard works without paying any wages. AZSU leader Ningthao-dai charged that earlier passenger buses coming from Imphal used to reach Tamenglong latest by 2 pm but these days the vehicles reach the district headquarters after dusk causing immense hardships to the people. The ZU alleged that 13 security check posts have been put up between Imphal and Tamenglong adding that there was no need for that number of check posts and termed it as an “unnecessary exercise”.
The ZU asked “Is the Government trying to sensitize the Nagas of Tamenglong district since the demand of the Nagas is on the offing?”
Side by side, the AZSU leader Ningthaodai stated that they were fighting the Government of Manipur and not the Central Government so “why deploy Central forces to counter the economic blockade.”
Hurling a volley of allegations, the ZU charged that during the Kuki-Naga ethnic clashes in the early 90's no security force was deployed for the safety of the general public along NH-53. But today to counter the economic blockade imposed by the Naga students maximum security forces have been deployed as if there have been revolutions/wars along the two national highways.” The ZU said that deployment of security forces would not solve the problems but rather it would create counter forces as “for every action there is equal and opposite reaction.” The ZU urged various social organisations based in the Manipur valley to study minutely with regard to the intention of the Manipur Government saying that it doubt whether the State Government is genuinely interested in solving the present imbroglio.
“Is the State Government for creating more problems so that the word ‘dis’ to be added as prefix to the word ‘integrity’, asked the ZU statement.
Succour drops from the sky Eight cargo planes bring in 40 tonnes of essential commodities By Our Staff Reporter Sangai Express
IMPHAL, Aug 6 : Following the assurances of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on the floor of the Lok Sabha two days back that essential commodities would be air lifted to help the people cope with the crippling economic blockade, four cargo planes carrying 40 tonnes of essential commodities landed at the Tulihal airport from Guwahati today morning. Each plane took two sorties each to transport the 40 tonnes of essential commodities. The planes belonging to the Indian Air Force were pressed into service at the instructions of the Union Home Ministry through the DG of Assam Rifles.
The commodities transported by four AN-32 cargo planes included 20 tonnes of sugar, ten tonnes of lentils, ten tonnes of edible oil and life saving drugs. The cargo planes touched down at the Tulihal airport today at 9.30 am and the goods were then loaded onto trucks of the Food and Civil Supplies Department and were later taken to the FCS godown at Sangaiprou. A well placed source said that the air shipment today is not the final adding that essential goods will be air lifted regularly by the Indian Air Force till such time that the State has enough stock of essential commodities to last a month.
Speaking to the press, FCS Director, Ph Ratan said that the four cargo planes of the Indian Air Force lifted the essential commodities from Guwahati at the instructions of the Union Home Ministry through the DG of Assam Rifles.
The goods will be kept at the FCS godown for the moment, said the Director and added that the same will be allotted to the respective DCs to be distributed to the people later. To a question from the media, the Director said that this is the first time that essential commodities have been air lifted to Manipur. The Director also admitted that he does not have any idea whether there will be any such exercise in the future or not. Ratan also said that he does not know when the next consignments will arrive. Each cargo plane could cary five tons of goods per flight. Each of the four plane had to sortie twice to take the total weight of the goods transported to 40 tonnes today.
Following today's exercise, the Indian Air Force and the Food Corporation of India have agreed to co-operate and help each other out. Meanwhile, an official source informed that ever since the economic blockade was enforced, not a single grain of rice or sugar has been lifted from the FCI godown at Dimapur. This is because an underground outfit had demanded a sum of Rs 10 lakhs from the godown, added the source. The official source added that 50 FCI trucks loaded with rice and other items are expected to reach Imphal tomorrow from Guwahati. The Executive Director of FCI, New Delhi; Senior Regional Manager, FCI, Dimapur and the Regional Manager visited Imphal a few days back, said the source and added that the main purpose of the visit was to discuss the possibility of lifting the State's share from the FCI godown at Silchar instead of Dimapur. Jiribam also has one FCS godown.
UCM dangles stir threat By Our Staff Reporter Sangai Express
IMPHAL, Aug 6 : Besides accusing the ANSAM and NSF of making money on the sly from the economic blockade, the United Committee Manipur has warned that it would launch intense agitation if the blockade impasse lingers. speaking to reporters at the Kekrupat office this evening, UCM secretary organisation Yumnamcha Dilipkumar demanded that State Government take and declare its definite stand on the ANSAM agitation within August 13 failing which the body would start democratic movement from the very next day. Compiling records of damages to public properties during the course of the ANSAM agitation including torching of goods carriers and dislocation of Irang Bridge, the secretary said their is no way ANSAM should not be declared as an unlawful organisation. Referring to the recent High Court ruling against the blockade, he further questioned what is holding back the Central and State Governments from dealing with the situation appropriately.
Declaring that the blockade is partisan, Dilipkumar accused the NSF and DESAM activists of levying large sums of money per vehicle for permission to pass through blockade strongholds. These permitted vehicles shift the loads at Kalapahar Ground and the fresh trucks after coughing up Rs 1000 each proceeds towards IT Road and kangpokpi, charged the UCM secretary. Dilipkumar further said that a good number of organisations and individuals have urged them not to treat the issue with kid gloves but to act tough. UCM also appreciates the Central Government for finally realising the gravity of the situation and deciding to airlift essential commodities, said the secretary. He, nevertheless, hastened to question how long the Govt of India will carry on with the task of air lifting goods if the blockade impasse remains unsolved. Expressing strong resentment at the failure of the State Govt to end the blockade which has completed over 45 days dilipkumar contended that ANSAM and NSCN (IM) are liable to replenish dent to the State exchequer in sustaining food supply. He also suggested seeking compensation from the Central Government as the other alternative source to make up for losses incurred by the State Government in procuring food items with additional deployment of security force personnel. Asserting that UCM cannot remain a silent spectator when the common people are facing severe hardships, he said such prevailing circumstances had compelled the body to resort to the proposed agitation.
Delhi may discuss blockade with SPF Sangai Express
New Delhi, Aug 6 : The Centre is likely to do some tough talking with Manipur Government over the continued economic blockade of National Highway 39 by a Naga outfit even as essential commodities to the State have been airlifted by Indian Airlines and Indian Air Force. Highly-placed sources said Home Secretary VK Duggal is expected to visit the State next week and express Centre’s concerns over the continued blockade by All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) since June 20.
The sources said Duggal has also called Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur next week to review the situation arising out of the blockade. The Centre has received a report from State Governor SS Sidhu in which he had made a veiled attack on the decision of the State Government to declare June 18 as a State holiday to mark “Integration Day” and remarked that “the crisis could have been avoided.”
The Ibobi Singh Government had declared the day as a State holiday last year in memory of 14 people who were killed in “integrity agitation” of June 2001 in Imphal. Joint Secretary in Union Home Ministry Rajeev Agarwal today told reporters that the State Government was already holding talks with the agitating students and “if necessary, the Centre will also hold talks.”
He said while the NH-39 continued to be blocked, the Centre, with the help of Border Roads Organisation, had opened NH-53 to facilitate essential commodities like petrol, gas and medicine to reach Manipur. Agarwal said more than 1000 truck carrying petroleum products and food grains have reached Manipur through National Highway-53. Asked whether there was some shortage of essential drugs, he said “the State has informed us that while there was no short supply of generic drugs, there was a scarcity of branded drugs, which have been now airlifted through Indian Airlines.”
The Joint Secretary, while admitting of short supplies of some essential commodities, said “there is no report of human misery.”
He said the Centre was also keenly monitoring the talks between the ANSAM and the State Government and was also hopeful that some solution would emerge soon. Agarwal said three air sorties had been made by Indian Air Force from Guwahati to Imphal today with 45 tonnes of essential items. PTI
Centre to discuss blockade issue with Manipur
NEW DELHI, Aug 6 – The Centre is likely to do some tough talking with Manipur Government over the continued economic blockade of National Highway 39 by a Naga outfit even as essential commodities to the State have been airlifted by Indian Airlines and Indian Air Force. Highly-placed sources said Home Secertary VK Duggal is expected to visit the State next week and express the Centre’s concerns over the continued blockade by All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM) since June 20.
The sources said Duggal has also called Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur next week to review the situation arising out of the blockade.
The Centre has received a report from state Governor SS Sidhu in which he had made a veiled attack on the decision of the State Government to declare June 18 as a state holiday to mark ‘Integration Day’ and remarked that ‘the crisis could have been avoided’. The Ibobi Singh Government had declared the day as a state holiday last year in memory of 14 people who were killed in ‘integrity agitation’ of June 2001 in Imphal. Joint Secretary in Union Home Ministry Rajeev Agarwal today told reporters that the State Government was already holding talks with the agitating students and “if necessary, the Centre will also hold talks”.
He said while the NH-39 continued to be blocked, the Centre, with the help of Border Roads Organisation, had opened NH-53 to facilitate essential commodities like petrol, gas and medicine to reach Manipur. Agarwal said more than 1000 trucks carrying petroleum products and foodgrains have reached Manipur through National Highway-53.
Asked whether there was some shortage of essential drugs, he said: “The State has infomed us that while there was no short supply of generic drugs, there was a scarcity of branded drugs, which have been now airlifted through Indian Airlines.” The Joint Secretary, while admitting of short supplies of some essential commodities, said “there is no report of human misery”.
He said the Centre was also keenly monitoring the talks between the ANSAM and the State Government and was also hopeful that some solution would emerge soon.
Agarwal said three air sorties had been made by Indian Air Force from Guwahati to Imphal today with 45 tonnes of essential items. – PTI
I-Day run-up faces hiccupsBlast in city, one hurt By a Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Aug 6: Suspected ULFA militants triggered a blast in the busy Paltanbazar area of the city at 5.30 p.m. today. A person sustained minor injuries in the explosion of the programmed time device (PTD). According to police, the bomb went off at the taxi stand which is attached to the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) bus stand and the Guwahati Railway Station. Eye witnesses said that an unclaimed school bag was seen in the area about half-an-hour before the blast. After informing the bomb disposal squad, the police cleared off the area by evacuating the people and removing the taxis from the stand. But the bomb went off before the squad’s arrival.Talking to The Sentinel Guwahati SSP Vijay Krishna Ramisethi said that security has been tightened in the city. "Had the police not evacuated the people, the casualty would have been higher," he added.
Target DGP office, VIPs: ULFA By a Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Aug 6: Once again intent on welcoming the Independence Day in its brand and style, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has planned to carry out a series of subversive activities throughout the State. In a message intercepted by the Meghalaya Police Intelligence, it has come to light that one Ranjit Hazarika, a senior leader of the outfit’s 109 battalion operational in lower Assam, has been directed to launch attacks in Guwahati, Nagaon and Mankachar from August 7. Significantly, he has been asked to target the DGP office located at Ulubari in the city.
Hazarika has also been directed to target VIPs. According to sources, the ULFA might plant bombs in the buses parked alongside the roads, specially those parked nearby the DGP office.
Meanwhile, a red alert has been sounded throughout the State and security measures have been beefed up. In most of the districts, high-level security meetings of the army, para-military, police, senior forest, railway, OIL and Telecom officials were called yesterday wherin it was agreed that maximum alert should be maintained in the run up to the Independence Day. Security arrangements in the city have also been tightened. According to sources, the police has intensified its checking of vehicles and patrolling around the city. Security measures have been beefed up around the soft targets like the Sarpara LPG bottling plant, Guwahati railway station, Guwahati Refinery etc. To avert any untoward incident, water-tight security has been arranged in the area covering the office and residence of the DC and SSP. However, it may be mentioned that despite the security cover, the ULFA held a meeting at the Umananda island on July 28 where several top ranking leaders were present. If a confessional statement of arrested ULFA cadre Ramen Medhi is to be believed, then the outfit has amassed 10 time bombs, 10 hand grenade and 10 PTEDs (programmable time explosive device) in the city.
Flogging an immigration lawWITH EYES WIDE OPEND. N. Bezboruah During the last few weeks after the striking down of the IM(DT) Act by the Supreme Court for being a bad and unconstitutional law, there have been quite a few seminars on what the post-Supreme Court-verdict situation could be like and what it ought to be like. Not only is there a lot of unwarranted euphoria over the apex court having struck down the black law, there is also a great deal of naivety in the discussions about how the minorities are likely to react and about how they ought to react to the scenario without the IM(DT) Act. In the first place, most of the speakers never bothered to explain what they meant by the word "minorities". Most of them appeared to make no distinction between the real minorities (who have to be Indian citizens to have that status) and the illegal Bangladeshi migrants who came after March 25, 1971. Besides, how could anyone expect the highly political pro-Bangladesh lobby to behave in a predictable and/or desirable manner or to tell us very honestly what it intends to do in the coming months and years? An element of surprise has been the hallmark of its style of functioning, and it has not spared the people of Assam any mischief in the past two decades and more. Are we then being pragmatic when we expect this lobby to change its spots just because the Supreme Court struck down a very handy (for this lobby) immigration law? The time for us is to keep our mouths shut and our eyes and ears wide open. But no, we have to celebrate a Supreme Court verdict that has scrapped a bad law 22 years after it has done all the harm it could. And yet, ironically enough, I have also heard a few speakers dwell on how mature the Assamese have become now!
This is just one aberration that has enabled the enemies of Assam to get a fairly clear picture about what our intentions are. What is utterly inexplicable is that not even the most educated souls or former MPs seem to have any notion about what the objective of an immigration law is. Most of them probably believe that it has no more than a cosmetic purpose. Or have they been conditioned by 22 years of the IM(DT) Act to believe that any immigration law more purposeful than this utterly useless one is downright Draconian? The objective of an immigration law (for any civilized country) is to control illegal immigration. Ironically enough, it is countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, largely populated and governed by immigrants, that are the strictest of all about implementing their immigration policies through their immigration laws. For most of them, the immigration policy is that immigration in those countries has reached saturation levels, and therefore they will allow only very limited legal immigration and exercise their choice in taking in only such people who are likely to be assets to the nation in question. Immigration laws of most civilized countries are ruthless and very unkind to illegal migrants. This is my perception of the objective of immigration laws of civilized countries after looking at 40 such immigration laws. There is no denying that the objective of keeping out all illegal migrants has failed in many civilized countries. Even in the US, there is illegal immigration from Mexico and Cuba, but every effort is made to keep out illegal immigrants. But there is no immigration law like the IM(DT) Act that actually protects the illegal migrant and makes it virtually impossible for such illegal migrants to be thrown out. Most other countries that have problems of illegal immigration do not have concerted attempts by their neighbours to annex a part of the country. We do. Our politicians know it, but pretend that they do not. And that is our real danger: that our real enemies should be our own politicians.
Given the objective for immigration laws, there is just no scope for them to be kind or humane. If we are looking for kind or humane immigration laws or laws that will help add to illegal vote banks, we might as well not have immigration laws, border fencing and the Border Security Force at such expense. We might as well leave our borders unattended and let people from the poorest of poor countries flock here. We can claim exclusive rights to humanitarian considerations and let our land be taken over. But as I said earlier, I have not come across a single civilized immigration law that is kind or humane. It is not the business of immigration laws to be so, just as it is not the business of the law for rape to be humane to the rapist. This is why it amazes me to hear former MPs make an appeal for humanitarian considerations in the matter of reintroducing the Foreigners Act in Assam. The question is: what humanitarian considerations? Assam has already made very generous humanitarian considerations in extending the cut-off date for accepting migrants from Pakistan or erstwhile Pakistan to March 25, 1971. Under Article 6 of the Indian Constitution, this cut-off date is July 19, 1948 for the rest of the country. In other words, we have extended the cut-off date for the same kind of migrants by almost 23 years. Is that not adequate human consideration for just one Indian State? Or must we extend this human consideration to the point where annexing Assam and the Northeast to Bangladesh becomes a cakewalk? Is it at all proper that our former MPs should be airing such anti-national proposals?
There are others who seek some form of protection of the so-called minorities in our immigration law. Now that the Foreigners Act is back, they want a device to bring in a measure of the protection that the IM(DT) Act was providing to the illegal migrants generally also referred to as the minorities. I confess I have never heard of anything more preposterous in my three score and eleven years. Nowhere else in the world are nations as obsessed with the minorities as we are. They are there with the majority and their rights are protected as well as the rights of the majority. No one gives them more rights in a democracy than the majority, since that would amount to a negation of the democratic principle. We do. We also give the word "minority" a special meaning that has to do with one religion alone, regardless of nationality. Anyway, if the minorities feel insecure in just one Indian State to the exclusion of the others, there can be a special law to protect their rights. But a nation does not go about enacting a new immigration law for just one State for the purpose of protecting the minorities. It is just not the function of an immigration law. All said and done, therefore, our lawmakers have nursed the most fantastic expectations of an immigration law and flogged it needlessly just because they were not sure of what the immigration law of the land was supposed to do. And by having a second immigration law for Assam alone they were sabotaging the first immigration law. After all, if there is a single State in the country from which an illegal migrant cannot be expelled, it encourages illegal migrants to rush to the other States as well. This is because when there is a crackdown against illegal migrants in the other States, all that the illegal migrants have to do is to go to the State with a lax law, stay there until the crackdown gets over, and then get back to the State they had initially sneaked into illegally. One can only hope that our lawmakers have learnt their lesson, and that there will be no further attempts to flog the immigration law in order to protect the minorities.
While on the subject, it is perhaps worth reminding the people of Assam that the NDA Government had so amended the citizenship law for Assam that it now gives citizenship rights to the children of even those illegal migrants who came to Assam up to 2004! So what the Supreme Court did in the matter of striking down the IM(DT) Act will come to nought if we have a citizenship law that completely undoes the force of the immigration law (the Foreigners Act of 1946 now) and the Assam Accord taken together. Soon after the Supreme Court had struck down the IM(DT) Act, I had said that there was no cause for euphoria since we had won only a small battle. These aberrations of our unthinking lawmakers (including those of the NDA) have left many more battles to be fought and won to save Assam and the Northeast. The time to get ready for more legal battles against a mischievous citizenship law is now - while the iron is still hot after the apex court’s verdict on the IM(DT) Act. But more about all this later.



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