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01/02/2006: "Naga people ask India to quit without delay’"


‘Naga people ask India to quit without delay’ From Our Correspondent Assam Tribune
DIMAPUR, Jan 1 – Questioning the legitimacy of the ongoing peace process with NSCN-IM, NNC president Adinno Phizo has pointed out that whereas in 1964 the Government of India and the Federal Government of Nagaland reached an international cease-fire agreement “binding on both nations”, the current administrative so-called ceasefire between the Indian army and the Indian financed “NSCN-IM” mostly drawn from “outside Nagaland” has no political relevance to the conflict in Nagaland.

Adinno in her new year message from London said, “any reasonable person would agree that whatever Delhi’s political motive heretofore, until the façade of the “peace process” with the Indian financed outfit ostensibly to find an honourable solution to the “vexed Naga problem” end, the real dialogue between the two bonafide nations in conflict cannot begin”.

“Nagaland cannot be expected to be bound by any agreement or accord when it is not party to the said agreement or accord”, she said. Stating that the resilient Nagas would refuse to be intimidated by the belligerence of India, Adinno pointed out that there was no justification for India to prolong the unlawful occupation of Nagaland.

In her message to Nagas she said, “Let us remind Delhi, the Nagas in common with the rest of the world want peace. In the name of peace, the Naga people ask India to quit Nagaland without delay”. Pointing out that the Nagas’ just stand on freedom was unstoppable, NNC President reminded that no one should forget the many thousand Naga patriots who laid down their lives resisting Indian aggression.

“However long it takes, nothing can make the Nagas despair because we love our country and the Nagas just stand on freedom is unstoppable”, Adinno stated. She also pointed out that Nagaland has since complied with every international criterion to be a nation state. “We have our national flag, Constitution, judiciary and national government, namely, the Federal Government of Nagaland to serve Naga interest”.

Adinno alleged that there had been two separate abortive coup d’etat in ten years by some Naga opportunists in national service. “The plotters were ensnared by the Indian Intelligence with vast sums of money in return for subverting the authority of the Federal Government of Nagaland”. Further terming it as an despicable bloody abortive coup d’etat in 1979, the NNC President alleged that under the pretext of saving Naga sovereignty, the plotters and its followers “mostly from outside Nagaland” still carried on dreaming that it could usurp power by malicious lies and terrorism.

Adinno further alleged that some educated “Naga apologists for the dissidents have in recent years gained an unenviable reputation” of what she termed as blindly following anti-national causes and without having any idea of its consequences. “There is no excuse for any Naga to feign ignorance of Naga history that has been largely responsible for the misunderstanding of our national stand”, she stated.Underlining that the Naga National Council (NNC) charted a tolerant Naga society by persuading diverse Naga communities of their common interest, the NNC leader remarked that the NNC reached out to all “our people and in our best democratic tradition trusted the people to decide Naga political future”.

Moreover, she stated that the historic voluntary national plebiscite held on May 16, 1951 dispelled the Indian malicious propaganda that only a “few educated Nagas” insisted on independence. “The outstanding 99 per cent return in favour of Naga independence unequivocally disproved once and for all any doubt on Naga resolve. Thenceforward, the baton of national mandate was immutably entrusted with the Naga National Council”, she asserted.

'We will not give away parts of our land to anyone': Assam CM
NEW DELHI, Jan 1: With NSCN-IM mounting pressure on the Centre to make its stand clear on the issue of integration of Naga inhabitated areas, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said his government would oppose any move to part with any land of the state for bringing solution to the insurgency problem in Nagaland.

"We want a solution to the Naga problem which is acceptable to all. But we are always opposed to any move to part any of our land to anyone," Gogoi told PTI here.

T Muivah, General Secretary of NSCN-IM which is negotiating with the Centre to solve the vexed issue, had recently threatened to call off the peace process if the government failed to make its stand clear on the issue of unification of Naga dominated areas in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam within the current spell of the ceasefire.

"Had there been any legality then it would have been a different matter. But the demand has no genuine basis," Gogoi said, adding "the demand was also opposed by Manipur." The Chief Minister said Assam had earlier opposed even the extension of Naga ceasefire to the state which forced the previous government to change its decision in this regard.

A delegation of United Naga Council of Manipur had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 15 and told him that no settlement would be acceptable to them without unification of all Naga-inhabitated areas.

"We told the Prime Minister that there cannot be any lasting solution to the problem without unification of the Naga-inhabited areas. We will not accept any such settlement," Mani Charenamei, MP from Outer Manipur constituency who was also part of the delegation, had said after meeting the Prime Minister. (PTI)

Volatile Meitei Mind Source: IMPHAL FREE PRESS

In the efforts to resolve through dialogue, the clash of interest between Nagas and Meiteis, so many Meiteis must have had to face the question from genuinely bewildered Nagas from Nagaland as to who or which civil society organization can represent the Meiteis and take decision on their behalf. The answer we all know of course is, nobody in particular, much to the disappointment of those making the queries. We say Nagas from Nagaland, because Nagas from Manipur would be understanding the Meitei reality far more accurately. In the ethnic milieu in the region, the Meitei mind must be one of the most complicated. It is on the way of individualization but not quite there yet. Hence the Meiteis cannot have an institutionalized apex body like the Naga Hoho, but at the same time, in times of crises, they have shown amazing ability to organize themselves spontaneously as a group and take on the challenge together, just as it happened, say during the Santosh Trophy controversy. When these crises pass by, the group identity, forged literally on the spot to tide the crises, also lose relevance. If the Nagas from Nagaland are puzzled by the Meitei mind, so has been so many others in mainland India, including many mandarins in New Delhi, but for precisely opposite reasons. The Meitei mind cannot be disciplined and regimented into a single fold, nor can it be seen as largely independent nuclear units. This, as we see it, is the peculiarity of the problem.

How does one approach the problem then? Broadly, it has to be from two perspectives. From the point of view of their immediate neighbours, the Nagas in this case, the Meiteis situation must be approached as a multi party environment. Unlike the unitary characters of the Naga Hoho or the Naga Mothers’ Association, their Meitei counterparts are peculiarly federal in nature. Even the nomenclatures of their social organizations are indicative of this, hence there would be “united” committees, “united” clubs, “joint” action committees etc. Any effort to homogenize the constituents of any of these “united” or “joint” bodies, would almost invariably result in inner tensions and ultimately lead to their split, often self destructively. Most of these organizations would also without fail shed part or whole of their relevance after the issues that threw them up are resolved. From the other more distant perspective, it would be good not to see the problem through a single lens and generalize. The understanding of the civil society is very different here. Indeed, if there is anything as a civil society institution, it must be the Meira Paibis, but this too cannot be conceptualized in the traditional sense. For this is not so much an organization, as it is a spirit. They too virtually do not exist during normal times, but in abnormal times, they incarnate into personas befitting the needs of the hour. Hence, in the early 1980s when alcoholism was a menace, they came along as Nisha Bandh, in 1904 they challenged the British administration’s policies, and in the 21st Century, they have fought black laws. They have had their share of martyrs and heroes through the centuries, but none can be singled out as a leader, for nobody led the spontaneous movements they are so famous for today. Any effort to do this would also end in ridicule for the selectors as well as the selected, for no isolated leadership would be accepted.

From the Meitei’s own point of view, this personality characteristic is as much a distinctive feature as it is a problem. The question is, how do you relate to others without a representative voice or permanent address where this voice can be located? At the government level these are very much there, but what is essential is also for the civil society to evolve a mechanism by which the aggregate of all the voices of its constituents can be projected and articulated. A democratic instrument whereby this aggregate voice is compelled to be respected even by the dissenting voters, as much as it respects and makes room to accommodate the dissenting voices within.

Patil to visit Bangladesh border to oversee fencing By Syed Zarir Hussain, Indo-Asian News Service
Guwahati, Jan 2 (IANS) Home Minister Shivraj Patil is to visit India's border with Bangladesh Monday to oversee the construction of barbed wire fencing aimed at checking illegal infiltration from the neighbouring country.
A home ministry official said the minister would be visiting the international border along Assam to personally monitor the progress of the fencing work.
'The government of India is very serious in fencing the border with Bangladesh so as to check any infiltration of migrants from the other side of the country,' Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
'The decision by the home minister to visit the border indicates the seriousness of the matter.'
Patil will be accompanied to the border by the Assam chief minister and members of the influential All Assam Students' Union (AASU), a students group spearheading a campaign to oust illegal Bangladeshi nationals from the state and sealing the border.
India and Bangladesh share a 4,095-km border, of which 272 km falls within Assam. More than 35 percent of the border along Assam still remains to be fenced with concrete pillars separating the two countries.
The issue of influx of illegal migrant workers from Bangladesh is a major problem across the northeast.
Dhaka denies allegations that it encourages people to enter India illegally, and the volatile issue has often sparked violent clashes between border guards on both sides.
'The home minister's visit would definitely help in expediting the fencing work in the border,' senior AASU leader Samujjal Bhattacharyya told IANS.
Patil during his daylong visit to Assam is also expected to hold a meeting with AASU leaders and the chief minister to work out strategies to check illegal Bangladeshi infiltration.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in May last year had assured an AASU delegation that met him in New Delhi that border fencing would be completed within a year.
'The home minister's visit is a follow-up to our meeting with the prime minister and we are optimistic that the border fencing work would be completed within the timeframe set by the government,' the AASU leader said.
2-week safe passage for ULFA men By A Staff Reporter Assam tribune
GUWAHATI, Jan 1 – Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today offered a two-week safe passage to the members of banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to enable them to meet their families during the festive season. Describing the assurance of safe passage as a New Year and Magh Bihu initiative, Gogoi told newspersons here that from January 7 to 20, the cadres of the outfit could safely visit their relatives after informing the concerned authorities. The only condition is that they will have to come unarmed.

“It is a Bihu gift,” the Chief Minister said, adding that this year also the militants will be “allowed in” after they “inform us”. “We will allow them to go back also,” he said.

The Chief Minister’s ceasefire offer came even as he asserted that 2005 was a year that passed off peacefully apart from the violence in Karbi Anglong district. He described the ethnic violence in the hill district as tragic.

“One of our achievements is that the cloud that was hanging over Assam has disappeared. There is brightness. We want to make it brighter,” Gogoi said about his almost five-year tenure at the helm of affairs in the State. He said that there is a positive outlook among the people of the State. “We have proved that development can take place despite insurgency.”

The Chief Minister expressed happiness that his government has been able to bring all insurgent groups, including the ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), to the negotiating table. There is a new atmosphere in the State, he stated. “Instead of a onfrontationist attitude, there is a dialogue attitude now,” he said.

The overall law-and-order situation in the State has also improved, Gogoi claimed, adding that people are venturing out till late night proving that things were quite normal. He said that the perception of people outside the State about Assam has also changed visibly.

“We are taking concrete steps in solving the insurgency problem,” the Chief Minister said, adding that it will take time for the results of such initiatives to show.

Peace process likely to get boost in ’06 By R Dutta Choudhury Assam Tribue
GUWAHATI, Jan 1 – The year 2006 will be a hectic year for Assam with the elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly only a few months away and the process of talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) likely to gather momentum to bring an end to an era of violence. Though the dates for the Assembly polls are yet to be announced, it is likely that the elections will be held in April and from the beginning of the year the State will see hectic political activities. The ruling Congress will formally launch its election campaign with a mass rally in the city on January 8 and the party is already witnessing lobbying by the aspiring candidates to get party nominations to contest the polls. The Government has already announced a series of sops to woo the voters before the polls and the possibility of the Government announcing more welfare measures in the first part of the year to gain support of the electorate during the polls cannot be ruled out.

The Opposition parties are also gearing up to face the polls, which will gather momentum from the first part of January. Efforts are on by the parties to form a platform of the Opposition parties to defeat the Congress and a final shape to the proposed platform is likely to be finalised by the end of January. After a split in the party ranks with former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta forming the AGP (P), the AGP leaders are making all efforts to make up for the loss and are holding parleys with other like-minded parties for a possible alliance. Same kind of efforts are also being made by the AGP (P), while, the Left parties are trying for a common platform to defeat the Congress and the BJP.

The coming days will see hectic political activities and a clear picture of the possible alliance will emerge only before the polls. Not to be outdone, the BJP is also trying its best to improve its electoral performance in the State and senior leaders of the party including Pramod Mahajan are making frequent trips to Assam with a view to increasing the popularity of the party among the voters.

Talks with militants: The year 2005 saw a distinct possibility of a solution to the problem of insurgency with the NDFB signing a ceasefire pact with the Government of India, while the ULFA has also shown positive attitude towards talks by forming the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) to hold initial parleys with the Government.

After the signing of the ceasefire pact, NDFB leaders extensively toured different parts of the State, particularly the Bodo dominated areas and held talks with Bodo mass organisations to get their views before finalising the charter of demands to be placed before the Government. But the NDFB is asserting that it would not give up the demand for “liberation of Boroland”. Formal talks between the Government and the NDFB on substantive issues are likely to start in the beginning of 2006.

Formation of the PCG was hailed by cross-sections of people and the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh showed his positive attitude by attending the first meeting with the group. The next round of meeting between the Government of India and the PCG is likely to be held in the first part of 2006.

Assam Accord: After years of neglect by the Central and State Governments, the issue of implementation of the Assam Accord gained force in 2005 with the Prime Minister himself chairing a tripartite meeting to review the progress of its implementation and the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil is arriving in the State on January 2 to review the implementation of the decisions taken in the meeting. The Home Minister will also visit the international border to see the situation on the ground, which is a welcome step on his part. But as per schedule, he will visit only two places in the border and if he is really serious about knowing the situation on the ground, he should have spent more time for an extensive tour.

However, with the Centre showing some interest, one hopes that the international border will finally be sealed with the completion of construction of border roads and fencing within the year 2006. The process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is also likely to gain strength in 2006 as talks are on to finalise the modalities for updating it.

Free jailed leaders: ULFA Sentinel
GUWAHATI, Jan 1 (IANS): The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today ruled out holding direct peace talks with New Delhi unless the government released some of their senior jailed leaders.
In a statement released by the outfit, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said: "A large number of our central executive committee leaders are currently in jail. We cannot take a final decision on holding talks with the government in the absence of majority of our senior leaders who are imprisoned."
At least six top ULFA leaders, including vice president Pradip Gogoi are lodged in different jails in Assam. The ULFA designated 11-member People’s Consultative Group (PCG) held the first round of talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 26 in the national capital to prepare the ground for a bilateral ceasefire and then direct talks between the rebel leadership and government peace negotiators at a later stage.
Manmohan Singh later said he was ready to discuss "all issues relating to the ULFA." The ULFA is particularly peeved at the Army launching a military offensive against its cadres hiding in the thickly forested areas in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh State.
Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Jarbom Gamlin told IANS that the offensive began Thursday in the State’s Lower Dibang Valley district, about 800 km east of the State capital Itanagar.
Rajkhowa said: "The government has slowed down on its initiative to start peace negotiations and instead stepped up military action against our cadres. It would be wrong on the part of New Delhi to presume that we would sit tight and join the peace talks if such actions continue.
"The government has got enough time to launch attacks on us instead of trying to initiate peace by releasing our senior leaders from jail to help us decide on the future course of action."



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