02/03/2007: "GBs, Dobashis make peace bid The Morung Express"

GBs, Dobashis make peace bid The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, FEB 2 (MExN): Making an appeal to all underground to end factional killings, the Nagaland GB Federation and the Nagaland Dobashis’ Association today offered “to work out some modalities to maintain peace among different groups of national workers.” The joint appeal is in consonance to earlier meetings with “national workers”. “This is to be noted that the joint team is prepared to work out the modalities to solve the differences or killing amongst the Naga brothers,” NGBF President K Vikuto Zhimomi and NDBA General Secretary Lungrahei Herie stated in the appeal. The matter is being processed accordingly.
Sincerely appreciating all groups of “national workers” for responding to them “in a positive note”, the grass-roots level organizations said they have “great faith and hope that all would sincerely honour and abide to our ‘gentleman’ talks.”
“We, therefore, appeal to all groups of national workers to shun violence from now on. Moreover, we earnestly request and appeal to NSCN, GPRN for relaxation of final quit notice served to Tangkhuls.”
Meanwhile, the Nagaland GB Federation has called for a meeting on February 15 to discuss “matter relating to peace process.” All office bearers of the federation and district GB association presidents are informed to attend the meeting without fail as some “crucial” issues are to be deliberated on. The meeting is to be conducted at Zonal Council Hall, Kohima at 10 am.
District GB associations have also been informed to submit collections of membership fee and sales proceeds of calendars during the meeting without fail.
Matric under shadow of gun - Test for Manipur students & security OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph
Kohima, Feb. 2: Nagaland has drawn up a special security plan for the 3,000-odd Naga students from Manipur who will write their High School Leaving Certificate examination in the state from February 7 in defiance of a diktat from the Khaplang faction of the NSCN.
The NSCN (K) has been against the idea of schools in the hill districts of Manipur switching affiliation to the Nagaland board because it is an extension of the rival NSCN (I-M)’s campaign for the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas. Chief secretary Lalhuma today said the Neiphiu Rio government had sanctioned special security arrangements for students at all three examination centres — one at Viswema in the state capital and two in Dimapur.
“We do not want loss of life,” Lalhuma said. However, he denied that the government had requested the NSCN (K) to revoke the threat.
Several Naga organisations, including the Naga Hoho and the Tangkhul Hoho, individually appealed to the outfit to do a rethink on the issue. The Mao Hoho of Tadubi, in Manipur’s Senapati district, said the outfit and its “close associates” should reconsider the reasons behind objecting to students from the four hill districts of Manipur sitting for the matric examination in Nagaland. The Hoho said that “freedom fighters” and political organisations sometimes must go along with their adversaries, too. “Integration must take place within the Indian legal framework and the adoption of the Nagaland Board of School Education by the four Naga-dominated districts of Manipur is a step in the right direction,” the organisation said.
It said the NSCN (K)’s ideologies did not go along with the “democratic struggle” of the community. The NSCN (I-M), too, asked its rival to withdraw the threat. Robin Anal of the militant group’s “ministry of information and publicity” said Naga students from Manipur deserved to sit for their first board examinations in Nagaland without a warning hanging over their heads.
“The NSCN (K) should revoke its threat for the sake of the students, who will have to adjust to an unfamiliar environment.”

Sankaranarayanan sworn in NL Governor New Kerala
Kohima: K.Sankaranarayanan, was today sworn in as the Governor of Nagaland. Mr.Sankaranarayanan was administered the oath of office and secrecy by the Chief Justice of Nagaland High Court, D. Biswas.
The simple ceremony was held on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan. NORKA Chairman T.K.Menon, Congress leaders M.M.Hassan and Benny Behanan were among those invited to witness the swearing in ceremony here. After M.M. Jacob, Meghalaya Governor, Sankaranarayanan is the second Malayalee to hold the topmost post in a state in the region.
BBC visit gives boost to indigenous games in Nagaland The Morung Express
PUMPED AND READY...A BBC team fighter pauses after a ‘Apkhu Kikiti’ bout at Shesulimi village. The event is a documentary venture of the BBC.
Kohima, Feb 2 (MExN): Giving a huge boost to indigenous games and sports in Nagaland, a team from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), London, UK, on a documentary venture to promote indigenous games and culture to the world, just concluded their 16-days visit and stay at Shesulimi village, under Zunheboto district in Nagaland.
The team from BBC with the help of the state Department of Youth Resources and Sports in collaboration with Shesulimi village and the adjoining villages in the sub-division organized a programme to prepare a documentary on an indigenous game called “Apkhu Kikiti” (Leg Fight) which also included other traditional activities of the Sumi Nagas from January 16 to the 31th.
The BBC team comprising 16 technical crews and six athletes began their stay and training at Shesulimi from January 16 onwards, where they were given a traditional welcome by the hosting village in the form of welcome being accorded to warriors, war dances and a variety of other cultural shows on their arrival.
The visiting athletes began their training in the Sumi indigenous martial art or ‘Apkhu Kikiti’ and ‘Angu Kupusu’ (Spear kicking) in preparation for the tournament scheduled for January 30.
Besides the intense training, the team also participated wholeheartedly with the local people in various Sumi traditional activities like, community fishing, honey collecting, jungle-clearance for cultivation, traditional trapping, firewood collection and water fetching, community hunting, folk story telling sessions, as well as being treated to sumptuous local cuisines during community feasts. The visiting team also took part in church programmes.
In the Apkhu Kikiti tournament sponsored by the BBC team and organized by Shesulimi village, 8 teams including the BBC team (3 athletes each from USA and UK) comprising 42 participants took part.
The champion was given a cash prize of Rs. 20,000 along with a traditional Sumi dao while the runners-up was given a cash prizes of Rs. 10,000. A cash prize of Rs. 1000 was given to the losing semi-finalist while Rs. 500 in cash was given to all the participants by the BBC team.
In a well-contested final, Jason Bennett of USA (BBC) nicknamed “Tokugha Akipichiu” by the local people, was crowned the champion who defeated Rajko Radovic of England (BBC) nicknamed “Kawato”.
Ghukato of Shesulimi, the local favorite, has to be contented with Rs. 1000 losing to Rajko in the semi-final along with Bradley Johnson, USA (BBC) another favorite who lost to Jason in the other semi-final.
The eventful programme culminated with a prize distribution ceremony followed by, of course, the customary Naga community feast, where more than 2000 people turned up.
New Nagaland Governor to take oath Zee news
Kohima, Feb 03: The Governor-designate K Shankaranarayanan will be sworn-in as new Governor of Nagaland today at Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan here.

Shankaranarayanan, the former Finance Minister of Kerala will replace the out-going Governor Shyamal Datta, the former Intellignece Bureau chief, who yesterday left Nagaland after relinquishing his office at Raj Bhavan.

According to official sources, Datta was given warm farewell at Dimapur Airport by ex-servicemen of Rajya Sainik Board, which was attended among others by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. Before his departure to Kolkata, Datta said he was overwhelmed by the love and affections of the Naga people during the past five years, adding "I am carrying an emotional bag with me".

Shankaranarayanan will be politician to be appointed as Governor of Nagaland as Kohima Raj Bhavan was occupied either by Retired Army Generals or police chiefs during the past two decades.

NSCN calls for sanity during HSLC exam Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 02: Reminding that education determines the life and position of an individual in society, the NSCN/GPRN has called upon the Khaplang group of the NSCN to withdraw threats served on Naga students of manipur who are set to appear for the HSLC 2007 examination under the Nagaland Board.

A GPRN statement issued by its MIP Robin Anal exhorted the student candidates to have faith on the Almighty and work hard to reap the fruits of toil as students apart from prevailing upon authorities of Power (electricity) Department to ensure regular supply of power to ensure the candidates do not face man-made inconveniences in preparing for the said examination being held in a few days time.

“It is a known fact for all and sundry that in this competitive world of today, education has become something like air and water without which one hardly finds a place to exist,” highlighted the MIP statement and quoted Sir Benjamin Disraeli’s saying ‘Upon the education of of your country depends’ to drive home its point of education resembling a measuring scale of an individual’s place in the society or a nation. While regretting that educational concepts are limited to that of schooling of gradual gradation rather than responsible members of the society examine and analyse standard and position of ‘our’ education, Robin Anal also urged the parents to devote a part of their congested schedule towards grooming their children become responsible citizens.

“Parents or adult society are too busy with their money-oriented activities that they have no time to spare for their children giving no ear to the fact that ‘the best gift a father can give to his son is the gift of time’, expressed the GPRN statement.

In addition to terming ‘social monsters’ those responsible for misappropriating funds and grants meant for education with scant regard to the unarguable fact that future of the society lies in the hands of the students, it also expressed strong resentment that in any ethnic clash, communal riots or other social disorder student community are always at the receiving end.

Highlighting such a principle, the NSCN/GPRN reiterated its fervent appeal to all concern to pave the way for an obstacle-free atmosphere to ensure Naga students of Manipur contribute towards future prosperity of the Naga society. Not only would hampering preparation of the HSLC exam candidates resemble as stumbling block to aspiration of the students but would ruin their career in life’s most crucial stage apart from becoming a contributory factor towards marooning of the Naga society, summed up the GPRN statement. Recalling that for the first time in the history of the nagas, the intending candidates from Southern Nagalim shall be appearing the examination along with their brethren of proper Nagalim under Nagaland Board which the GPRN observed as a legacy, the statement also lamented that Naga students had to endure many burdens for embracing and pursuing the cherished goal of naga unification. Opining that any action that could inconvenience the determined students be shunned by all responsible citizens or groups, the statement reiterated its appeal to the Khaplang group to ensure naga students of Manipur do not suffer for no fault of theirs.
FGN question results of Isak’s apologies The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, FEB 2 (MExN): The FGN today said the “apology made by Isak from time to time is a fraud to kill more Nagas and deceiving to our people only.”
Terming as historical records, a release issued by ‘Maj’ Wichanlungbo said that from January 7 to the 11th, 2002, Isak and Muivah convened a consultative meeting in Bangkok, Thailand and apologized to the Naga people for the “deep pains and wound on the Nagas by their own men”. But seven days after, his (NSCN-IM) men ambushed NSCN-K cadres at Tenyiphema B village, Dimapur on January 18 and killed six of them.
And after a second consultative meeting held from May 5 to the 10th, 2002, they again killed one NSCN-K cadre, hailing from Rotomi village on May 16, 2002, it stated.
The release also mentioned that on November 3, 2004, Isak tendered an apology to the Naga people, but after 10 days, his men raided Noklak town on November 13, 2004 and took “away valuable goods from the shop”.
“On December 14, 2004, Isak and Muivah landed Dimapur and on their arrival Muivah said, ‘It is the NNC that gave us the leeway, not me or Isak. It was the NNC, it was Phizo. And who can deny that. The NNC leaders had laid the foundation.’ Truly, this was their admission of mistake. But on December 16, 2004 they killed one man of the NNC leaders Eno Besülhou Tetsao, Youth President, Nagaland Youth Movement.
On 13th January, 2007, Isak hypocritically declared forgiveness and also called for reconciliation, however, on the same day, in Kohima his men killed two Konyak youths Pongjai and Phoba from Chingkao Chingnyu village” the note pointed out. Further, the FGN maintained that Isak apologized on January 30, 2007 to the Naga people but on that very day, they attacked NSCN-K cadres at Seijang Kuki village, where three NSCN-IM and two NSCN-K cadres were killed. Also on the morning of January 31, 2007, his men fired upon NSCN-K cadres at Phek town. “Therefore, the apology of Isak to the Naga people is only a betrayal to kill more Nagas” the FGN asserted. Wichanlungbo said the ‘sectarian’ Collective Leadership of Isak and Muivah now know that they “have made mistake in the history by forming a socialist government and killing the Nagas; but the problem they are now facing is to confess and admit their mistake, and they are still trying conceal and hide their mistake by killing more Nagas with lies.”
“They don’t want to express the truth that ‘we have condemned the Shillong Accord, but now we are involving in the Indian elections by setting up our own candidates. They don’t want to admit that they have betrayed the nation. So they continued to tell lies, even on 31st January 2007, the so-called 28th NSCN Day was observed where Muivah and Isak fraudulently said the NNC has failed, Phizo has faced a failure” it stated adding that “If they can so tell a lie in the name of Jesus Christ or Nagaland for Christ, then should they tell in the name of Satan that they kill more than 3000 (three thousand) Nagas and involving in the Indian elections are achievements for the Naga nation.”
‘I’m proud of heading DAN Govt’ Rio for cadre-based political movement Sentinel
Kohima, Feb 2: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said he was proud to be NPF Chief Minister of the DAN coalition. He said it took long years for him to reach this stage. He said he joined this regional NPF party as a youth activist back in 1947, while Dr Shurhozelie was already a Minister at that time. Delivering his Keynote Address on the occasion of the central office meeting of the central office bearers of the NPF here recently, the Chief Minister said there was no short cut in the leadership and further explained that one had to sacrifice and contribute a lot to reach their goal. He further urged the NPF workers to have vision and to uphold the ‘Naga identity’. “You cannot adopt someone and feel proud of it”, he stated adding they should be proud of their history and tradition. The Chief Minister also explained as to how the party should have a firm foundation that would remain as a rock. He mooted a cadre-based type of political movement in the State emulating CPI (M) of the West Bengal. He pointed out unless they had such idea to have a cadre-based, they might face sometimes disintegration when they were out of power. In this, he urged the party workers go for a massive enrolment drive in the State.
The Chief Minister also described new Nagaland Governor-designate as a ‘thorough gentlemen’. He was confident that the new Governor with his political background would be able to adjust and have a balance in discharging his duties as Governor of the State. Rio also said he could discharge his Chief Ministerial duty because of the senior party leader like Dr Shurhozelie and the support given by the party workers and further sought their continuous cooperation to accomplish their goal. (Agencies)
Condolence message of the collective leadership, NSCN
Sir-The Collective Leadership is greatly saddened by the demise of our leader Ino.Hokishe Sema. He was a man who understood human values and did his best to serve his people. We acknowledge his efforts for apprising the Indian leadership of the need for peaceful political solution with the Nagas. He also played a prominent role as a member of Senior Citizen’s Forum, supporting the peace process. One of the senior most and leading figure among Nagas, he will be greatly missed by the Nagas in general and Sumis in particular.
He was also a gentleman who was courteous enough to admit his mistakes and made all out effort to let other people understand the truth about the Nagas and their history. We value his contribution. In God’s own good time he has departed for his heavenly home. May he find solace in the arms of our Almighty God. At this time of great sorrow and grief we pray that God’s comforting spirit will dwell with the bereaved family and offer them courage to bear the pain. Samson Jajo Secretary of Collective Leadership
NSCN factions on Saijang clash Nagaland Post
DIMAPUR: The GPRN/NSCN (K) has clarified that the make shift camp of the People's Army of Nagaland (PAN) - NSCN (K) at Saijang was attacked by combined forces of "I-K terrorist" including PREPAK, KYKL and KRA (Manipur insurgents) and UPDS & DHD (Anti-talk party) numbering about 150 cadres with arms ad ammunition belonging to the said Manipur insurgents on January 30.
A press release issued by Anie Konyak, under secretary, ministry of information & publicity stated that during the gun battle, PAN lost two cadres and one weapon while five persons were killed on the rival side but "the terrorists are certainly hiding their casualties because such declarations will demoralize their men".
The NSCN (K) has stated that the January 30 incident is "another fruit of the peace proclamation of the terrorist leader", Isac Swu.
However, the GPRN/NSCN (IM) has rebutted the allegation and claim of NSCN (K) as false and baseless.
According to the ministry of information & publicity of NSCN (IM), the Naga army took the offensive to flush out operation in view of encroachment into the areas of NSCN (IM) taking advantage of the 'Peace and Reconciliation' declaration made by the faction's chairman, Isak Chishi Swu and thereby to stimulate an ugly image on the GPRN out of such situation.
NSCN (IM) has pointed out that the incident took place near Mt Gilead Camp of the Naga army and that the defensive measure was undertaken by its unit following the threatening tendencies of NSCN (K). NSCN (IM) has also stated that contrary to the claims made by (NSCN (K), only one Naga army sustained minor injury.
Trouble brews in India's northeast By Kuldip Nayar, Special to Gulf News
India's northeast is like Baluchistan in Pakistan or Tibet in China. All the three territories are in ferment. They want to secede from the countries which claim them to be their part. The governments are employing arms for registering their authority. It is a political question which is sought to be solved through violence.
The northeast in India embraces Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. The first three states are disturbed, Assam probably the worst. The army is combing the state which the militants, United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), have announced is meant only for the Assamese-speaking people. Ulfa is not a new phenomenon. New Delhi has lived with it for the past 30 years. At that time, it signed an agreement with the All Assam Students Union (AASU), after a protracted agitation, to delete the names of foreigners, the Bangladeshis, from the electoral rolls and deport them to their country.
Ulfa has since then raised the standard of independent Assam and taken to arms. Practically, no foreigner has been ousted. What has attracted the nation's attention at present is the indiscriminate killing by Ulfa of labourers from other parts of India, particularly Bihar. Although the army is in the midst of flushing out Ulfa cadres from Assam, the bomb blasts continue to kill a few here and there. Some say that Ulfa is avenging India's attack two years ago on their camps in the foothills of Bhutan, with its king's cooperation. The captured diary by Hira Sarania, a battalion commander of Ulfa, says: "We vowed even if it takes 100 years, we will seek vengeance on India."
This may well be true. But there is also a suspicion that Bangladesh eggs Ulfa on to make forays on the population in Assam to create confusion for an easy assimilation of illegal migrants with the Bengalis living across the border. Already the Assamese-speaking population in the state has shrunk to nearly half, 37 per cent. (Assam and other northeastern states have only a 21-kilometre border with the rest of India as compared to 1,829 kilometres with Bangladeshis.)
Hated junta No doubt, Ulfa has irritated New Delhi so much that it has agreed to supply arms to even the much-hated military junta in Myanmar to bottle up the militants. A few years ago a similar joint operation was launched with limited results. Ulfa has in Assam some firm supporters who enable the militants to go right up to Guwahati to carry out killings even at the daylight.
The Assamese generally suspect that Ulfa has close connections with intelligence agencies of Bangladesh and Pakistan. Manipur is primarily a victim of the army's excesses. The state also faces the problem of tribals returning to their lands in the plains from where they were evicted a few years ago. Not long ago when I visited Manipur, I could see the divide, the youth fuming with anger and discussing ways to retrieve the land. Alienation between indigenous people and the outsiders has resulted in clashes, even in large-scale killings.
However, the worst role is that of the army which is trying to maintain peace. In the name of curbing militancy, it has killed many innocents. Seldom anyone from the force has been hauled up because it enjoys immunity under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
The central government appointed early last year a judicial commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to assess whether the special powers act was necessary and used for legitimate purposes. On both grounds, the commission found the government wanting. It recommended the abolition of the act.
Last word Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to implement the commission's findings. But probably the army has had the last word because the act has stayed with its injurious fallout. The Nagas, although a divided house between the ruling Nagas and hostile underground Nagas, are fired by the same ambition to have an independent Naga state. Their argument is that they were never part of British India and enjoyed an independent existence. New Delhi has been negotiating with the main faction, the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), headed by T. Muivah for the past few years. But the talks have not brought the government and the NSCN any closer. The NSCN wants India to accept the sovereignty of Nagas with a joint defence apparatus between them and the Indian army. The NSCN also wants greater Nagaland, embracing the Naga population in Assam and Manipur. The government has reportedly offered a special Kashmir-type status within the Indian Union. The NSCN finds it "too little" but may come round to accept something like that. The renewal of ceasefire which is almost a decade old hangs in a balance. If not renewed, the army will have another problem on their hands: the hostile Nagas apart from Ulfa. What is, however, peculiar to the Nagaland and the rest of states in the northeast are that people elect their governments every five years and the voting percentage is around 60.
Had there been a strong feeling of separation there would have been boycott of election or some other way to register their protest against the present system. It appears that people in the region ride two boats at the same time: raising their demand for autonomy and staking their claim to power through elections. The government is not unduly bothered so long as there is no Ulfa-like disturbance. Kuldip Nayar is a former Indian High Commissioner to the UK and a former Rajya Sabha MP.
Conflict, development and dignity — II By Nehemiah Rong Sangai Express
Contd from previous issue
As people were kept in concentration camps and forced labour, the cattle were let loose, as result of which the standing crops were destroyed and harvest could not be made for that year. This led to food scarcity and poverty for that year and also for the years to come. This is only one instance. There are many such other cases since 1940s in Naga areas and in North East India.
It is also pertinent to note here that in the hill districts of Manipur, Panchayati Raj system is non-existent and municipal council is also not in existence, the District Councils is defunct for many years. As a result of which fund meant for such bodies could not be availed till to this day. The people suffered due to economic deprivation and infrastructural underdevelopment.
The four hill districts of Manipur are inhabited by the Nagas, the people living here suffered as they become minority in the state and their economic status remain backward. One of the contributing factors can be the arbitrary divide of the boundary by the Indian Government of these Nagas areas to the Manipur State. Nagas being asserting for their birthright of self determination which is a political issue, often times can be seen as shying away from the ‘development’ and economic rights due to non-cooperation movements and civil disobedience launched by its civil societies. The state agency also did not pay enough attention to the hill areas. Not only Nagas by the hill populace in the state experienced the step motherly treatment meted by the State. That can be the fall out of the lack of democratic governance and the denying of the people’s right amongst others.— to be contd
Riding the AFSPA wave Sangai Express editorial
Two factors are chiefly responsible for the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act to have become the calling card of many political parties in the run up to the 9th Assembly election and the factors are the custodial killing of Th Manorama by Assam Rifles personnel in 2004 and the heroic struggle launched by Irom Chanu Sharmila, who has been on a fast unto death agitation for more than six years, following the Malom massacre in 2000. Understandably the media in Manipur has also taken a keen interest on the stand of the different political parties on the issue of AFSPA and this was perhaps best exemplified by the manner in which a number of newspapers highlighted the silence of the Congress on AFSPA, when its election manifesto was released. That AFSPA would become a hot topic for debates before the election was something which was expected, particularly after Sharmila shifted base to New Delhi to continue with her fast. The meet the public programme organised by the Apunba Lup, to quiz the different political parties on the issue of the controversial Act is also another pointer to how seriously the issue is being viewed. The meet the public programme though did not throw up any enlightening thoughts, as almost all the political parties had nothing new to say, which clearly exposed the lack of vision of the political leaders of the State. Amongst all the political parties, the MPP has been the most vociferous in asserting that the Act would go if they are voted to power, but lung power and political astuteness to deal with the issue at hand are different and the party is yet to demonstrate that it has charted out politically viable steps to translate their words into action. This is the scenario in the valley area of the State while in the hill districts, especially in the 11 Assembly segments dominated by Naga people, the issue is undoubtedly the role of the United Naga Council and the 11 candidates sponsored by them.
While voices of dissent have started emerging from the hill districts over the role of the UNC in the election, the one interesting question that remains is what role has the UNC envisaged for the 11 blessed candidates, if they win the election. It is all a matter of conjectures at the moment, but nevertheless, it would be interesting to see, which way the beat is played. Will the 11 chosen candidates act as the representative of the people of their Constituencies, or will it be a case of them representing the UNC in the Assembly, is a question that will be foremost in the minds of the people as they go to vote. Apart from championing the voice of integrating all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit, what role will be expected from these candidates, if they are elected to the Assembly ? With a hung Assembly most likely to emerge after the election, what role can we expect from the UNC sponsored candidates to play in Government formation ? Will they join hands with the MPP to keep out the Congress from forming the Government or will they support the Congress to keep the MPP out ? These are all questions at the moment, but it stands true that the role of the UNC backed candidates will be important in any post poll arrangements and it remains to be seen how they play out their roles, which most probably will be scripted by the UNC.
ULFA threat to scribes decried By A Staff Reporter Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Feb 2 – A meeting of journalists convened by the Journalists’ Union of Assam, Assam Union of Working Journalists, Assam Journalists’ Association and the Assam Tribune Employees Union at the Guwahati Press Club today vehemently condemned the ULFA for the threat issued to several senior journalists of the State, besides the news channel, NE Television. In a well-attended meeting, a number of speakers decried the ULFA diktat on the press, saying that everybody had to honour the freedom of the press. The meet was of the opinion that the ULFA had no right to issue any threat to the press and should learn to respect its sanctity.

It may be mentioned that the ULFA had recently issued threats to the NE Television and Dhirendra Nath Chakravorty, editor, Dainik Asom and Kanak Sen Deka, editor, Dainik Agradoot.

The meeting, which was presided over by ATEU president Saifuddin Ahmed, was addressed by Ronen Goswami, Gitartha Pathak, Sabita Lahkar, Girish Medhi and Keshab Kalita.
Sonia to campaign in Manipur Assam Tribune
NEW DELHI, Feb 2 – Congress president Sonia Gandhi will start her party’s campaign for upcoming Assembly polls in three states by addressing rallies in Manipur on February 5. Gandhi chose Manipur as her first destination amid reports that Congress candidates were being threatened by banned militant groups to either stay out of the poll process or to cough up money.

The UPA Chairperson will visit the state again on February 11 to address a rally in Imphal, and sources said the state’s ruling Congress is hoping that some announcement will be made on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, whose repeal has been demanded by the people. Militant groups like the PLA, UNLF, KYKL and KCP have been threatening politicians, especially Congress candidates. The polls to the 60-member Assembly will be held in three phases on February 8, 14 and 23. – PTI
Revolution to regression Nagarealm.com
Reports that shops in Assam’s thriving cosmopolitan city of Guwahati have been asked to down shutters at dusk reveal the sense of panic that has gripped the state. At least a dozen malls, a couple of multiplexes and a burgeoning food industry are bound to suffer a reversal of fortunes if this fear psychosis prevails.
It would be asking too much if we expect the security forces to be omnipresent at every vulnerable point. Leaving a bomb to detonate at a specified time does not take much imagination. There are many who would do it for lucre. Such things are easily outsourced to people who will do anything for a living. This country is an irony in itself. India has today joined the big league in economic growth. There is a general sense of wellbeing that is infectious, particularly if you are in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore or Gurgaon. But this “feel good” sensation evaporates the moment you cross Calcutta. East of Calcutta is a fractured region with a breathtaking landscape, no doubt, but beset with the serious predicament of multiple identities and assertions that seek visibility. In a democracy, there should be ample space for all types of political mobilisation. Demands for increasing the size of the economic pie and sharing it equitably are all part of the democratic process. Sadly, this space is hijacked by armed revolutionaries.

Spin doctors In a country as vast as ours, there are bound to be regions that literally fall under the “economic rain shadow” as far as distribution of and access to national resources are concerned. For over 40 years after Independence, India’s Northeast was a forgotten fringe that suffered bouts of epileptic fits and was medically controlled by a band of dedicated spin doctors owing complete allegiance to Delhi. They did not care about the patient they were treating. Unfortunately, the convulsions suddenly spread from Nagaland to Mizoram, Assam and Meghalaya. Accordingly, more spin doctors had to be deployed. Very soon, the doctors realised that the ailment was a money-spinner. Instead of administering the correct dose of medicine to cure the sickness, they decided it was more profitable to keep the patients dependent. An injection or two followed each convulsion. Once it subsided, the doctors were back to business as usual. The Northeast has an impressive brand of revolutionary outfits. Quite a few of them draw their strength from rebel leaders like Ernesto (Che) Guevara and his comrade-at-arms Fidel Castro. But, whereas Guevara and Castro rigorously adopted ends and means befitting their ideology, militants in the Northeast have evolved their own strategies and survival kit. Unlike Guevara and Castro, the rebels here do not lead a mass movement. Their ideologies are not widely endorsed. Their skirmishes are mainly aimed at building a corpus that is invested in businesses outside their country of origin. Fear is the weapon used to extract compliance from those who have the wherewithal to contribute to the corpus. Why, then, would the rebels want to wrap up their activities?
If the spin doctors have their own strategies for minting money out of treating the symptoms, the patients (rebels), too, have learnt to tolerate the placebo delivered to them from time to time. They have mastered the art of stage-managing convulsions to create an aura of fear so that the lakhs and crores come jingling into the moneybox. So while both sets of actors in this bizarre drama act out their roles, many unfortunate souls get caught in the crossfire.

Looking East In the last 15 years or so, the Look East mantra has kindled an interest in Delhi to look at the Northeast with a new deference — as a new investment destination. In a sense, this was retributive justice, since the most lucrative resources from the region, namely crude oil, tea and coal, had been ruthlessly exploited to enrich manufacturing industries outside.

Now, Delhi realises that its Northeast frontier is the most viable bridge between India, west of the chicken’s neck, and the rising economies of Southeast Asia. Delhi got its act together and started to put in place basic infrastructure (roads, bridges and institutions of learning), essentially to facilitate the movement of goods and people. This new-found interest in the Northeast has its spin-offs. We are beginning to be integrated into the economic loop and are attracting our own share of investments. Tourism is all set to become the money-spinner for the region.

But these dreams and aspirations were shortlived. The convulsions have resurfaced. Rebels have declared an open war and the spin doctors have accepted the challenge. Once again, the normal tenor of life is broken. Bullets and bombs have bruised, maimed and exterminated the non-aligned, guiltless populace sandwiched between warring parties. Sadly, this huge mass of humankind is terribly disorganised and fragmented. As a cohesive force, they would have been able to collectively handle the most intractable problem. But alienated by suspicion, ethnic loyalties, caste and class division, civil society is unable to take on squarely those who have become obstacles to their human and material progress. I leave out the spiritual dimension, since that falls in the realm of the private and the sacred. Guevara, in one of his treatises on revolution, says, “The road is long and full of difficulties. At times we lose our way and must turn back. At other times, we go too fast and separate ourselves from the masses. Sometimes we go too slow and feel the hot breath of those treading at our heels. In our zeal as revolutionaries we must try to move ahead as fast as possible, clearing the way. But we know we must draw our nourishment from the masses and that it can advance more rapidly only if we inspire it by our example”. Taking this as the creed of the revolutionary movement, we in the Northeast know that we have been completely deluded. Our rebel movements are not grounded in the values of equitable distribution of power and resources. Such values guided Guevara and the revolutionaries of his time. They drew inspiration from the people. Movements here are fuelled by greed for political and monetary power. They are completely alienated from the masses, in whose name the movements started. We are now entering an important phase of history. Since all upheavals in the region are seemingly selfish pursuits of a few ego-centric, astute individuals, some of whom have been able to cleverly manipulate the masses, it is important now to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Muffled masses The only space that the system has created is for the so-called intelligentsia, academicians and the articulate, English-speaking influential upper middle class. But it is this intellectually affluent group that has let us down by its own equivocations, its own twisted ideologies and its bourgeois politics. If politicians keep people at a subsistence level so they can continually patronise them and earn votes by promising the moon, the same is true of revolutionary groups. So, if people, by sheer grit and determination, manage to rise out of their poverty and squalor, will the revolutionaries and politicians not lose their constituency? Hence for both actors, it is expedient to keep the masses in destitution.

At this juncture, diplomacy and double-speak are meaningless. So is bargaining and counter-bargaining. If the Ulfa, NSCN and others no longer represent the masses, whom do they represent? What we need to hear are the voices of the affected, afflicted constituents. But who will provide them the platform? Do Assam, Nagaland, Tripura or Meghalaya today have individuals who can lead a real mass movement grounded on equity, justice and ethics? The masses should know that the intelligentsia has its own private agenda beyond which it will not venture. The masses need to identify leaders from their social strata who will genuinely represent their interests. This is the need of the hour. [PATRICIA MUKHIM, telegraphindia]
Govt, APCC rap NETV MD Sentinel By a Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Feb 2: The State Government and the Asom Pradesh Congress Committee have condemned the NETV managing director Manoranjana Singh for her scathing remark on Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in New Delhi yesterday. Interacting with reporters at New Delhi on Thursday, Singh reportedly described the Chief Minister a “scoundrel”. “Manoranjana Singh must have lost her mental balance. Otherwise, she would not have aired such a comment,” Education Minister Ripun Bora told a press conference at the National Games Secretariat today. “We are looking into the legal aspects of Singh’s remarks,” he added. When asked about the security provided to the NETV managing director in the wake of the one-month ultimatum served by the ULFA to the satellite channel, Bora said, “We are ready to provide security if she approaches the Government. We can even provide security to the property also.” In a press statement, APCC general secretary Dr. Haren Das said, “The Chief Minister represents three crore people of the State. So, insult to the Chief Minister is actually an insult to all the people of the State.”

NCP for probe into NETV row By a Staff Reporter Sentinel
GUWAHATI, Feb 2: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded an impartial inquiry into the ongoing controversy over a news item aired by NE TV which stated that the State Government paid cash to the banned ULFA to buy peace during the National Games.
“The people of the State has the right to know the actual truth, and only an impartial inquiry can clear the air,” the NCP said in a statement. The party said since media is the fourth pillar of democracy, a bitter controversy as this and the accusations and counter-accusations following it is not at all a healthy sign for the democracy.
DATELINE GUWAHATI/Wasbir Hussain Come on, be a sport for Asom’s image Sentinel
I presume that like everybody else, ULFA boss Paresh Baruah knows very well that games and sport transcend religion and politics. The rebel group’s military chief had not grown up with a gun in hand after all. Baruah may have decided to join and lead an insurrection for whatever reasons, but the fact remains that he must still be a sportsman at heart. Had he not disappeared from Tinsukia one day and gone underground, he would certainly have excelled in the sport he played, football. And who knows, it could have been him—by now a veteran sportsperson from Asom—lighting the Games torch at the awesome 30,000-capacity stadium at Sarusajai on February 9 when the 33rd edition of the National Games kicks off. But fate had other things in store for Baruah, and, of course, the State itself. For reasons unknown, I feel the ULFA may not really carry out anything in or around Guwahati to sabotage the 10-day event. That could actually be part of the group’s decision not to strike because, like every other Asomiya, the ULFA too would be concerned about Asom’s image. I might be proved wrong, but I have the right to think positive. Similarly, the ULFA has the right to alter its decision to call for a boycott of the National Games. Setting off a bomb at a soft location is no big deal. But, such acts creates terror and certainly lends an impression that Asom is a victim of terrorism. I think no one in the State, the ULFA included, would like their homeland to have that sort of an image in the outside world.
We need to realize that games and sport is not a hobby or a pastime for thousands of players from Asom (as also other states), particularly at that level when they have become eligible to participate in an event like the National Games. In fact, games and sport provide livelihood for these young people, and this is crucial in a State with an acute unemployment problem where close to two million youths are jobless. In such a situation, everyone needs to assist this section of people (the sportspersons) so that they can excel and inspire fellow Asomiyas to follow suit. We have not forgotten that the Manipuri insurgent groups in the Imphal Valley had allowed the National Games to be held in Imphal without any obstruction. I hope the ULFA too will prove that it is a thinking outfit in the next few days. I may again be proved wrong, but as I have maintained, I am free to think positive. I don’t want to go into the latest insurgent politics that has made Asom a virtual battleground. If the fragile peace process has broken down in Asom, it is because both sides were rigid in their respective positions. There is no point analysing as to what had gone wrong, but efforts must be made to de-militarize Asom and re-launch the quest for peace. That, of course, through a dialogue across the table, not by attempting to douse the flames through a military machine. Truce should be the catchword just now. I feel sad when I read news reports on things like the Jharkhand Olympic Association providing insurance cover to the contingent from the State coming to participate at the Games in Guwahati or that insurance companies in Asom are in the race to insure players for death, bodily injuries etc. Asom is not such a bad place after all. And, the ULFA hopefully will prove just that.

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02/03/2007: "GBs, Dobashis make peace bid The Morung Express"