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04/29/2007: "Naga Leader passed away:By R S Mayori Naganation.com"
Naga Leader passed away:By R S Mayori Naganation.com
Mr P A Shimrah (Angelus Shimrah) passed away at around mid-night on 29th April 2007 at his residence in Dimapur after a prolonged sickness. He was born in 1944 and joined the Naga national movement in 1976, which was led by Naga National Council (NNC) at the time.
Mr. Shimrah held the post of Cabinet kilonser before he passed away. He did his Master of Economics and English before he joined the movement. Mr Angelus Shimrah was a senior leaders among the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN). He also was the convenor of the steering committee of NSCN. He led a team of Nagas from Nagalim, who recently visited Papua New Guinea to study the famous Bougainville peace process, in which the NSCN (I-M) believes can be used as a model to study for the solution to the Naga conflict. He was also one of the leaders involved in the peace process that has been in negotiations for the last nine years.
His sacrifice for the Nagas struggle will not be forgotten. He has been to jail for many years for the cause of the Nagas. He has endured hardships by spending 30 years in the deep forest for his belief in Nagalim. His service to the nation is worth mention in the record of the history of the Nagas. It is believed that many leaders will be in attendance at the funeral service of Mr. Angelus Shimrah in Ukhrul District
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE
Dear Zingnimla and Children,
I am deeply shocked and pained to hear of the sudden demise of Mr. Angelus Paiza Shimrah early this morning at Dimapur. No doubt, I too am aware of his ailing health for quite sometime now, but which is not beyond control as far as human reasoning is concerned…? The only thing is… that life is not in our hand and our Almighty God knows best and we mortal sinners have no moral authority to question. Nevertheless, it is not fair for “death’s cruel hand” to snatch away the life of a person who has so much more to give to his people.
In this hour of grief and sorrow, words are not sufficient to express the feelings of my heart. I just want to say that, although I do not know him intimately, I do know of him, about his commitment and conviction for the freedom of the Naga people for which he gave his everything, whatever his shortcomings and weaknesses … people may say of him.
And as I convey my heartfelt condolences to you and the children, I want you to know that I too will always remember and cherish my short but very historic association with him in March 2006, when we traveled to Papua New Guinea and Bougainville on a Study tour on Peace and Reconciliation, during which period we were room-mates.
May God grant you the strength and courage to put up with this unthinkable loss and face life with greater determination for which he fought for?
To Angelus P. Shimrah, may your Soul Rest in Peace in knowing that you have fought a good fight for all of us who believe in Freedom and that you will always be an inspiration for many more to come.
Sd/-
Neingulo Krome
General Secretary, Naga Hoho.
Dated Kohima the 29th April 2007.
Fact Finding Committee to meet NSCN-IM leaders today John Basho Pou Poumai.com
Senapati, Adai Puimei, one of the main accused in the kidnapping and murder of two Senapati school children Moheni Martin and Hriinii Hurbert, escaped in the evening of April 24 from the custody of NSCN (IM) headquarter at Hebron in Dimapur. Two other main suspects in the crime are Brown Tangkhul and Manikho Mao along with suspects whose names are being withheld to avoid untoward communal violence in Senapati. Adai Puimei escaped as a result of a security lapse on the part of the NSCN (IM), said Veino Solomon, chairman of the Fact Finding Committee on the murder of the two children whose skeletal remains were found at the foothills of Viewland Colony in Senapati by two other kids who were hunting birds there. The committee consisting of tribes` presidents and women’s bodies will call on NSCN (IM) tomorrow to discuss the latest development even as the deadline given to the outfit ends on April 29.
The Senapati District Women’s Association is also gearing up for a sit-in dharna at Hebron to pressurize the outfit for speedy deliverance of justice to the parents of the two children and public at the earliest, and befitting punishment to those culprits who were behind the heinous crime.
The NSCN (IM) has set up a separate special task force led by Johnny, one of the investigation experts of the outfit, for the investigation into the crime. Meanwhile, S Lungnila, mother of Brown Tangkhul said in an appeal carried by the Imphal Free Press today that her son Brown Tangkhul was innocent and not involved in the crime. She said that Brown`s confession was a forced and dictated confession. Is it a real and right trial to bring justice, she asked in the appeal.
The committee was also not happy with the Manipur state government for not doing their duty and not keeping their words. Veino Solomon said that the committee would not correspond with the state government unless the state officials did it officially to satisfy the public. MExN
KRA leader, 4 others held Staff Reporter Nagaland Post
DIMAPUR, APRIL 28 (NPN): Two activists of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) including its finance secretary were arrested along with three of their accomplices by a special operation team of Dimapur Police on Friday.
The five were traveling in a Scorpio (NL-07-1205) in the town on Friday when police nabbed them.
Police said several incriminating documents including the agreement for suspension of operations between security forces and Kuki National Council (KNC) and demand notes issued to various government departments in Manipur were also recovered from their possession.
Police also raided the private residences of the KRA finance secretary, identified as Thanglem Haokip alias Athang (35), at Kashiram and 2 ½ Mile areas and seized a Bolero Invader along with the incriminating documents and mobile handsets. The other KRA activist was identified as "lance corporal" Chungminlum Singsit alias Bobuay (32) and the accomplices as David Singh (22), Paojang Hangsing (38), and Seikam Chongloi (33), all from Manipur.
KSU appreciates Rio Nagaland post
DIMAPUR: The Konyak Students' Union (KSU) has expressed appreciation to Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio's visit to Mon on April 20 and 21 during which, he inaugurated the 6th NAP Battalion Hq at Aboi town and the existing 6th NAP Hq at Tizit which was proposed to be IRB Battalion cum Training Centre. The union has also expressed hope that the chief minister's visit from Tobu to coal mines at Tiru will benefit the community.
However, the union lamented for not having been informed about the visit by the district administration and the NPF . It said during such visits, the district administrations were normally busy and have little time to highlight the general problems of the district and therefore, the NGOs were the right forum for highlighting these problems, it said.
It said political parties were more interested in their organizations and so it was felt that a coordination meeting chould have been convened before the chief minister's visit.
The union said despite its disappointment, it acknowledged and lauded Rio's effort to uplift the district through various developmental works. It said Rio's "sincere effort to pull out the backward tribe and mainstream us with the rest of the Nagas is indeed laudable" . The Union also said it invoked God's hand for providing wisdom to the chief minister while piloting the 'strive torn people' of Mon district in particular and the Nagas in general.
The people are speaking By: Monalisa Changkija Kangla Editor of Nagaland Page)
Even though our Governor has taken over charge only recently, there is no doubt that he has correctly read the writings on the wall when, in his appeal for restoring peace and harmony after the unfortunate incident at Dimapur on April 22 last, he stated: “The outburst of public anger was a result of the pent-up feelings of the people due to the highhanded activities of certain individuals and organizations. This is yet another reminder to us that violent activities only lead to more violence.” And “The vicious pattern of violence in the society is a ause for serious concern”.
What happened at Dimapur last Sunday shouldn’t have happened at all and the strongest of condemnatory terms are inadequate to describe the horror every right-thinking persons feels about it but such an incident was waiting to happen and this is no time to pussyfoot around the several reasons why it happened much less try to justify it’s occurrence and the total failure of the district civil and police administration to contain it unconvincingly. Without mincing any words, let us concede that this incident happened and the district civil and police administration failed miserably to contain it simply because the state Government cannot see the tree from the woods, cannot differentiate between what consists of law and order situation and political situation, has ambiguous policies on critical issues and it’s emphasis is more on style than substance on any issue. Considering what the people of the state of Nagaland have had to forcibly endure for decades, it is to the credit of our people that these pent-up feelings have not seen worse outbursts of anger a long time ago.
The “highhanded activities of certain individuals and organizations”, as our Governor has so rightly stated is the very core and cause of the people’s pent-up feelings, which unfortunately our state Government either pretends does not exist or probably finds it more convenient to shove under the carpet. But by doing so, it only invites more trouble for itself, as also adds to the people’s pent-up feelings and aggravates it. By doing so, the state Government may believe it is meeting the goals of its short-term aspirations but it is only adding fuel to the people’s ire and creating roadblocks between the people and our long-term aspirations. By deliberately confusing itself about what consist law and order situation and political situation, our state Government has abdicated its responsibilities of providing, facilitating and ensuring safety and security of life, limbs and property thus making a mockery of its espousal of ‘peace for development and development for peace’.
After all, there can be no peace or development when individuals and groups of individuals seek to dominate the majority with their agenda of vested interest. To cite a few examples, the UNDP clearly defines human security as “Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want” and the Government of Canada is also clear about human security and states it in terms of “Freedom from “pervasive threats to people’s rights, their safety or their lives”. Considering our beleaguered political history and economic realities, what is human security for our state Government? After all, the ultimate goal of development is to build human capabilities and enlarge human choices and to create a safe and secure environment where citizens can live with dignity and equality. Moreover, the critical links between governance, human security and human development cannot be ignored. Our state Government not sufficiently understanding this critical link is probably the main problem why it cannot see beyond its sloganeering posture of ‘peace for development and development for peace’. While it is true that reportedly only two tribes were involved in the April 22 incident at Dimapur, and the incident cannot be condoned, but to merely shrug it off with a ‘tribalism’ colour would also be acting like the proverbial ostrich with its head buried in the sand. Besides the people’s pent-up feelings, what the Government needs to dwell on and delve into are the reports of large amounts of arms and ammunitions found following the incident, which is a threat to human security.
Obviously this discovery cannot be perceived from the prism of tribalism. Although only two communities are reported to be involved in the April 22 incident at Dimapur, clearly the people are speaking, which our Governor has taken note of, but what about our state Government? It’s not as if our people haven’t spoken in the recent past particularly at Phek and Zunheboto.
NE Summits — A Perspective There are ambiguous opinions about the NE Summits held thrice so far in the past few years. The third was held at Delhi on April 10 & 11. The point of contention is on the issue of venues for such summits and with reasons too. On the other hand, there are also opinions that the metropolitans are the right venues for such ventures. Having attended the recently concluded NE Summit at Delhi, one can appreciate both opinions and perhaps arrive at the conclusion that once-a-year NE Summits in India’s metropolitans are inadequate to attract public and private investments to the Northeast and there is an urgent need to hold such summits collectively in this region, as also in individual states regularly too, as each Northeastern state has unique potentials to offer, which would not only accrue great profits to public and private investments but more importantly, change the pace of the development process here and the realities of the people of this region. This cannot be over-emphasized against the background of the Look East Policy on which India is banking heavily to make incursions into the Asian markets. But perhaps more pertinently India is single-mindedly striving to achieve a double-digit economic growth and wrest the economic leadership position from China. The fact is India must prove its unassailable leadership on the economic front to emerge as the undisputed economic powerhouse of Asia and for this India must look east and to look east it must look towards its Northeast first. This of course is easier said than done because this region, only recently acknowledged as key to India’s economic aspirations, has been sorely neglected for decades and it definitely is not proving easy to tame this ‘wild east’.
Of course, NE Summits must be continued to be held several times a year in different metropolitans of the country to attract varied and various kinds of investments but it is also imperative that our powers-that-be, especially of the bureaucratic types, are made to understand that the people of this region can no longer afford for them be ‘big frogs in their little puddles’. If we opine that the rest of mainland India must change their mindset and attitudes towards the Northeast, it is equally imperative that the Northeast also undergoes similar changes and more importantly get rid of the victim mentality — and of course the commission and kickback mentality. Let’s have no doubts that investors genuinely looking at the Northeast know that they do so not merely for profits but also for the benefit and in the interest of the country, and definitely not to enrich a handful of people in the corridors of power, whether elected or selected.
Once investors within and without the country come into the Northeast, equations are bound to change drastically so the question we need to ask of ourselves is whether we are ready, willing and welcome the equations that would change or whether we wish to see the status quo in this region for the rest of our lives. Talks in the town have it that Gegong Apang was recently unseated as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh not so much because of political machinations, as much as for economic machinations. But then when big players move into anywhere in the world, equations change, as witnessed in numerous countries across the globe and this is bound to happen in the Northeast too but are we ready for it? This is the real issue we need to grapple with if we are serious about the entry of investors into the Northeast.
The other issue that we must have no illusions about is that investors are not timorous about insurgency, as is made out to be simply because what is happening in the Northeast is not so much insurgency as much as simple thievery, which is pervasive overground, underground and middleground and they are very well aware of it. Leaving aside the fact that the very term insurgency needs a proper definition and description, if investors are hesitant to entry into this region because of the kind of ‘insurgency’ prevalent here, it is understandable because it is simply not in the fitness of things for some to work and some others to demand the fruits of that work. Things are pretty clear but it is for us to muster the courage of conviction to call a spade a spade and face reality. Only then NE Summits would bear the expected fruits.
