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11/12/2007: "NSCN-IM warns of reprisal against rival OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph"

NSCN-IM warns of reprisal against rival OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph

Kohima, Nov. 10: Nagaland is heading for an upsurge in factional clashes with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim today warning of hitting back at the rival Khaplang faction.
Responding to the ongoing attacks by the Khaplang group on NSCN (I-M) functionaries across the state, its “ministry of information and publicity” said the NSCN (K) was testing its tolerance by taking help from outfits of Manipur like the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) to mount attacks.
“Lest the NSCN (I-M) is blamed for hitting back, Naga civil societies are hereby warned that the patience of the Naga army whose personnel are targeted by the Khaplang group in connivance with the UNLF is running out,” the NSCN (I-M) mouthpiece warned.
Several Naga organisations, including the gaonburahs (headmen) and dubashis (chiefs of Naga customary courts), had earlier appealed to the NSCN (I-M) to show restraint. The Naga outfit, however, said with increasing loss of its men at the hands of cadre of its rival group, it would retaliate.
“No revolutionary group worth its salt will tolerate this unholy nexus and the answer will have to be given in a fitting manner.”
On Thursday, two NSCN (I-M) activists were abducted by the Khaplang faction at Longkhim, nearly 250km from Kohima and one of them was killed under the command of one Mahesh from Manipur. The body of “private” Ringmaya of Paoyi village in Ukhrul district of Manipur was recovered the same night.
“Nagas who want peace must try to see the true picture in the right perspective. This is necessary to identify the group with anti-national mindset that is working at the behest of authorities conspiring to undermine the Naga peace process,” the NSCN (I-M) said.
The “ministry” listed the names of NSCN (I-M) cadre killed by the Khaplang faction. The outfit accused its rival faction of bias towards Delhi and trying to undermine the longstanding Naga political issue. The chairman of the NSCN (K), S.S. Khaplang, is originally from Myanmar, but his deputies are strongly opposed to integration of contiguous Naga-inhabited areas.
The NSCN (I-M) also voiced concern over the recent rise in incidents of rape in Naga society and demanded that the culprits be given exemplary punishment, including death sentence.
A married woman was raped in Tuli on October 15 and another woman raped and murdered in Mokokchung on October 30.
The Watsü Mungdang, the apex body of the Ao Women, on Thursday took out a silent procession to protest violence against women and failure of police to arrest the culprits.
One ULFA militant killed, one hurt in fight with NSCN The Hindu
Dibrugarh (Assam) (PTI) One ULFA militant and a suspected NSCN (IM) cadre were killed and another militant injured in a fight between the two insurgent outfits on the Assam-Nagaland border on Sunday, official sources said.
The fight between the two insurgent groups took place at Tigit, three km inside the Nagaland border near Assam's Sibsagar district, sources said.
In the fight that lasted for hours, one hardcore ULFA militant from Doomdooma Mridul Moran and one suspected NSCN (IM) cadre S M Konyak were killed.
One ULFA militant was injured in the fight the reason of which was yet to be ascertained by the security forces.
The Assam-Nagland border has been sealed and operations intensified, sources added.
On GBs and DBs' call for peace- Nagaland post
The NGO's, GBs and DBs call for peace,and their appeal to shun violence, to stop shedding blood and seek unity amongst warring factions are all good attempts and need to be appreciated by all peace loving people. However, it is seen that such-appeals, inspite of holding numerous rallies, shouting slogans and even by fasting and prayers, does not seem to register satisfactory response from the warring factions. Clearly more need to be done. In fact the call for peace should not remain at the call level or passing of resolution level, but it must be translated into unity of action at the grass root level. For example, a report emanating from Phek District stated that a particular village has not only called for unity of U.G.factions but had also refused to pay any tax to any faction till they are united.
GBs and DBs' call for peace and unity amongst the warring factions is laudable. Here, who, other than GBs and DBs are at a better position to translate such call for peace into unity of action at the grass root level. In fact, it is the Village Chiefs who hold the key to the future of Nagaland and they must act responsibly towards this end. However, it will be denigrating the high traditional Office if the call is merely translated to collection of money for peace, however justified it may be. In view of the above, it is hoped that the GBs and DBs will exercise utmost discretion and act responsibly without fear or favour to bring peace to this strife-torn State of Nagaland.
May God grant wisdom to all of them to bring real peace in our land.
T. L. Angami, Founder and Advisor, GB/ Village Chief federation, Nagaland
A wake up call to the youth of Aboi- Nagaland Post
It pains me to see the condition of Aboi youth and the news item that appeared in some local daily, dated on 3rd. Nov. 2007 under the caption "AYC 47th A/C Aboi resolves" by T. Shongwang Konyak. I am not reacting to your write-up but this is a wake-up call for the youth before it is too late. It is much more pertinent to distribute the best of knowledge to our fellow generation but it would be incorrect to lead the youth in one's own interest and get polluted by the black charms. It is high time to realize our past mistakes and to repent. Let our mindsets get refreshed and accelerate our energy for the common cause with constructive views. Let our talents get exercised and act positively. Due to lack of a good and capable leader, having concern for the youth, we have remained crippled for so many decades and have stayed in the same old pond. Or should we send another old tattooed guy to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly again? It is you and me to decide our own fate. All intending candidates do not end up contesting but seeking a party ticket and ending up getting a lump sum amount is not a new fashion. It is their resolution, and when we portray ourselves for their benefit as a youth leader, don't we sound or feel like we are supporting their self interest? I agree with your views and choices, that your conscience is herald another falsehood. As a youth leader, it would be very realistic to prove your integrity as to what serve the AYC to support the decision, what vision did the gathering youth echoed? Was there any patriotic leader, ready to sacrifice for the educated unemployed? No, no, is what my conscience says, and I guess your views does not support the common cause but it is purely biased and self-centred. Youth is a platform, but it will be very generous if you utilize your identity for greater cause of Aboi. I dare say, that the voice of the youth should be for the common cause to herald a new era and there should be a concrete vision. A youth leader should not be carried or drifted away so easily but should be firm and exemplary in a society like ours. And we should also realize that we are the first generation and it should be for a good use, and elsewhere, don't let your identity as a leader be consumed by conditions but be unconditional. "A living cat is worth than a dead lion". Therefore I appeal the youth of Aboi to observe and study before acting and don't let the strength of your healthy youth turn into vain.
Khami Konyak, Aboi Town
NSCN (IM) blames rival for bus robbery The Morung Express
Dimapur, November 11 (MExN): Strongly condemning the November 7 incident in which a Dimapur-Kiphire night bus was looted by some miscreant, the NSCN (IM) Chakhesang Region today alleged that it was the handiwork of a combined NSCN (K) and ‘new NNC/FGN group of Phek district’.
A press release received here from the NSCN (IM) Kilonser Care Taker of Chakhesang Region, Kedutsu Tsuzuh, while putting the blame on the rival faction, said that on the fateful night, the bus made a halt around 11 pm at Pfütsero Town. The release alleged that “the combine NSCN (K) and new NNC/FGN group under the commandership of Captain Josef (K) from Khezhakeno village and one Major Kusalie (FGN) from Tizu area were left at Khomi and Losami area late at night around 12:00 midnight towards the highway and their presence in the area was the eye-witnesses of the public and they remain stayed at Lozaphuhu village till 9th Nov 2007 after coming up from the highway (sic)”.
In this connection, Chakhesang Region NSCN (IM) termed those combined group ‘as a great betrayal of Nagas, troublemaker and the destroyer of the Nagas’ and added that looting the bus passengers ‘was a great insult to the concern area people and also made the whole Chakhesang ashamed’.
“It is high time for the villagers to keep watchful for any repetition in the near future,” the release stated and at the same time expressed deep concern for the passengers who lost their belongings and the mental torture they had to undergo. The release also lamented the stand taken by the Chakhesang people over the whole issue.
“The NSCN Chakhesang Region also blaming the CPO, CMA, CBCC and CYF for their double standard and harbouring the Khaplang and NNC/FGN group in Phek area. Words may say no, but the action itself tells the people who is doing what. If there is such incident involved by NSCN then shouting and complaining against them is to be overfilled in all daily papers of Nagaland,” the release stated, “This is the crux of the Chakhesang people.”
Victims testify of NSCN (K)’s brutality The Morung Express
Village Council Chairman of Wanching village displays marks of the inhuman beatings by the NSCN (K) cadres. (MExPix)
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 11 (MExN): Pained, hurt and mostly confused by the violence meted out on them by cadres of the NSCN (K), the seven village leaders of Wanching are still trying to figure out why they had been assaulted in such an inhuman way. Having been referred by, Mon Civil Hospital for better medical attention, the Village Council Chairman, Village Education Committee Chairman, Head GB and other four heads of the village are undergoing intense medical examination here at Dimapur. Giving out horrifying details of the fateful night of November 7, the VC Chairman said that they had been bound with their hands behind their back and beaten with bamboo sticks andgun butts for more than two hour, from 9 PM to 11:10 PM.
The chairman and the Head GB stated that there had been no provocation for the physical assault. They confirmed earlier news reports that the cadres had demanded 50 Kgs of rice, 10 chickens and Rs. 20,000 which was provided to them but in the absence of chicken, 2 ducks and a pig was arranged. However, inspite of all that a curfew was imposed in the village from 8 PM to 4 AM and the cadres forbad anyone from coming out of their houses. The village leaders were then summoned, and as soon as they entered the appointed house, the cadres shut all the windows and doors, tied their hands behind their back and started beating them with bamboos and rifle butts. “There was no questioned asked, no reason given to us. They just started beating us” stated the Head GB. “They locked us inside the house and hit us, and whoever cried out in pain was hit harder”, stated one of the victims. The victims of the harassment, who are also the village heads disclosed that their only demand to the NSCN (K) authorities is to handover the culprits to the village, otherwise the village would not cooperate with the group at all.
Wanching village issues ultimatum to NSCN (K) The Morung Express
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 11 (MExN): Against the backdrop of physical assault on the Wanching village leaders by cadres of NSCN (K) on Wednesday, the Wanching Village Council has demanded that the culprits be handed over before November 30, in order to settle the case as per the law of the land. In a press release, the village council took a stand that in case of failure to comply with the demand, the village and its public would not cooperate with the NSCN (K) any further and they would not be held responsible for any untoward incident.
The release issued by the village leaders led by the village Angh, Kemang, VDB Secretary and VC member T. Teihwang, pointed out to historic facts that among the Konyak village, Wanching one of the starting places of the Naga Political Issue, had undergone untold suffering at the hand of the Indian Army.
It continued that the NNC Office and G. Headquarter were opened at the village at 1952. The whole village and its granaries had been burnt down completely in the year 1956 and the village was dispersed twice by the Indian Army because the village had been actively participating and accepting without hesitation, to support the cause of Naga Freedom Movement, it stated adding that at that time the leaders, the old, young, weak and sick had to take refuge in the jungle without housing, food or water fearing the wrath of the Indian Army. “The village has been so far a heaven like place to rest/shelter for the National worker”, it stated.
As such, it stated that the village had always been supportive and actively involved with the cause of the Naga issue with everything it had, but stated that the November 7 incident and the action of around 30 armed cadres under the command of Col. Peyong, was highly condemnable. Giving minute details of the whole incident wherein the Village Council Chairman, GB and other village leaders were physically beaten up by the cadres, the Council stated that when the victims were inquired about the incident, no valid reason for the harassment could be found.
Therefore, in letter addressed to the Kilonser (Home) of the NSCN (K), with copies to the President Konyak Union, Konyak Students’ Union, Commander-in-Chief of NSCN (K), Chairman of Konyak Region, of the NSCN (K) and the Raja Peyou Nyupdang Range, the Council and the public of Wanching village demanded the handing over of the errant cadres before the month’s end. Related story and picture on Local
NSCN (I-M) indicts rivals Nagaland Post
Dimapur, Nov 11 (NPN): The NSCN (I-M) Sunday implicated the NSCN (K)-NNC/FGN combine in the November 7 incident of robbery on the highway between Lanyi junction and Losami in Phek district in which cash and other valuables belonging to the passengers of a Dimapur-Kiphire night service bus were looted.
Condemning the incident, a statement issued by Kedutsu Tsuzuh, Kilonser caretaker of Chakhesang Region, NSCN (I-M), alleged the bus was looted by a combined group of the NSCN (K) and NNC/FGN and not unidentified miscreants as reported by the media.
Kedutsu claimed the combined group under the commandership of “Capt” Josef of NSCN (K) and “Maj” Kusalie of the FGN from Tizu area left Khomi and Losami areas towards the highway on November 7 midnight and stayed at Lozaphuhu village till November 9. Kedutsu also claimed their presence in the area was witnessed by many among the public.
Describing the combined group as “great betrayer of the Nagas”, “trouble-maker” and “destroyer of the Nagas”, Kedutsu said the Chakhesang Region, NSCN (I-M), viewed the incident as a great insult to the citizens of the area because it brought shame to the Chakhesangs as a whole. He said the area people expressed deep concern over the looting and the “mental torture” caused to the passengers.
Kedutsu urged the villagers to guard against recurrence of such incidents. At the same time, he criticized the Chakhesang Public Organization, Chakhesang Mothers’ Association, Chakhesang Baptist Church Council and Chakhesang Youth Front for adopting double standard stance and “harbouring” NSCN (K) and NNC/FGN in Phek area.
“Words may say no, but the action itself tells the people who is doing what. If there is such incident involved by NSCN then shouting and complaining against them is to be overfilled in all daily newspapers of Nagaland. This is the crux of the Chakhesang people,” Kedutsu added.

Northeast Echoes PATRICIA MUKHIM The Telegraph
Mockery of democracy India is surrounded by military dictatorships. Recent developments in Pakistan reveal the chaotic nature of despotic rule. On the eastern flank, Myanmar’s rule of terror where public protests are quashed by the barrel of the gun shows that democracy, with all its imperfections, is still the best bet. Hence attempts to strengthen democratic governance through the deepening and consolidation of democratic principles need to be given due recognition.
Democracy creates its own sets of institutions and since people are at the core of it, they need to ensure that these institutions deliver. In a country like India, democracy has evolved and developed into a form that perhaps no longer resembles that of the countries the concepts were first borrowed from. Some fundamental tenets, however, remain unchanged.
One of the fundamental premises of parliamentary democracy is that elections are based on universal adult franchise. Only citizens who have attained a certain age have the right to vote. In India, an individual gets her or his voting right on attaining the age of 18. The right to vote is precious on two counts. First, it establishes one’s citizenship beyond any doubt. Second, it is a mechanism by which one elects legislators or lawmakers who will run the affairs of the state or country on a daily basis. Implicit in the principle of universal adult franchise is that all eligible citizens have the right to vote irrespective of sex. This is a guaranteed right and in most states of India, women exercise it without any hindrance.
Election & eves But such is not the case with Nagaland. At a recent conference organised by the Nagaland State Women’s Commission in Kohima, where female representatives from every tribe were present, one learnt that the state still practices its own archaic, village democracy where women are completely marginalised during elections. Even educated women complained they had never been able to cast their votes because by the time they reached the polling stations, someone had already voted in their names. For the uninitiated, it seems rather strange that when people elsewhere have been using electoral photo identity cards, precisely to eliminate proxy voting, this exercise has not succeeded in Nagaland. This is perhaps the only state where photo ID cards are still not in use.
There are instances when the village council arbitrarily decides which candidate to vote for. A diktat of sorts follows and people are simply told to surrender their votes so that someone can stamp all the ballot papers for that single candidate. Women are not even considered important enough for their views to be sought during discussions on whom to vote for. It is taken for granted that what men decide is always the best for all concerned.
Talk about political exclusion of women and you have a classic example right here. It sounds like a bizarre form of democracy, but funnily enough, even the most articulate do not see anything wrong with this system. Such are the dichotomies of Indian democracy! One wonders if Article 371(A), which allows Nagaland special privileges with respect to customary laws and practices, transfer of land and property and such other exemptions, are also extended to the conduct of elections. Nowhere in India do we have direct democracy or direct elections as practised in Nagaland. Yet successive governors who are expected to point out these anomalies to the Chief Election Commissioner have not done so. Why?
No uniformity If Nagaland can get away with this democratic indiscretion, what prevents other tribal states from asserting their right to their own indigenous forms of election? Can democracy survive without a fair amount of uniformity in its theory and practice? Election to traditional institutions has always been by voice vote and only by male members of society. We cannot call this an enlightened practice in this day and age, but it continues nevertheless.
The legislature is a constitutional body. It cannot be equated with an anachronistic traditional institution that has outlived its utility, mainly because of its exclusive nature. Hence elections to the legislature must be conducted on principles laid out by the Chief Election Commission which runs the entire electoral process in this country.
In states like Meghalaya, we are already into our second term of using the photo ID card. In Nagaland, one learnt, the task of photographing electors had started way back in the 1990s. But for some reason, people never got their cards and never tried to find out why. This is interesting, considering that Naga people are well aware of their rights on most other issues. So, one wonders if this is yet another attempt by the people of Nagaland to thwart India from cataloguing its citizens. If that is so, what is the status of a Naga today? Does a Naga travelling abroad do so on an Indian passport? Or does she or he have a different citizenship status that is internationally recognised and for which sympathetic nations are willing to allow them entry without a visa? Would that not make the Naga issue an international bone of contention?
Granted that India is still a struggling democracy, but there are facets of it which have provided stability. . If Kashmir, with all its internal conflicts and disputes about being a part of the Indian nation can have elections based on a photo ID card, what makes Nagaland such a unique case? One is not aware that the so-called national workers (read the NSCN-IM and Khaplang factions) have ever raised their voices against the cards. But this might just be a very subversive move, a silent movement that has not attracted much attention. Or it could be a clever stratagem of the ruling government to ensure victory through booth capturing and largescale proxy voting, both of which would have been eliminated with the introduction of the cards.
One wishes to ask this very direct question to those hundreds of women who constantly challenge the state, as to why they have not insisted on their right to vote. Of what use is the state women’s commission if women are deprived of their right to vote? How can women speak of political rights when they are not even allowed to vote?
Citizen by proxy? Now, Naga women are already speaking of a separate women’s political party, knowing well that established parties like the Congress, Nagaland Peoples Front and the BJP would never allow them to contest on a level playing field. But first things first. Women have always been enlisted to do proxy voting for male candidates. Many of them have done so with a sense of pride and achievement.
To quote Rano Shaiza, the first woman Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland: “Nail polish removers are sold by the tonnes in Nagaland during elections. They are freely distributed to rub off the ‘indelible’ ink used by election officials to identify a voter who has already cast her vote.”
Educated, articulate and informed Naga women need to motivate and educate their sisters to be more conscious of their rights rather than allow themselves to be used as instruments by male candidates during elections. This is where gender sensitisation should begin.
The writer can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com
Key Kuki Revolutionary Army leader killed in Delhi Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi, Nov 12: A leader of the banned underground group of the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) was shot dead at Delhi’s Sunlight colony.

The KRA leader, K. Hanshingh was killed late yesterday evening. Police sources said that the motive behind his killing is believed to be inter-factional rivalry and dispute.

The Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) was formed in December 1999, allegedly with the support of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCM-IM).

It is believed to have about 450 cadres of which about 180 of them are based in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam and the rest are based in Manipur.
D1 Oils targets 3.5 lakh hectares jatropha plantations To start producing crude oil by 2008The Hindu Business Anil Sasi

A file photo of a jatropha plant.
Dimapur (Nagaland), Nov 11 The UK-based global biodiesel producer D1 Oils plc — the world’s largest commercial jatropha cultivator — is targeting around 3.5 lakh hectares of jatropha plantations across India during the next four years, besides plans to invest in the setting up of downstream extraction units and necessary supply chain services in the country.
British Petroleum pact The company, which recently entered into a partnership with British Petroleum, expects to start producing up to 1,000 tonnes of crude jatropha oil in the country by as early as next year, the CEO of D1 Oils India Pvt Ltd, Mr Samiran Das, told Business Line.
The crude production in the country is expected to be ramped up in the following years, he added.
India among top 3 “India would definitely be among the top three countries for D1 in terms of jatropha plantations going forward,” he said.
Globally, D1 Oils plans to cultivate one million hectares of jatropha, spread across mainly India, Southern Africa, South East Asia, China and Australia, by the year 2011.
As on date, D1 Oils’ plantations in India have crossed 89,000 hectares and the company plans to increase this to one lakh hectares by the end of the current planting season, he said.
D1 India is currently cultivating jatropha in Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and has joint ventures with tea firm, Williamson Magor, in the North-East and liquor company, Mohan Breweries, in the South to process and market bio-diesel from jatropha oilseeds produced by the farmers.
“We are looking at other joint ventures and are in talks with players, though nothing has been firmed up so far,” he said.
downstream extraction units The company, according to Mr Das, plans to set-up downstream extraction units and refineries over the next couple of years in India. The company’s first extraction unit is expected to come up in South India, along with the requisite supply chain and network of downstream services. D1 Oils recently set up a 50:50 joint venture company with British Petroleum and transferred its plantation activities to the joint venture, D1-BP Fuel Crops Ltd. India has been encouraging the use of jatropha, a shrub which has no applications in the food sector and can be grown on arid wastelands, in biodiesel production.
The Centre has initiated a project for petroleum companies to blend conventional diesel with up to five per cent of biodiesel, even though it is yet to be made mandatory as in the case of ethanol, where a mandatory five per cent blend has been introduced. The price at which petroleum companies will buy biodiesel from producers has been fixed at Rs 25 per litre.
Call for Action Editorial the Morung Express
The dismay that was expressed by the Watsü Mungdang, the apex Ao women’s organization by way of a protest march against the rape of two women last month in Mokokchung is but a sad reminder on the pitiable condition of women folk within Naga society despite the clamor that they enjoy equal rights as men and that they are far better off than their counterparts in other places. The argument on the enviable status of Naga women is itself ill conceived and completely negates the true picture and something that official statistics have tended to muffle either intentionally or for want of more in-depth study. The series of assaults—both rape and other offences—being carried out against the women folk appear to be increasing with time and this requires appropriate intervention at several levels because the problem itself is not one-dimensional. The slogans used by the protestors in Mokokchung—“Where are you Police?" “Respect women’s rights”, “Women are partners, not toys”, “Preserve Ao Naga tradition of respect for women” and “Respect for women is self respect”—conveys in truth the deteriorating condition that women find themselves within a patronizing, patriarchal and power mongering system. Women specific assaults will continue to occur unless our society challenge and change the ‘culture’ that sustains it.
When we look at who has power in society and who makes the major decisions, we see that men still dominate our institutions—government, banks, business, medical, legal, media, religious, educational and the family. Further in Nagaland the legal system is unfavorable and very few women actually report crime. This attitude and behaviour towards women in general is no doubt intrinsically linked with the social, economic and political context and in the present has created a power imbalance between men and women. Rape not only reflect but reinforce gender inequality. In one of our earliest news feature on ‘sexual assault’ under the column ‘Public Agenda’ (Impressions) the findings on the aforementioned topic pointed out that sexual assault is the soft underbelly of the patriarchal system and that it was the tool to keep women out of the power system.
Rape is not only about an act of intercourse but also the emotional pain of sexual oppression and physical abuse. Unfortunately, it is glaringly obvious that our society is mostly unconscious of or in denial about such sexual assaults so much so that there is a dark cloak of secrecy about this whole topic. Perhaps what is needed is generating awareness and policies which can help bring about change. The Nagaland Women Commission is in the best position to take up women centric issues and intervene accordingly. Based on the memorandum submitted by the Watsu Mungdang, the State Government in tandem with the Women Commission should take appropriate measures to deal with such criminal acts. For too long now, we have been under the impression that rape is merely an aberration. This is both misleading and ignores the grim reality. And given the changing nature of crime and violence especially targeting women and children this calls for corrections in customary laws and enforcement mechanisms besides policy and institutional arrangement to respond meaningfully.

India seeks release of political prisoners in Myanmar Indo Burma News
November 12, 2007: (Sify News) New Delhi: Pressing for "immediate" and "inclusive" political reforms in Myanmar, India on Monday sought release of important political prisoners and probe into alleged excesses resorted to by the military junta.
"We want political reforms (in Myanmar) and the process of reconciliation has to start immediately and it has to be inclusive," Mukherjee told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Asian economic integration. "As far as possible important political prisoners should be released. There should be some sort of inquiries into the excesses which were resorted to as it is being alleged by the media and other sources," he said.
Mukherjee's comments came as in Myanmar, UN human rights expert Paulo Sergio Pinheiro met with officials on his mission to discover how many people were killed during the junta's suppression of pro-democracy protests. Monks were at the forefront of the protests, which began in August in response to a spike in fuel prices but swelled in the following weeks into the biggest anti-government demonstrations the junta has faced since 1988. The government maintains 10 people died but diplomats and dissidents have put the number far higher.