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11/21/2007: "ZB mends bridge with NSCN (IM) The Morung Express"

ZB mends bridge with NSCN (IM) The Morung Express

Dimapur, November 20 (MExN): ): In a bid to mend the broken bridge between Zeliangrong people and the NSCN (IM) especially after the razing of Jalukie Zangdi village on August 28, the Zeliangrong Baudi (Hoho), Nagaland today met with the General Secretary of the NSCN (IM), Th Muivah and submitted a representation to the NSCN (IM) with regard to the land issue of Intangki National Forest, Jalukie Zangdi and Mungleu Mukh.
Submitting the representation on behalf of four Zeliangrong frontal organizations Zeliangrong Baudi (Nagaland), Zeliangrong Mipui Organization (N), Zeliangrong Students Union (AMN) and the Zeliangrong Students Union (N), the representation strongly asserted that Intangki National Forest, Beisumpuikam village area belongs to the Zeliangrong people and that there is no question of eviction of Beisumpuikam villagers from the area.
Among the significant points made by the Zeliangrong Baudi to the NSCN (IM), the representation demanded a MoU with specific terms and conditions be drawn between the Mungleu Mukh and Jalukiejangdi village with the consent of the Jalukie (the land owners).
The representation demanded that the Beisumpui village be declared as the land owners over Intangki National Park after making necessary correction in ‘the previous declaration of National Property by GPRN/NSCN (IM) in 1996’. The representation also demanded the renaming of the NSCN (IM) headquarter as ‘Hebron Camp Jalukie’ since the camp falls within the jurisdiction of Old Jalukie village.
Further, the representation demanded that the eviction of encroachers by the NSCN (IM) in Intangki should be implemented ‘in letter and reality once and for all’.
Today’s meeting with the NSCN (IM) which was in a very cordial atmosphere was held at the private residence of Muivah at Camp Hebron, the Headquarter of NSCN (IM).
Muivah appreciated the Zeliangrong people and promised the delegation, which was led by Zeliangrong Baudi (N) President, K Akhang, that the representation to the NSCN (IM) would be discussed at the highest level in the organization.
On the other hand, the Zeliangrong Baudi have expressed high hope on the sincerity of the NSCN (IM) leadership and expressed optimism that positive developments would come out of today’s meeting with Muivah.
The relationship between the Zeliangrong people and the NSCN (IM) had been severely strained when the NSCN (IM) razed the Jalukie Zangdi village on August 28 and the subsequent highhandedness of the IRB personnel against protestors on September 3, who were taking out a peaceful rally against the NSCN (IM) action and on their way to submit a memorandum to the NSCN (IM) collective leadership.
Consequently, on September 10, the Zeliangrong Baudi, Nagaland declared a mass non-cooperation against the NSCN (IM).
However, the recent Zeliangrong Peoples’ Convention which was held on November 15 at Jalukie town, witnessed a marathon deliberation on this issue, and finally the Convention decided to approach the NSCN (IM) collective leadership for ameliorating the relationship between the NSCN (IM) and the Zeliangrong people. Today’s meeting with Muivah comes as a realization of the task entrusted by the Convention to Zeliangrong Baudi, Nagaland to reach out to the NSCN (IM) and seek an amicable settlement between the Baudi and the NSCN (IM).
Illegal migrants fuelling dispute: Rio Assam Tribune The Morung Express
Guwahati |
Asserting that the Assam-Nagaland border dispute must be resolved outside the court of law, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio today revealed that a ‘third party’, comprising mostly the illegal Bangladeshi migrants, who are occupying the border areas in sizeable numbers, is playing a crucial role in keeping the dispute hot among the people of both the States. In an exclusive interview with The Assam Tribune here today, the Nagaland Chief Minister said that as these illegal migrants are coming to the border areas via Assam, the Assam Government has a greater role to play before things worsened further.
“Assam, apart from being the gateway to SE Asia is also the mother of all the North-eastern States and, therefore, the onus is more on them to restore normalcy in the region in co-operation with the other NE States,” Rio pointed out.
“As it is through Assam that all the development works take place in the other NE States, having a proper bonding with it is very necessary for the other NE States,” he asserted.
“The High Court may come up with a verdict on the Assam-Nagaland border issue soon but the real challenge would be to sensitise the people along the border by striking a certain level of understanding between them. Until and unless people along the border develop a certain bond of understanding, the problem would keep on erupting time and again,” Rio said.
“The scenario in the Assam-Nagaland border is deteriorating and we will have to work in tandem in order to sensitise people living along the border,” said Rio, who was here in the city to inaugurate the first Nagaland guesthouse in Six Mile area.
When asked, he however refused to comment as to whether any political party is backing the illegal migrants for their vested interest, who in turn are fuelling the border dispute between the two States.
He went on to say, “Both the State Governments of Assam and Nagaland would have to identify these illegal migrants and take necessary action against them.”
The Chief Minister further said, “ Loss of human lives and property is always painful and co-operative initiative from the both the States is the only way of resolving the issue.”
He went on to say that the North Eastern States are heading towards major development and peace being the prerequisite for sustainable development cannot be compromised with at any cost.
On the arms and drugs proliferation in the region, Rio opined that neighbouring countries virtually have no control over the borders, which is one of the reasons why such crimes are on the rise in the NE.
“ I have spoken to the Union Ministry on this issue several times but nothing has come up as yet. I feel, all the northeastern states must initiate concentrated efforts to convince the Centre to take steps in this regard,” the Chief Minister added.
Naga Homes: Some Bitter Home Truths K.Ela Prodigals Home
A young teenage girl was found to be pregnant. The guardians were shocked. A married man, a father of teenage daughters (the same age as the pregnant girl) was identified as the culprit after grueling hours of interrogation on the girl. The father of the teenage daughters was charged of rape. But on being charged of rape the man said that it was not rape because every time he had sex with the young teenage girl, he had paid her! So he said that he didn’t rape her and he was not guilty! He was not at fault. She was paid for it! He had paid for it! He had been doing it with her for some years and he had paid ( Rs. 50 to Rs.200, depending on amount of money available in his pocket ) her religiously every time. She was in her early teens. How could something so shameful happen in their home, to their young girl? The family’s reputation was at stake. The girl’s reputation/future was at stake! What will people say? What will people think? Since she had accepted whatever had been paid, they concluded she has been nothing less than a prostitute, and they decided to just keep quite to save themselves from disgrace and shame! And besides, the father of the teenage daughter who had been paying for sex with a teenage girl was an officer, a respectable(?) man ,an educated (?) man from a good (?) family! And the girl’s family was just another average Naga family struggling to survive, never had enough money even to send all the children to school. What can they do? The girl had dropped out of school and was helping out at home. Perhaps for want of pocket money, perhaps for want of nice clothes or perhaps for want of a nice pair of shoes, when some unscrupulous father of teenage daughters offered her money in exchange of her young innocent body, she gave in to the temptation of earning money right next door!
Sex with a minor, with or without consent, with or without money is rape! I wonder if that so called educated officer, father of teenage daughters knew this fact! I just wonder what he will say if his daughters are lured the same way by some dirty minded men like him! A rapist father who rapes a girl as young and innocent and as precious as his young daughters, a husband who brings disgrace and shame to his wife, dishonor to his valued status as a father. What do we say to this kind of criminal who is suppose t be ‘head of the family’? The wife keeps quiet out of shame. The children keep quiet out of shame and fear. The victim’s family keeps quiet. Who will be his next innocent victim? There are many men like this man (who appears to be decent, gentle, educated, civilised outwardly, but are nothing less than monsters inside!) in many Naga homes! What do we do about this?
Listen to another bitter home truth: The domestic servant girl at home is raped by the father of the home, the head of the family, every time the mother of the family is away! The mother, the wife knows about it but keeps quite, scared of the husband and the shame that will befall the family if it becomes public. The servant girl cannot run away because this is the only place she can call “home”, they are the only people she knows. She was brought to this home when she was very young. Now she doesn’t know her home, her parents, her brothers and sisters because she never went home after she was brought to this family to work as a domestic servant. Her parents were never allowed to visit her. If she runs away, where will she go? Who will believe the horrifying tales of crime committed to her in the home, which has become her home, her only family, by a man she looks up like her own father? The mother of the home was kind and good to her but scared of the husband and keeps quiet. She was scared that he will go to other women if he is denied of his animal and devilish ways in the home with a girl like his own daughter! The servant girl runs away, lands up in the wrong place. God only knows what her future will be. Who will be answerable for this poor girl? What do we say about this Christian home? Christian mothers, how can you allow this?
A boy was working as a domestic servant when he was small. He recalls how he as a small boy was made to carry their fat, heavy baby from morning till night. At night his shoulder will be all red and sore and he finds it difficult to sleep due to pain. He was made to stay up till the husband goes to sleep and that use to be usually very late because every night he will stay up drinking and he will not allow him to go off till he goes to bed. He remembered how every night he stays half awake, sometimes dozing while sitting and wishing for his bed, but had to stay up and wait upon the ‘malik’. He was never given warm food. Cold left over food was his daily food. A slight mistake , he was beaten/hit with anything they can get hold of. The wife had long painted nails, and she use to pinch his ears with her sharp long nails, which was very painful. Both the husband and the wife used to drink and fight everyday, every night. The wife never does any work at home. He was made to do everything right from washing heavy blankets to under wears, bras, panties! He said that washing under wears was the worst part. He really hated doing that. He said he didn’t mind washing the clothes, but bras and panties, “over ase” he said disgustingly! “They fight even in the market places”, he said. He said he couldn’t understand why they keep on fighting. One day he runs away in anger. Full of resentment, he said he knows he is just a “Nokor” (servant) but he should not be treated so badly as if he is not a human being. He said he knew that he cannot go to his own home because his mother died when he was very small, and father was always drinking and he had brought home another woman whom he could not accept as his mother. He doesn’t belong any where anymore. How many of our Naga mothers are like this mother? Lazy, heartless, cruel mothers, where have all your Christian values gone? Is it only for an hour’s exhibition in church on a Sunday? Mothers, can we be good God fearing and loving mothers who moulds up any child (whether your own child or a ‘child servant’ taking care of your children) put under your care with love and wisdom?
Another case, not just a stray case but one among many hundreds of similar cases. A young girl finds she is pregnant, tried to figure out who could be the father of the baby, couldn’t be sure of who could be responsible! She has been to many wild drunken parties, slept around with many in states of intoxication, and cannot even remember how many men/boys she actually slept with! So she doesn’t know whose baby is growing inside her! She decides she has to either get rid of the baby or find a man fast and sleep with so that she can put the blame on him! Who is doing this crazy thing? It’s not a crazy Holly wood or Bolly wood movie story but a real story from our ‘real, alive and kicking’ Naga girls from Christian homes! Who do we blame? The men/boys from Christian homes that sleeps around with any girl/woman available? Or the Christian girl who hops from one wild party to another and sleeps with anything in pants? Can our churches revisit our homes and see what more can they do to build up ‘Real Homes’? Women and girls, fast losing their own self respect, they are nothing, but sex objects to many men. What kind of homes has brought up such characters of girls/women? What kind of homes will such girls/women build up? What kind of mothers/wives will they be?
What is becoming of our Naga homes? Daughters are going astray, sons are going from bad to worse, most parents very poor models for their children, they cannot even take their God given responsibilities seriously. Children have not much regard for their elders and parents. Home is becoming a mess; families are disintegrating and falling apart. Sad, isn’t it? We are all responsible ,isn’t it ?
Jamir in Mokokchung Limalenden Longkumer The morung Express
Mokokchung | Governor of Goa and former Chief Minister of Nagaland Dr. SC Jamir arrived here yesterday via Dimapur. His native Ungma villagers under the aegis Ungma Senso Mungdang welcomed him at a spot near Chungtia village, some ten kilometers away from Mokokchung town. The Goa Governor later after arriving at his private residence in Arkong Ward, Mokokchung town, in a very brief interaction with the press, said that he is on a personal visit to his native land. He also added that it is not only his fundamental right, but also his birth right to come to Nagaland as and when he wishes to.
It may be mentioned that the NSCN (IM) has earlier executed an ‘Azha’ barring him from entering into Nagaland. He also addressed his villagers and several hundred well wishers who assembled at his residence during which he exhorted that Nagas must ensure unity amongst themselves first and foremost without which there can’t be any prosperity. He also said that it is high time the Naga people formulate some practicable and tangible formulae to unite the warring ‘Naga national’ factions.
A close aide of the former Chief Minister of the state disclosed that he will be in Mokokchung for at least another couple of days. The Mokokchung District Congress Committee President Nungkum Jamir when contacted over telephone expressed ignorance of Jamir’s purpose of visit, but said that the DCC will be meeting him tomorrow.
FGN censors ZPC support to peace talks The Morung Express
Dimapur, November 20 (MExN): The Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), Zeliangrong Region today strongly censored the recent declaration of the Zeliangrong Peoples’ Convention that expressed strong support to the ongoing peace talks between the Central Government and the NSCN (IM). A press release received here from the Publicity & Information Department, FGN Zeliangrong Region, Munsin Panmei termed the on-going peace process between the GOI-NSCN (IM) ‘is only a selling process of the Naga national rights’. “The unscrupulous expression such as ‘unflinching support to the on-going peace process of Isak-Muivah group’ was never and will never be the voice of the Zeliangrong people,” the release declared.
Panmei declared that the Baudi leaders are well aware that the Zeliangrong people since the 1950’s have been undauntedly and unyieldingly defending the Naga sovereignty and the ancestral land the Zeliangrong people. In this regard, Munsin Panmei highly appreciated that the resolution adopted at the Zeliangrong People’s Convention on November 15 to protect, preserve and maintain the unique territorial existence of the Zeliangrong traditional and ancestral land. However, release declared that the ‘treacherous act’ of NSCN (IM) can never be supported by the Zeliangrong people. “If any public leader or any citizen of the Zeliangrong Region supports such perfidious act, it will be treated as a traitor now or in the future,” said Panmei.
Giving out reasons for its stand, the FGN Zeliangrong Region leader, said that Th Muivah had time and again declared that he has dropped the sovereignty issue from the Naga talks and that now he stands for ‘a special federal relationship with India’. “Why then these Baudi leaders declared that they have unflinching support to peace process of IM group?” questioned Panmei, “If they are not intentionally attempting to sell out the Naga national rights, how they can say such treacherous words.”
Panmei asserted that hundreds of Zeliangrong people have sacrificed their lives for the cause of Naga sovereignty in the past decades and therefore asked why the Baudi leaders are trying to betray the Zelaingrongs if they are the true leaders of the Zeliangrong people. “Their resolution is nothing but adding more fuel into burning fire. So, they will bear responsible for more killing in Zeliangrong Region,” asserted Panmei.
Hornbill festival and tourism: What are their likely cultural and social costs? Tezenlo Thong kuknalim.com
Lately, an increasing number of Nagas seems to be awakening to the fact that our cultural practices and values need to be reclaimed and revived not only for ourselves but also for posterity. This is not in contrast to a global trend of shift toward a more informed, enlightened and favorable perception on indigenous cultures, which took a hard hit beginning with the first interface between the indigenous peoples and Western colonizers.
Along side this welcome development, there seems to be a strong inclination to commodify and commercialize our culture for economic benefits. This provokes some serious questions: How do we understand our culture? Do we see it as a cash-making commodity that can be sold and bought like any other items in a capitalist economy? Or do we perceive and talk of our culture as our indispensable heritage and a vital part of our life and identity? For many Nagas, the talk on reviving our culture is almost always intertwined with the former, if not for the sole reason of generating funds. Given the perceived widespread poverty and a high unemployment rate among the Nagas, one can understand such an ambition. Nevertheless, there is a high risk of Nagas ending up in paying tremendous cultural and social costs if we misstep in our approach to cultural “renaissance”. Therefore, we need be careful in avoiding the degeneration of our culture because of commercial interests.
Often, our people are upbeat about the annually held Hornbill Festival and the prospects for growth of tourism industry and money pouring in. The likelihood of their negative social and cultural impacts on the fabric of Naga society is rarely considered or discussed. In our desperate attempt to attract tourist money to improve our economy, we should not overlook the social and cultural costs that are associated with tourism industry around the world. I’d like to make a few observations and suggestions in relation to the touted Hornbill Festival and anticipated boom in tourism industry.
To begin with, let us ask, what has the act of clowning to do with Hornbill Festival or prostitution to do with tourism industry? First, let us consider clowning and ask the following questions: During the annual Hornbill Festival, why do we engage in the performing of our traditional songs and dances? And for whom do we perform them?
A clown is someone who temporarily alters “its” appearance and performs for monetary benefits. In other words, a clown is paid to entertain others, and so it performs to entertain. A clown is not what it is. It is not real or genuine but fake, and anyone hardly takes it seriously. A clown is perceived as good only for entertaining the Other. A clown, therefore, represents someone or something that is used or misused for a brief moment of fun and entertainment. Its opinions, wishes and rights do not count much to others – good only for its amusement value at a minimal price.
The idea of performing to entertain and make money is a foreign concept to our foreparents. The commodification and selling of our culture began with the unwanted intrusion of colonial culture and capitalist economy. Much as a clown must be transformed to don a different outfit and appearance to entertain someone and make money, I am afraid the purpose of our performance is entertainment for economic gains, rather than a joyful and exuberant celebration of our cultural heritage and unique identity. Our foreparents performed and sang, not because someone wanted to be entertained, let along paid for by somebody. At the least, they did so to entertain themselves. Therefore, our culture should not be commodified and then sold and bought, nor should we perform our traditional dances and songs for someone, but for ourselves. In other words, our dancing and singing should be done not because someone wants to have fun, but for our own entertainment, to honor our tradition and to maintain its sanctity and continuity. Simply put, we need to see our culture beyond its mere monetary returns or values.
As colonial subjects, we need to understand the exhibition of our culture for entertainment in the light of colonial history. During the hay days of colonialism, global or world fairs were organized in major Euro-American cities, and the display of indigenous peoples from various colonies formed the salient feature. Exhibition of native peoples and their cultures for white people who wanted to experience exotic sensation, the “fantastic” experience of a sense of cultural distance mixed with physical proximity, drew huge public attention. Besides bringing them for literally exhibiting in fairs and museums, indigenous peoples were made to sell their products, perform exotic dances and rituals and serve their native food and drinks. In our long colonial history, we have being performing, singing for and entertaining British colonial officers, Indian Prime Ministers and Members of Parliaments, military dignitaries, and even our own state legislative members, sometimes even when visiting their own village folks. Having been complicitously performing or clowning for more than a century and a half for our colonizers and beset by economic wants, it is no wonder that we are prompt to think of converting our cultural heritage into entertainment and a money-generating commodity.
What, then, has prostitution to do with tourism industry? Tourism is often characterized as an “internal export industry,” and what are sold are the various ‘attractions,’ be these natural or cultural attractions of the land and the people. In many cases, especially in impoverished or economically deprived countries, the ‘selling of attractions’ to tourists includes prostitution or flesh trade. So literally speaking, it is a foregone conclusion that, among an increase in many other vices, tourism promotes flesh trade, and much can be said about it.
However, here I am thinking metaphorically or figuratively and would like to consider the kind of tourist attraction we are trying to promote as prostitution of one’s culture. Reclaiming or reviving one’s culture for the sole reason of its entertainment value and selling and making money is a classic example of prostitution of one’s culture. We need to be extra-cautious in becoming complicit in the planned execution and destruction of our land and the prostitution of our culture when organizing festivities like the Hornbill Festival or any other event that aims to sell our culture and attract tourists.
Tourism is often associated with leisure, fantasy and pleasure, and just as a prostitute is paid and used as an object to satisfy the lustful pleasure and fantasy of a person, the exotic ‘primitive’ culture and pristine forests of ‘backward’ people have often served the fantasy and pleasure of the ‘civilized’ person. Also, tourism industry is almost always perceived and hailed as an opportunity for ‘civilizing’ and ‘developing’ a people whose ways of life are perceived as backward and uncivilized. At the end, just as an old and dilapidated prostitute is abandoned and left to nurse her guilt and wound for the rest of her life, it is well documented around the world that tourists abandon and leave after exhausting native resources, polluting air, water and environment and degenerating hosts’ cultures and values.
Among various Nagas tribes, observance of a major festival at the end of the cycle of a harvest year was a major component of our collective culture in the past. Such traditional festivity has its own underpinning values and philosophies, focusing on thanksgiving, communal sharing, joy, rest, recreation and rejuvenation. In contrast, a planned commercial oriented modern festival, like the Hornbill Festival, has a different set of values and goals. It tends to promote an exaggerated aspect of pleasure of the festivity, which is or could be seen as a festival of orgy and unrestrained indulgence in physical pleasures, having nothing of spiritual and cultural values. No doubt, the aspect of pleasure has to be promoted aggressively and unashamedly if the goal is to attract tourists and make money. This desire to adapt or cater to the taste of tourists is responsible for the transmutation and degeneration of indigenous cultural practices in many parts of the world, affecting the values of and perception on the culture that is being represented.
In conclusion, let me concisely make a few suggestions. First, if we truly desire to revive and reclaim our cultural heritage, start teaching cultural values and meanings to our kids, e.g., in schools, church, etc. A cultural form without its content is at best a travesty. Second, limit the number of tourists according to the carrying capacity of our land. Efforts needs to be made to accommodate ‘eco-tourists,’ activists, scholars and others who are genuinely interested in learning from interactions with people of diverse cultures. ‘Hippies’ and pleasure-seekers need to be discouraged or, if possible, restricted. Third, ensure that extended use and depletion of local resources do no occur, e.g., water – our precious commodity. Fourth, promote tourism to empower villagers and let them take charge over it and have the maximum benefit. Otherwise, tourism will serve only to accentuate further the gap between the rich and the poor. Measures need to be in place so that the poor are not coerced to subsidize the rich and their opulent and extra-vacant lifestyle. As for instance, gullible and innocent villagers are asked to perform on eventful occasions, but are they being adequately compensated? Fifth, train our unemployed youth to become guides for visitors and guests and to disseminate our history and culture in their right perspectives.
ASEAN opens with Myanmar row The Morung Express
SINGAPORE, November 20 (AP): Southeast Asian leaders adopted a landmark charter Tuesday that seeks to promote free trade and human rights, but their vision to create an integrated, EU-style bloc was marred by Myanmar’s snub to democracy. In a diplomatic bungle, the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also abruptly withdrew an invitation to U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to address Asian leaders after Myanmar objected.
ASEAN leaders further rejected calls to suspend Myanmar from the bloc to punish the junta’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left 15 people dead in September, and its refusal to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “ASEAN Leaders will strive to prevent the Myanmar issue from obstructing our efforts to deepen integration and build an ASEAN Community,” Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his opening remarks at the annual summit.
Still, ASEAN leaders urged Myanmar’s junta to open a “meaningful dialogue” with Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, release her from house arrest, free all political detainees and work toward a “peaceful transition to democracy.”
Myanmar activists chat slogan during a protest outside the Singapore Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday November 20. About 150 activists took part in the protest to urge the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to suspend Myanmar until the military rulers there show respect for human rights and demanded the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is still under house arrest. (AP Photo)
PM urges Myanmar to expedite reforms The Morung Express
Singapore, November 20 (PTI): In the first high-level meeting after the recent crackdown in Myanmar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met his Myanmarese counterpart General Thein Sein here and pressed for expediting and broad-basing the political reform process. During the 30-minute meeting, the Myanmarese Prime Minister briefed Singh about the “internal developments” in his country and efforts made by his government at “political reforms and national reconciliation.” “The Prime Minister conveyed India’s position that the reform process should be broad-based, including pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi and various ethnic nationalities and it should be carried forward expeditiously towards a satisfactory conclusion,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.
The two leaders also reviewed the status of various bilateral projects and discussed regional and international developments. Ahead of his meeting, Singh hoped that the ongoing dialogue between the military junta and pro-democracy leaders will have a “satisfactory outcome” and the happenings in that country has a bearing on India.
Security advisor to former Nagaland CM arrested Newmai News Network
Imphal |
The chief advisor of the proscribed Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) who was also a chief security advisor of a former Nagaland chief minister has been apprehended yesterday, disclosed the Imphal West district SP while parading the arrested person before the media this evening at its headquarter in Imphal. Displaying along with the seized items, the police officer said that a big wig of the underground KYKL has been netted by the Imphal West district police commandos yesterday at around 10 am from Kwakeithel Bazar in Imphal West while the police conducted frisking and checking operation in the area.
The arrested KYKL's master-brain has been identified as Changamayum Manoranjan Khuman alias Khumanlemba alias Baba (50) s/o Ch. Brajakishore Singh of Pishumthong Ningom Leirak in Imphal West who is currently residing at Langol Housing Complex in Imphal West. Police found him to be an active member of KYKL working as Chief Advisor of the outfit's Operation New Kangleipak (ONK). He is also said to have been deputed by the KYKL to investigate the fake appointment of teachers in the Education department, according to the police.
He was arrested while the police checked a Maruti Alto car. The occupants of the car included the KYKL advisor's daughter and two teachers. They were freed and he was detained, the police said.
The police also said that the fake appointed teachers which appeared in some local newspapers of Imphal were the inputs provided by Manoranjan to the ONK chief Wangba Khuman of the KYKL.
According to the Imphal West SP Clay Khongsai, who addressed press men in Imphal said that he was arrested with one satellite phone with charger, a battery of wireless set, one mobile handset with Aircel sim, one stethoscope, BP measuring instrument, a fake identity card in his name, and documents having lists of names of teachers posted at different schools.
Eight ULFA rebels surrender in Assam The Morung Express
Tamulpur, November 20 (ANI): Eight rebels of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) have surrendered to the troops at Tamulpur in Assams Baksa District.
“ULFA actually survives on the support that they have at the grassroots level. The cadres who are there at the grassroots level are now willing to put down their arms, come back to the mainstream. It is definitely going to affect the way the ULFA is going to function, said Brigadier John George of the Red Horn Division of the Indian Army.
Welcoming the militants on their journey back into the mainstream, Brigadier John added, And, it is about time that the ULFA cadres get back to the mainstream because the kind of the lives that they are leading outside.” “I was unemployed initially, had no work and was learning the ideology of the organisation I had joined. But after getting inside, what I saw inside was not according to what I thought. So, I decided to come back,” said Akshay Kalita, a surrendered rebel. Last month, over 100 ULFA rebels surrendered in Guwahati, Baksa and Tinsukia Districts of Assam. The ULFA says it is fighting for Assam’s independence, which is rich in oil, natural gas and tea. It accuses Centre of taking away its mineral and forest resources while neglecting the local population. Assam is one of seven states in northeast, a region racked by a number of insurgencies. More than 15,000 people have been killed since ULFA launched the revolt in 1979 in Assam.
Army kills two klnlf militants The Morung Express
Kohima, November 20 (MExN): The troops of RED HORNS Division in a swift surgical strike killed two KLNLF militants and grievously injured another in an operation close to village Mentargaon near Dentaghat in East Karbi Anglong in the early hours, today, informed Lt Col Nirupam Bhargava PRO Defence in a press note.
A large number of sophisticated arms like AK, M16 Rifle and Grenade Launchers including ammunition and other war like stores have been recovered from the terrorist camp, it was stated.
The operation was launched based on information from SIB regarding presence of KLNLF militants with weapons in a makeshift camp near Dentaghat. The militants finding themselves surrounded by security forces opened fire. All terrorists were armed and wearing combat dress. In the ensuing gun-fight, two cadres were killed and one was grievously injured who managed to escape, stated the release.
The recoveries from the terrorist include two AK-56 rifles with 210 rounds, one M-16 rifles with 155 rounds, one Chinese pistol with 11 rounds, one grenade launcher with seven grenades and two rounds besides other combat fatigues.
The release claimed that the killing of the militants is yet-another blow to the terrorist outfit, which has been suffering heavy losses since the Army intensified their operations against them in Karbi Anglong since August 2007.
In the last two months, the Army has busted at least five camps and a number of cadres have been killed or apprehended in army operations.
The army isn’t enough South Asia’s insurgencies cannot be defeated by military might alone Nagarealm.com

Pakistan’s army was, until now, good at fomenting insurgencies across its borders. Both in Kashmir, since the 1990s, and before that, in Afghanistan, it had shamelessly armed, trained and militarily initiated a proxy war. But now it is confronted by the monsters that it has created. On its western tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, the very Taliban that was created to dominate Afghanistan — and provide Pakistan strategic depth against a possible Indian invasion — has turned against its masters in Islamabad. Just as the hordes of militants it had carefully nurtured to needle India have, after the crackdown on Lahore’s Lal Masjid. Plus the suicide attacks, with the reverses faced in Waziristan and Swat, have left Pakistan’s military brass somewhat bewildered.

But, to an astute observer, this comes as no surprise. Apart from the fact that Pakistan’s army has virtually no experience in battling an insurgency, General Musharraf had failed to read the writing on the wall. While the attack on the Lal Masjid has several parallels with the attack on the Golden Temple in 1984, where the fallout included a deeply alienated Sikh community and the assassination of Indira Gandhi and General AS Vaidya, the Indian army chief during Operation Blue Star. No wonder then, the Pakistan army is being targeted by those sympathetic to the Lal Masjid resistance. If India’s experience is anything to go by, this anti-army sentiment could last for a decade. And the battling of insurgencies could take even longer. Virtually every country in South Asia is confronted by insurgencies and their armies are pitted against their own people, fighting battles of attrition against guerillas. These are now called low-intensity conflicts, and they require large force levels and a lot of patience.
Take the case of India. Since Independence, India has battled festering ethnic or tribal insurgencies in its North-East, from the mid-1950s in Nagaland, then Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam. New Delhi’s attempts to bring peace to the region have included several rounds of talks and cease-fire agreements. But a solution is still nowhere in sight. And then in the 1990’s, Pakistan initiated a campaign to get Kashmir to secede from India. It was part of Pakistan’s pan-Islamic design, to spread terror from Kashmir to Afghanistan and Chechnya.

In Sri Lanka, the conflict goes back to post-colonial Ceylon when the Sinhalese majority sought to redress perceived favouritism practised by the British towards the Tamil minority. Subsequent electoral pandering to the majority voters led the government to enact several laws in favour of the Sinhalese. This led to the alienation of the Tamils. Since 1984, Sri Lanka has lost thousands of soldiers battling the dreaded LTTE. The LTTE is a ruthless guerrilla force and peace is a remote possibility in Sri Lanka. The Tamils want independence, which Colombo is unwilling to give, and paradise island is paradise no more.

Most recent, of course, has been the Maoist takeover of Nepal. But the origin of the insurgency can be traced to the 1960s when King Mahendra seized state power, dissolved the parliament and banned political parties. Over the past few years, the insurgents fought off the clumsy attempts by the Nepalese army’s Gorkha troops to keep them out of the cities, and eventually took over the country. Today, the Maoists have all but thrown the royal family out.

The most important lesson from these experiences is that you cannot defeat an insurgency by sheer military power. These are politico-military conflicts and thus need a political solution. Military might can, at best, contain the insurgents, until a suitable solution is arrived at. The mistake that governments often make is to assume that the absence of conflict is a sign of peace. But in fact, the militants are only using the lull to regroup and then respond at a place of their choice. Look at what has happened in Afghanistan. The Taliban hastily dispersed — in fact, with the help of Islamabad — as the Americans bombed Afghanistan. But now it has re-emerged from the shadows. There are about 100,000 armed Taliban and tribesmen across the frontier of Pakistan, and even if the entire half-a-million strong Pakistan army was pitted against them, it would be inadequate. But the frontier apart, the numbers of militants and the so-called jihadis within Pakistan are fast reaching alarming proportions too; they could soon be half the size of the Pakistan army. And if they too go up in arms against their mentors, it would then be General Musharraf’s last big battle.[Maroof Raza, DNA] The writer is a retired Indian army Major.

ULFA’s C-in-C must come for talks From Our Spl Correspondent Assam tribune
SINGAPORE, Nov 20 – Putting the onus on ULFA to come for talks with Government of India, New Delhi said it is keen to revive the peace process only if commander-in-chief Paresh Barua comes for talks. A senior official accompanying Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Sing, on his Singapore tour, told this newspaper that it was for the ULFA to revive the peace process. In what was reflective of hardening of stand, the official once involved with the ULFA peace process, said let them come up with a proposal.
“We all know that none of the cadres, top leaders matter unless Baruah himself comes for talks.”

New Delhi’s frustration could be traced to the orgy of violence orchestrated by ULFA first targeting non-Assamese settlers. The Centre had earlier only insisted that it abjure violence and come for talks, though it also mentioned on a written commitment from the outfit.

Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, yesterday after meeting the Defence Minister, AK Anthony ruled out the possibility of easing army operations in the State, in the light of the stunning success achieved during the last couple of months. The Centre too is supportive of the move. About the talks with NSCN (I-M), the official said though there has been no forward movement, there has been no deterioration either.
India tells Myanmar to intensify reforms Spl Correspondent Assam Tribune
SINGAPORE, Nov 20 – India refrained from adopting a tough position on the military crackdown in Myanmar urging the neighbouring country to opt for a broad based reform process by including the detained national leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi and various ethnic nationalities. Within hours of arriving to take part in the ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh met the new Prime Minister of Myanmar, General Thein Sein for an half an hour meeting to discuss bilateral ties.

The meeting assumes significance because of the sustained pressure on India to act against Myanmar. Briefing newsmen official sources said that the Prime Minister of Myanmar briefed Dr Singh on the internal developments in the country and efforts of the military regime to bring about political reform and national reconciliation process. In response, Dr Singh conveyed India’s position to the Myanmar Prime Minister. Reforms should be broad based and include the Nobel Laureate and various other ethnic nationalities. However, with Yangon taking care of India concern, there was little reason for the Prime Minister to be unhappy with the military regime. Dr Singh further conveyed his support to the UN Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari's efforts and agreed to facilitate the process of reconciliation. The two leaders also reviewed bilateral agreements and relations and reviewed regional issues. Meanwhile, in a related development, Singapore has called off a briefing on the situation in Myanmar by United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the East Asia Summit (EAS) scheduled for Wednesday following Myanmar's objections.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong conveyed in an informal working dinner of ASEAN leaders last night that Myanmar Prime Minister had made clear the situation in Myanmar was a domestic affair and that the country was fully capable of handling the situation by itself.

He emphasised that Gambari should only report to the UN Security Council and not to ASEAN or the EAS. Myanmar has every confidence in Gambari's mission and the good office of the UN. "In view of Myanmar's position, Gambari will not brief ASEAN or EAS leaders," the Prime Minister told a news conference.

"The leaders agreed that ASEAN would respect Myanmar's wishes and make way for Myanmar to deal directly with the UN and the international community on its own," he said.

Singapore had invited Gambari to brief leaders of the EAS on the progress he has made so far on Myanmar whose junta ruler sparked international outrage in September after a bloody crackdown on anti-government protestors.

"It is a difficult problem for Myanmar. It is a difficult problem which ASEAN would like to be helpful to Myanmar on because we see Myanmar as a member of the ASEAN family and we would like to help it to make progress towards national reconciliation," he said. Lee said that Thein Sein had briefed his ASEAN counterparts on the roadmap and the progress of the roadmap and "how they completed the third stage and are moving to the fourth".

"And they are now drafting and working towards a referendum. This is Myanmar's view of how the issue is progressing. Most ASEAN leaders felt that Myanmar could not go back, could not stay put and the process of national reconciliation has to move forward".
Northeast states want Stilwell Road re-opened to boost trade By IANS
Guwahati, Nov 21 (IANS) Chief ministers of northeastern states have urged New Delhi to boost border trade with Southeast Asia and China by re-opening the historic World War II Stilwell Road, linking the region to China via Myanmar.
'We have made a strong plea for re-opening of the Stilwell Road to the prime minister in a recent meeting in New Delhi,' Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
The 1,726 km Stilwell Road connects India's northeastern state of Assam to Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, after cutting through the Pangsau pass in Myanmar. It touches almost all the important Southeast Asian capitals.
'Re-opening of the Stilwell Road would greatly boost the economy and trade activities of the region with Southeast Asian countries,' Gogoi said.
Named after American General Joseph Stilwell, who led its construction, Stilwell Road was a vital lifeline for the movement of Allied Forces during World War II as they battled to free China from Japanese occupation.
Chinese labourers, Indian soldiers and American engineers took three years to build the road. The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61 km long. The major stretch of 1,033 km lies within Myanmar, while the stretch in China is 632 km.
Similar demands were made by chief ministers of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh asking New Delhi to allow business along the international border saying it would bring economic prosperity to the underdeveloped region, which is wracked by insurgency. 'We want this historic road re-opened as our region would then have the potential to become the hub of business activities and the gateway to Southeast Asian economic centres,' Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Khandu Dorjee said. China had already completed constructing their stretch of the Stilwell Road with the only major hitch being the rugged section of the legendary road in Myanmar. China's official news agency Xinhua reported that a ceremony was held in Myanmar earlier this year to celebrate the rebuilding of the Myanmar leg of the road in Kambaiti on the China-Myanmar border.
'The Myanmar portion of the highway needs to be developed,' Gogoi said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier said his government was keen on furthering the country's Look East Policy aimed at allowing border trade with neighbouring Southeast Asian nations.
There is strong demand for Indian automobile components, fruits, grains, vegetables, textiles and cotton yarn in most neighbouring countries. On the other hand, Indian traders are keen on importing electronic gadgets, synthetic blankets, teak, gold and semi-precious stones.
Assam, the gateway to the northeast, is about 2,000 km from the Indian capital New Delhi and some 3,000 km from the country's biggest commercial centre, Mumbai.
Yangon, Bangkok and even some Chinese cities are much closer to most northeastern states than New Delhi or Mumbai. For instance, Kunming in China is only 1,726 km from Ledo in Assam where the Stilwell Road begins. The state chief ministers have pointed out that only 250 km out of the northeast's 5,000 km outer perimeter touches India. The remaining 4,750 km represents international boundaries with China, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
No secret in rivalry rerun - Sulfa brigade warns Ulfa of retaliation OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph


Ulfa rebels surrender in Guwahati. A file picture
Dibrugarh, Nov. 20: Some former Ulfa members have raised visions of a sequel to the round of “secret killings” that claimed not only lives but big reputations, too.
One of the names on the list of Ulfa militants who surrendered recently, Ujjwal Gohain, said in a statement from Tinsukia that he and others who had chosen to “come overground” would not remain mute spectators to “heinous acts of violence on surrendered rebels”.
The warning came two days after a suspected Ulfa team gunned down Srimanta Chetia, a former member of the outfit, at Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh. His driver and an acquaintance were killed, too. The “secret killings” between 1998 and 2001 are believed to have originated from the conflict between Ulfa and Sulfa, an acronym for surrendered militants of the group. Assailants who were allegedly backed by the then government targeted family members of top Ulfa leaders in an attempt to soften up the rebels.
Gohain said surrendered militants would not hesitate to pick up guns again, if it came to that.
The former “finance controller” of Ulfa’s 28 Battalion surrendered in Guwahati recently. He also played a role in the surrender of a group of 20 more militants.
An alarmed police administration sounded an alert today to prevent clashes between Ulfa militants and their former comrades-in-arms. Security for those believed to be at risk of being attacked, especially former Ulfa members based in Upper Assam, was reviewed.
The police headquarters issued advisories to all the districts to be “extra cautious”, particularly in the districts that have a concentration of influential members of the Sulfa brigade. Chetia, for instance, was allegedly hobnobbing with the army and helping it break up the Ulfa ranks.
“We knew that Ulfa was keen to eliminate Srimanta Chetia and he was warned about this threat. Travel advisories were issued to him, but he ignored these warnings,” an intelligence official based in Upper Assam said.
A senior police officer in Dibrugarh said security forces were maintaining round-the-clock vigil on entry and exit points in the town. “Although an alert has been sounded about the threat to Sulfa members, our prime objective remains preventing any attack by Ulfa, be it on oil installations, commercial establishments or tea gardens.”
The government tabled in the Assembly two reports of judicial inquiries into the secret killings only last week. The Justice K.N. Saikia Commission, constituted in 2005, said it found “lurking evidence of the police-Sulfa nexus” in the secret killings.
Several top Ulfa leaders, including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, commander-in-chief Paresh Barua and Mithinga Daimary, lost family members in attacks by the “secret killers”.
Nabbed KYKL leader confesses top level contacts says police The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Nov 20: The chief advisor of the Operation New Kangleipak of the KYKL, Changamayum Manoranjan Khuman alias Khumanlemba, alias Baba, 50, of Pishum Ningom Leirak currently residing at Langol Housing Complex was produced before the media today with the items recovered from his possession.
While briefing the media, SP Clay Khongsai said, Manoranjan during interrogation disclosed that before joining the KYKL, he served as security advisor to SC Jamir during his tenure as chief minister of Nagaland. "He (Manoranjan) was a very influential person," said the SP hinting at high level contacts maintained by the arrested man.
The police also revealed that Manoranjan had obtained basic military training in his early period but he did not join the army or any security establishment for reasons best known to him only, Khongsai said.

During the course of investigation, police had learned that he was deputed by one selfsyled Major Ibo of Nambol of the KYKL to investigate into the fake appointment of teachers in the state education department which was exposed to the public through local media recently. He provided the input to the ONK chief Wangba Khuman of Leimapokpam. He joined the outfit in the year 2005 through one Ingba Mangang alias Shantikumar of Porompat, Imphal east, the SP revealed.

A fake I-card in the name of Doctor Ch Manoranjan Khuman and documents with a list of the names of teachers posted at different schools, one satellite phone with charger, a battery of wireless set, a mobile phone, one stethoscope, BP measuring instrument, were also seized from his possession. The seized items were displayed before the media.

From the I-card it was revealed that the man posed as a doctor while performing his investigation work on the fake appointment of teachers in the education department. The fake I-card was issued in the name of De-Malaria & Control Organization (India), CHQ, Imphal.
Manoranjan was nabbed while the commandos conducting checking and frisking at Kwakeithel Bazar intercepted one Maruti Alto Car bearing no. MN1K-9312 silver in colour at around 10 am yesterday. The occupant on verification was found to be the chief advisor of the ONK of KYKL, the senior officer said.

During the preliminary investigation many inside activities of the KYKL were made known to the police, the SP said. He cited that so far from interrogation police has came to know that the outfit spent more than Rs. 50 lakh per month in maintenance of its cadres in the valley area. The SP while talking further said security in the Imphal area have been tightened up since the last few days. IRB and MR personnel have been called out to check the increasing activities of underground elements in Imphal area, he said.

India backs U.N. role in Myanmar Indo Burma News
November 21, 2007: (The Hindu) Singapore, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday informed his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein of India’s position that the reconciliation process in his country should be “broadbased” and “carried forward expeditiously towards satisfactory conclusion.”
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with his Myanmarese counterpart Thein Sein in Singapore on Tuesday on the sidelines of the India-ASEAN meet.
The process, it was emphasised, should “include” the celebrated democracy campaigner and Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Myanmar’s various ethnic nationalities.
Dr. Singh met General Sein soon after arriving here to participate in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India summit and the East Asia Summit on Wednesday.
According to External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna, Dr. Singh conveyed India’s support for the efforts of United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari, on “behalf of the international community.” This was to facilitate reconciliation in Myanmar, he said.
The meeting lasted about half an hour, and Gen. Sein briefed Dr. Singh on the current developments in Myanmar. Dr. Singh’s meeting with his Myanmar counterpart was seen in the ASEAN circles as an important sign of India’s relevance to the evolving political scenario in that country. India’s renewed accent on the centrality of the U.N.’s good offices acquired new salience in the context of the ASEAN’s latest move to steer clear of the current Myanmar crisis and let the junta “deal directly with the U.N.”
Dr. Singh’s meeting with Gen. Sein was also seen here in the context of the ASEAN’s insistence that China and India should seek to influence the thinking of the Myanmar junta.