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10/12/2008: "‘GoI has failed the Indo-Naga peace process’ morungexpress"

‘GoI has failed the Indo-Naga peace process’ morungexpress

Dimapur| October 11 (Morung Express News): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and member of Meghalaya State Legislative Assembly, PA Sangma, said successive central governments have failed to bring about a solution to the Indo-Naga peace process.
“Both NDA and UPA governments have totally failed the peace process,” he told reporters at a press conference at Hotel Saramati today. Sangma said he was actively involved in the ceasefire process when he held the chair of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and had expected a lot of development in Nagaland as the ceasefire agreement that was agreed upon carried the slogan “peace for development.” He however lamented the failure of the Government of India in bringing about any difference between “insurgency time and peace time.”
“Ten years is a long time where the Government of India had the opportunity of proving the difference of peace time,” Sangma said. Ten years of peace was long enough to convince the people of Nagaland what peace could bring, he felt. Sangma, who also held talks with party leaders in Nagaland, lauded the NPF-led DAN government headed by chief minister Neiphiu Rio for successfully managing a coalition government which the NCP leader said “is a very tough job.”
The former Lok Sabha Speaker also pointed out that he and Rio are in close touch with each other. Meanwhile, Sangma divulged to reporters that the forthcoming Lok Sabha election will see NCP in alliance with the Congress in the states of Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. However in the north east states, it has been decided in the recently held central executive meetings of the party at New Delhi that each individual state will be given the authority to take their own course of action. However, the states of Meghalaya and Nagaland which are run by coalition governments will put up a common candidate. “Rio will be in authority to choose his own candidate and NCP is will fully support that,” Sangma said. Sangma also made a passing remark saying he is happy to see that forest cover in Nagaland is increasing, which, he said indicates that people are interested in protecting and preserving the ecology and environment.
Wholesim Nagalim VASUNDHARA CHAUHAN The |Hindu
Plenty of rice, boiled vegetables and meat with very little spices added and almost no oil — it’s a wholesome fare in Nagaland. If you are adventurous, you can try the Raja Mirchi too…
Photo: Vasundhara Chauhan
Highly popular: Axone being sold in a Dimapur market.
My work took me to Nagaland, for which I will always be grateful. I know few people whose work takes them beyond Mumbai-Bengaluru, or, if they’re really going somewhere exciting, New York or London. But who goes to Nagaland? The moment I knew I was going there, the excitement started building up. For the obvious reason: that’s a region and culture quite beyond one’s ken. And because of the food. All I knew of it was Raja Mirchi and pork. And here was a chance to live and travel in the villages for a good 10 days and eat real, not restaurant cooking.
To be perfectly honest, I was in Dimapur for most of the time, with a few forays into nearby villages. And then in remote Benreu in Peren district, the home, the capital, of Raja Mirchi. Dimapur has few restaurants — most of them serving “rice”, meaning full Naga meals. Which I ate many of in the hostel I was staying in. A “rice” meal is eaten twice a day: at breakfast and dinner. Day breaks early, at about 4.30 a.m., and both city and village folk leave early for work after a serious breakfast of rice, stewed pork and steamed vegetables. The same for dinner, at about 6.30 p.m. At first I thought it was a bit odd to start at the crack of dawn with all this. But isn’t Indian Standard Time responsible? The sun hardly rises and sets “early”.
Obvious pattern
When I look back on the meals in Nagalim — the local word for the State — I see a simple pattern. Boiled rice and meat, usually pork “curry”. I think of a curry as gravy with a base of fried condiments and one main ingredient. This wasn’t like that at all. The meat is boiled and different flavourings like the mechinga leaf, ginger leaves and chillies added at different stages. The meat renders its fat so the stew has a deep layer of melted fat on top. If you’re lucky, the pork is redolent of bacon. In any case the chunks are fatty and tender. Mechinga leaves (the same as the tejphal of Himachal), or lai patta, depending on the season, have distinct flavours and are added towards the end. The chillies are quite mild, for colour and flavour only. The hot chillies are not added to cooking, only to accompanying chutneys. Scoville heat units are used to grade the hotness of chillies. Naga Jolokia (also Raja Mirchi, Bhoot Jolokia) has been tested at over 1,001,300! Almost twice as hot as the old champion, the Red Savina Habanero. I can eat chillies with the best of them but one bite of the Raja Mirchi and your ears ring for a week. Which explains why even locals dilute the Raja Mirchi before eating it.
Another compulsory accompaniment is boiled vegetables. The veggie could be anything — okra, squash, leaves — the only rule is that it is boiled. Boiled okra? Not really this Punjabi’s cup of tea. But the squash, a tender pear-shaped variety peeled and cut into thick wedges, is so sweet and juicy that it’s delicious. The leaves are a variety of mustard with a bit of sharpness and they’re just washed and steamed whole. Locals believe that boiled vegetables “cut” fat from the body. Entirely possible — I never saw one obese person in 10 days there. On the contrary, everyone looked fit and muscular.
No spices or oil
The cooking has no turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon. No mustard, fenugreek, nigella. Or none that I detected. And no oil. Apparently no oilseeds are grown. Sometimes chicken or fish are fried and served dry, with boiled rice and dal. The dal is just boiled, very watery, no haldi, no tempering and no spices. May be a bit of chopped tomato and green chillies thrown in during cooking. A flavour that’s a hot favourite is axone (pronounced ah-khonay), fermented soyabean. Even a tiny smidgen added to a stew goes a long way — too long for me. To my untutored palate, the smell makes it impossible to sit near, let alone eat. But it’s obviously a star attraction, because I saw restaurants advertising axone loud and clear. It’s rarely made at home, and sold readymade, in pretty banana leaf parcels.
One night friends invited me home for dinner. They were a bit worried about what I’d eat, but they needn’t have been. Dinner was delightful. Some of the menu was predictable — rice, pork stew and steamed squash. But the rest! Obviously Mrs. Jamir is a good cook, because her fried chicken was much, much better than what I’d been having. And something I’m unlikely to ever see elsewhere: whole karelas cooked in the juice of bamboo shoots! But the best was the fish. Small local fish which Mr. Jamir had caught that very afternoon from his own ponds, mildly spiced and fried crisp, but without any sign of oiliness. Sweetly they’d organised dessert for this visiting alien, but the Naga people don’t eat sweets. Tea is traditionally taken black (called “red tea”), often with sugar. But no dessert. There are plenty of bananas — even in the wild — and small, crisp apples. There used to be some sugarcane farming, but no more.
A longer stay would no doubt have shown me many more kinds of local cuisine. But this was enough to bring home the fact that the food of Nagalim is simple and wholesome. Pork defies explanation, but maybe there’s some truth in the belief that boiled vegetables are an antidote?
The author is a Delhi-based food writer. She is with the ASER Centre.
Army operations to continue in NE Newmai News Network
Shillong | October 11 : “The insurgency problems in Manipur and the Naga factional fights in Nagaland are scars to the comparatively peaceful overall scenario in the North Eastern region”, remarked the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Command Lt General V.K Singh.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Eastern Command rowing regatta in Umiam Lake in Shillong today, Lt General Singh said, “Barring the problems in Manipur and the factional fights in Nagaland, the security in the North East region is peaceful”. He said “In Tripura there are lots of cases of surrender and in Assam the situation is improving”. Maintaining that the North Eastern state governments in the region are at their jobs to bringing peace, Lt General Singh however said, “There will be no halt to our operational strategies that are in total synergy with the state governments”. “Our focus in going for operations does not mean that we are against the peace process”, asserted Lt General Singh while adding, “We will carry our own operations because our focus is to ensure that no anti-national elements operate in our soil” he said.
Asserting that the army is always geared up with a contingency plan to take on insurgents and terrorists, the GOC-in-C said, “While our own operations are one facet of the strategies to take on the militants, political measures should go side by side to bring peace in the North East region”. He was equivocal in his answer relating to the army operations that forced two companies of the ULFA entering into a ceasefire. However, Lt General Singh said there will be no halt to the operational strategies that are in total “synergy with the state governments”.
Queried on the vulnerability of the North East to the terror network, Lt General Singh stated, “I can be prophetic but we have acted as per security inputs and are always geared up to meet any eventualities.”
POST CHIANGMAI III INCIDENTS: GPRN/NSCN
The outcome of the Chiangmai III reconciliation meet was anticipated with great hope and expectation. Even as the Naga Frontal Organizations pursue the unity of the Nagas with great courage, it is unfortunate that killings continue in Nagaland. In view of the recent unpleasant attacks initiated by Hebron Camp on the Naga Army, particularly the Dimapur Town Command, GPRN/NSCN, while earnestly wishing for Unity, Peace and Reconciliation to hasten in Nagaland, would like to inform the Naga Public of the facts about the recent confrontations.
1. The rail bazar road incident on 25th August occurred when Hebron gang came in a white maruti van fired at the Naga Army personnel. In retaliation, 2nd Lieut. Moatoshi from Hebron camp was killed and his .32 taken away by Naga Army. Only a fool would not retaliate when fired upon.
2. On 26th August, more than 20 Hebron gangsters arrived at Burma Camp with the intention of targeting Naga Army in the colony. Early in the morning they began shooting randomly threatening the civilians in the area. Naga Army was forced to retaliate in self defense and to protect the safety and security of the public in the vicinity. Naga Army could easily attack the safe havens of Hebron gangsters in many localities in and around Dimapur yet the cry of the Naga people for unity, peace and reconciliation is too precious to ignore.
3. On 30th August, Naga Army had to confront 2nd Lieut. Zhenito and Crprl. Hekato who had loyally served the Naga Nation till two months back but lured away by Hebron Gang. Hekato defected to Hebron during the first week of July while Zhenito joined the enemies two weeks back. Both were assigned back to Dimapur to target their former comrades. They came on a Bike at Burma Camp, waited near a petrol pump and fired at the Naga Army cadres. GPRN/NSCN regrets their death yet Naga Army has clear information on who is a traitor and who is not.

The death of a Kuki Tatar recently at Hebron Camp who allegedly hanged himself was hushed up. If even the death of a Tatar, who has status and position in the Government, is unannounced, Nagas cannot expect Hebron Camp to release the names of their men killed in action. Hebron defense secretary Lumba on 14th August announced the number of death much lesser than the actual casualty but Nagas have the right to know where the dead cadres were buried. Their deaths were undeclared and mortal remains never reached the family members. The recent death of Reju Peyu Tohuka Sumi of Hebron camp was also never a case of suicide as alleged. It is a pure case of murder. Shooting the victim right in the middle of forehead and calling it a suicide is flimsy. Revolutionaries do not commit suicide. A thief and a liar were both nailed to the cross at Calvary but only the thief was granted salvation and the liar eternally condemned!
Publicity Cell,
GPRN/NSCN.

NDFB hand in violence: Govt STAFF REPORTER Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Oct 11 – Reiterating that the Bodo militant outfit NDFB had a hand in the recent violence in Udalguri and Darrang districts, Government spokesperson and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that hoisting of a Pakistani flag in one of the violence-affected villages was the handiwork of ‘miscreants’ to defame the Government, and not an act of Islamic fundamentalists. “The flag had the crescent moon placed in a totally wrong manner, and in no way could it have been done by a Muslim, leave alone a fundamentalist, as they are very particular about religious matters. And more importantly, the flag was hoisted in a Bodo-dominated area on October 4 following a group clash on the preceding day. No Muslim could have dared to enter the Bodo village on that day,” Sarma said at a press conference.

Sarma said that an inquiry was on to find the culprits behind the incident, and police was interrogating one of the suspects. “This is a case of conspiracy against the Government to defame it,” he said.

Sarma also revealed that a Muslim group was also active in the area with an intent on fomenting trouble. “Police is pursuing the matter vigorously, and the culprits would be punished once their guilt is established,” he said.

Alleging that the NDFB was indulging in ethnic cleansing, Sarma said that the outfit had little support from the Bodo community and it would be completely wrong to say that the Bodos were with the NDFB in its act of ethnic cleansing.

“The NDFB’s designs on ethnic cleansing are well known. Its charter of demands submitted to the Centre on September 20 clearly mentions that it had grievances against non-tribals as well as illegal Muslim migrants,” Sarma said, adding that the outfit was involved in the two ethnic clashes in Kokrajhar district in 1993 and 1996.

Anti-national forces behind clashes CORRESPONDENT Assam tribune
GUWAHATI, Oct 11 – The joint delegation of the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, North East Zone (ICITP), All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AAKRSU) and the All Dimasa Students’ Union (ADSU), which recently made a visit to the strife-torn areas of Udalguri and Darrang districts, has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the group clashes which has so far claimed 55 lives. In a press conference organised at the Guwahati Press Club here today, the delegation also suspected the hands of anti-national forces like Jehadis and other fundamentalist groups, who they believe, were instrumental in instigating the clash between the Bodos and the suspected Bangladeshis.

“We believe that the State Government is not dealing with the situation in the manner it should have. Besides, repeated contradictory statements made by Chief Minister, Director General of Police and the Army has further worsened the scenario in the affected areas,” said Jebra Ram Muchahary, president, ICITP, adding, “This is the right moment for the Centre to step in and initiate necessary steps to book the culprits so that such incidents are not repeated anywhere else in the country.”

Taking strong exception to the hoisting of a Pakistani flag in one of the affected areas, Muchahary said, “The incident of hoisting of a Pakistani flag is a matter of shame not only for the State but the entire country, and those responsible for doing so must be dealt with a firm hand.”

Urging the civil society to play an effective role to stabilize the current scenario, Dr Ram Dayal Munda, chief president, ICITP, national committee, said that the State Government has been found wanting as far as resolving the issues of the affected people is concerned.

“The issue of hoisting the Pakistani flag in Assam has been appreciated by a section of the Pakistani media, which is a nasty sign for the country,” Dr Munda pointed out.

AKRSU president Biswajeet Rai further asserted that the clash between the two groups is part of a deep-rooted conspiracy masterminded by a vested interest circle operating at the behest of anti-national forces.

“We, during our visit, had seen that there is a still a sense of uncertainty in the minds of the people. As far as security arrangements are concerned, it is definitely not up to the mark,” Rai asserted.

“If the Government does not take urgent steps to safeguard the interest of the indigenous people, we would be forced to retaliate in our own way,” Rai warned.

“The involvement of a third party behind the group clashes is certain, and it is the job of the Government to unearth the force behind it,” said Prafula Hafila, president, ADSU.

The joint delegation of ICITP, AKRSU and ADSU also informed that it had submitted a memorandum highlighting the demand for a separate State of Kamatapur at the first session of the ‘Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ held at Geneva from October 1 to October 3.

Meanwhile, the Assam Minorities Students’ Union today organized a sit-in demonstration in protest against the group clashes at the Lakhidhar Bora Khetra premises here.

Govt for CBI probe into violence STAFF REPORTER Assam tribune
GUWAHATI, Oct 11 – Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the State Government would seek a CBI inquiry into the group clashes at Udalguri and Darrang districts that left 55 people dead and thousands of families homeless. “The CBI will be able to go deeper into the issue, establish the conspiracy angle, and identify the culprits. The Government will deal very firmly with those miscreants irrespective of their language, religion or community,” Gogoi said at a press conference.

The official version put the death toll at 55, of which 24 died in police firing. The number of injured is 111. In the affected 54 villages, 2,505 houses were damaged, 500 of those gutted in fire. The total number of affected people is around two lakh, with many leaving their houses in panic and not because their houses were destroyed.

Holding “miscreants” from both sides responsible for the violence, Gogoi said that apparently land-grabbing was a major motive behind the carnage, with miscreants from either side exploiting the situation further to their advantage.

“The communities had been living in harmony for generations. A small section of miscreants created the trouble, and it was not a case of ethnic cleansing,” Gogoi said.

On the possible involvement of the banned NDFB currently on a ceasefire with the Government, the Chief Minister said that if the outfit was found to be involved in the violence, the ceasefire would be reviewed and likely to be withdrawn.

Blaming the political parties for “complicating” the situation in their bid to gain narrow political mileage out of the violence, Gogoi said that provocative and baseless statements would only lead to confusion and tension.

On the much-publicized issue of hoisting of a Pakistani flag in one of the affected villages, Gogoi termed it as a conspiracy, and did not rule out a political angle on the matter.

The Chief Minister, while asserting that “timely” measures by the Government prevented further flare-up of the situation, said that no fresh incident had taken place in the two districts since 10 pm of October 5.

“Yet, a sense of insecurity and distrust is evident among the relief camp inmates, who are ready to go back to their homes provided there is adequate security,” he said.

Gogoi said that an action plan was being prepared to ensure security in the villages and for preventing recurrence of similar incidents in the future. “Village defence parties (VDPs) along with police personnel would be formed. In addition, we will have more peace committees with elders and leaders from different communities,” he said.

The Chief Minister revealed that the Centre provided 14 companies of Central Security Forces as against 21 asked for by the State Government to deal with the violence. “We are still insisting on seven more companies for restoration of normalcy in the two districts,” he added.

Eastern Command GOC reviews Udalguri security
STAFF REPORTER Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Oct 11: The GOC in-charge of Eastern Command of the Army, Lt Gen VK Singh, accompanied by the GOC of the 4 Corps of the Army Lt Gen BS Jaswal today visited the Hatigarh area in Udalguri district today to review the security scenario. Army Public Relations officer (PRO) Col R Kalia said that during his visit, Lt Gen Singh was briefed by the Army officials on the ground about the steps taken by the troops to bring the situation under control and about the medical camps organized by the Army for the benefit of the riot affected people.

Col Kalia said that during his interactions with the Army men on the ground, Lt Gen Singh appreciated the quick response of the troops to bring the situation under control. The GOC in C also directed the troops to extend all cooperation to the civil administration and to adopt a humane approach during the operations.

Lt Gen Singh reminded the Army men of the ethos of the Army to remain apolitical and directed them to form peace committees involving local leaders of all communities to settle the differences.

Trafficked Naga girls return to ImphalSOBHAPATI SAMOM Assam Tribune
IMPHAL, Oct 11 – The five Zeliangrong Naga girls, who had been stranded at Kuala Lumpur after they escaped from the clutches of agents who tried to sell them off to a night club, were brought back here from Malaysia via Kolkata today.

A team of Zeliangrong bodies and relatives received them at the Tulihal airport near here this afternoon. Covering their faces the girls came out along with their visibly shocked family members and Rongmei womenfolk.

The girls were accompanied by one Thuijingam Gangmei, the convenor of a newly-formed committee against the trafficking incident and another Zeliangrong lady from North East Helpline.

The girls had been taken to Singapore and then to Malaysia in January this year by a company called Abel and Zeo Pvt Ltd on promises of job opportunity. However, they escaped from the clutches of the agents of the company only last month and since then were taking shelter at a destitute home near the Indian Embassy in Malaysia.

Police in the State has so far arrested four persons, including one Philip Gangmei of Sibilong village, following a complaint from the families. The newly formed committee against the Tamenglong trafficking episode has summoned all those involved in the case to come and testify on the charges levelled against them on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in a move to combat trafficking of women and children, a day-long consultation meet here mooted to float a network of NGOs, police department, social activists, media persons, legal professionals and academicians.

The Women Action for Development and Manipur Police sponsored meet which concluded on Friday recommended to have proper correspondence with other national and international networks on this issue, proper prosecution of the convicts of trafficking, etc.

WAD secretary M Sobita, stating that trafficking of women and children from NE India is a serious issue, said, “There were 62 (41 girls and 21 boys) reported cases of human trafficking in Manipur in the last three months.”

Assam mulls truce review - NDFB hand in Udalguri, Darrang carnage alleged OUR BUREAU The Telegraph
Guwahati/Kokrajhar, Oct. 11: Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said the government would review the ceasefire with the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), as there were allegations of the organisation’s involvement in the recent carnage in Udalguri and Darrang districts.
“If found guilty, the ceasefire with the outfit will be cancelled,” the chief minister said at a news meet here.
Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also said there were clear indications of the NDFB’s involvement in the series of incidents since the organisation has been opposed to non-tribals and illegal migrants in Bodoland.
Several Bodo organisations have lashed out at Sarma for his alleged remark that the violence was a ploy to drive away non-Bodos from the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area.
Sarma today said he had not made any remarks about the Bodo community trying to drive away non-Bodos. “The NDFB is not a representative of the Bodo community,” he added.
Trying to justify his allegations about the involvement of the NDFB, Sarma said the organisation, in a recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had stated that the Bodo community was under threat from non-tribals and the illegal migrant population.
“The Assam government is in possession of the NDFB’s letter to the Prime Minister’s Office,” he said.
Sarma added that the NDFB “has a history of carrying out attacks on non-tribals” and the organisation would continue to do so.
“It was in 1993 and again in 1996 that the NDFB carried out attacks on non-Bodos,” he said.
The Federation of Bodo Youth (FBY) and All Bodo Post-Graduate Youth Federation (ABPGYF), however, accused the Congress spokesman of becoming an “agent of illegal immigrants for petty vote bank politics” and demanded a public apology for his remark on the Udalguri violence.
In a joint press statement issued at Kokrajhar, the two organisations strongly condemned the “dirty politics” played by the health minister while trying to establish the involvement of the Bodos behind the violence.
“Instead of spelling out the truth behind the incident (we all know that Simi/ Indian Mujahideen, Huji and many more Islamic terrorist outfits and fundamentalists are the real culprits), Sarma has accused the Bodos of conspiring to wipe out the non-Bodo population from BTC,” the statement said.
India asks Singapore to curb trafficking Nagaland page

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10: After five girls from Manipur were rescued in Kuala Lumpur, India is now asking the Singapore Government to take action against the maid placement agency that allegedly ran a human trafficking racket across many northeastern states.
The maid placement agency Abel and Joe is registered with the Singapore government and has sent girls abroad from the Northeast.
The Indian embassy in Singapore has been asked to take up the matter with the Government there.
Earlier, after the girls fled from a Kuala Lumpur nightclub, the Malaysian government helped the girls with arrangements for their return back home.
"The agency had no mandatory registrations to conduct overseas recruitments. We have also forwarded copies of details on how the agency and its agents ran the trafficking racket," Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) secretary K Mohandas said.
Earlier two people representing the agency were arrested by Manipur Police in this connection while 12 others were summoned by a local court. The case details were forwarded to the MOIA by the parents of the victimized girls.
"In our communication with the Singapore government we had sought a lookout notice for the agency's India recruiter Ricky Ho and more details on the activities of the agency," said a ministry official.
Coordinator of the Naga People's Movement for Human Rights Kienderson Pamei had urged the ministry to take action against the agency's website that still posts advertisements featuring gullible Indian girls. (Agencies)