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10/16/2008: "Muivah in Netherlands, Naga talks outside India yet again IANS"

Muivah in Netherlands, Naga talks outside India yet again IANS

Kohima, Oct 16 (IANS) The setting of the deadlocked Naga peace talks has moved out of India yet again with frontline separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah leaving the country after nearly a year and arriving in the Netherlands earlier this month, rebel leaders said Thursday. More than 60 rounds of talks with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) have not succeeded in resolving the decades-old conflict and the next round of dialogue will be held in The Hague later this month.
“Our general secretary Muivah had to leave India for the Netherlands because he has to brief global NGO leaders and others on the peace process. We are still keeping our hopes alive,” an NSCN-IM leader in Camp Hebron, the group’s headquarters in Nagaland, said on condition of anonymity.
Ever since the rebel group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 1997, talks between the two sides have been held in places like Paris, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Chiang Mai, Zurich, Davos and New Delhi.
The NSCN-IM initially talked about a sovereign Nagaland but later stuck to a loose concept that envisaged unification of all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast with the existing Nagaland state. The possible ceding of territory has been opposed by all the states adjoining Nagaland like Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
The fact that the Naga peace talks have not progressed well was reflected in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Sep 17 address to state governors where he said: “In Nagaland, the fighting between two factions of the NSCN has led to increased killings. Talks with the NSCN-IM have not made any significant progress…”
Analysts feel that NSCN-IM general secretary Muivah may have decided to leave India and join his chairperson, Isak Chishi Swu, who had sneaked out in October last year, because of increased frustration about the outcome of the talks.
“Muivah may have got the feeling that New Delhi was not going to accept their demands in their present form. Sovereignty for Nagaland is out of question, the government is also not prepared to redraw the map of Nagaland or the northeast for that matter,” said Wasbir Hussain, director of the Guwahati-based Centre for Development and Peace Studies, a think tank.
The government, observers say, may be willing to give the Nagas a good autonomy package, but the challenge before New Delhi is to reach a decision on whether signing a peace deal with the NSCN-IM will bring peace to the Naga areas. This is because other groups like the Khaplang faction of the NSCN and a few other splinter factions also hold sway in certain areas.
New Delhi has not given up hope and is getting ready for the next round of talks. Union minister Oscar Fernandes and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan are set to attend the talks in The Hague along with the government’s interlocutor K. Padmanabhaiah.
Reconciliation: ‘Nurture the momentum’ Morungexpress
Dimapur, October 16 (MExN): The initial forward momentum achieved in the ongoing reconciliation and peace initiative must be nurtured by all, complemented by broadmindedness to create dialogue, the Naga church has said. Broadmindedness and understanding on the part of leaders from “different organizations” will create more room for dialogue, the Nagaland Baptist Church Council reminded in a statement today
The NBCC peace committee in its annual session on the 16th welcomed the “beginnings” made in the “coming together” of the rival Naga groups through the efforts of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation, the NBCC stated. This, the church termed, is a positive step in the right direction. The church stated: “The initial forward momentum must be nurtured by all concerned with sincerity and steadfast trust so that the progress may become steady and irreversible. In practical terms this much needed progress at this delicate stage calls for leadership of different organizations to be more broad minded, understanding which will create more rooms for dialogue and also amend the past actions and resolutions against individuals and communities which have hurt one another and also hindered the process of reconciliation”.
The parts played by the leaders of the forum and well-wishers of the Naga people, like the Quakers and leaders of the American Baptist Church, USA, have begun to make a difference, the NBCC said. “NBCC has lent its support through prayers and participation in the initiatives that have brought the national workers and the public together in events that are symbolic and promising” the church said.
It has reaffirmed commitment to the endeavor for healing and reconciliation by, the statement said, keeping the process clean and transparent ‘so that God may give us what is right and best for all Nagas’. The statement was appended by NBCC’s peace committee chairman Rev.Khrotso Mero and peace affairs director Rev.L Kari Longchar.
Naga talks outside India yet again Agencies
Kohima, October 16 (Agencies): The setting of the deadlocked Naga peace talks has moved out of India yet again with frontline separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah leaving the country after nearly a year and arriving in the Netherlands earlier this month, rebel leaders said Thursday. More than 60 rounds of talks with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) have not succeeded in resolving the decades-old conflict and the next round of dialogue will be held in The Hague later this month.
“Our general secretary Muivah had to leave India for the Netherlands because he has to brief global NGO leaders and others on the peace process. We are still keeping our hopes alive,” an NSCN-IM leader in Camp Hebron, the group’s headquarters in Nagaland, said on condition of anonymity. Ever since the rebel group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government of India in 1997, talks between the two sides have been held in places like Paris, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Chiang Mai, Zurich, Davos and New Delhi.
The NSCN-IM initially talked about a sovereign Nagaland but later stuck to a loose concept that envisaged unification of all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast with the existing Nagaland state. The possible ceding of territory has been opposed by all the states adjoining Nagaland like Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
The fact that the Naga peace talks have not progressed well was reflected in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s September 17 address to state governors where he said, “In Nagaland, the fighting between two factions of the NSCN has led to increased killings. Talks with the NSCN-IM have not made any significant progress…” Analysts feel that NSCN-IM general secretary Muivah may have decided to leave India and join his chairperson, Isak Chishi Swu, who had sneaked out in October last year, because of increased frustration about the outcome of the talks.
“Muivah may have got the feeling that New Delhi was not going to accept their demands in their present form. Sovereignty for Nagaland is out of question, the government is also not prepared to redraw the map of Nagaland or the northeast for that matter,” said Wasbir Hussain, director of the Guwahati-based Centre for Development and Peace Studies, a think tank.
Government, observers say, may be willing to give the Nagas a good autonomy package, but the challenge before New Delhi is to reach a decision on whether signing a peace deal with the NSCN-IM will bring peace to the Naga areas. This is because other groups like the Khaplang faction of the NSCN and a few other splinter factions also hold sway in certain areas.
New Delhi has not given up hope and is getting ready for the next round of talks. Union minister Oscar Fernandes and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan are set to attend the talks in The Hague along with the government’s interlocutor K. Padmanabhaiah.
Testing Times morungexpress Editorial
In testing times such as our present predicament, Nagas as a people are confronted with the daunting question: Is peace possible? The response is: Do we have a choice? Invariably, if Nagas are to ensure their continued survival as a people, the only option is to ensure that peace is possible. Peace is not just the absence of war and violence; it needs to be constructed as a conceptual and existential reality in which people live with dignity. Our responsibilities to the future generation is profoundly challenged by what kind of future are we building?
For too long Peace has been construed as a desire and War as a factual human condition. And history has never quite paid any regard to human aspirations and ideals. It has only demonstrated that the processes of war and peace get complicated when we look at it in detail. It is essential therefore to have an accurate and pragmatic approach that addresses the vital issues of a dignified shared humanity if we are to make any progress towards peace. A decisive commitment to the praxis of justice is necessary for true peace to be made possible.
True peace remains the greatest challenge of all times. Yet, peace is possible because the human conscience would not allow otherwise. Therefore Nagas are demanded by the future to allow the ideals of a just peace to be born and imaginatively nurtured in our hearts and minds, so that real transformation may begin to take place. The churning of the human spirit to constructively engage all forms of injustice and violence is the seed of peace and must lead to the transformation of all unjust systems to ensure that the cycle of injustice and violence is broken.
Nagas need a new paradigm in which our response to issues of peace compels us to find creative, imaginative and responsive ways to engage with injustices. Such a paradigm must find ways to end violence and its consequences. Nagas must explore new ways to address conflicting interest in more creative, imaginative and peaceful ways, in which the use of force has no role. This new paradigm should constitute processes that will empower and guide the Nagas to exercise and implement the idea of a dignified shared existence.
Situated in a climate of distrust and discord, Nagas must construct valued-based approaches that are aimed at bridging polarized opinions of the same reality. Short-cut solutions will only further intensify polarized positions and therefore, an open process that is committed to addressing the roots of the issues must be initiated. Recognizing that Nagas are divided over a contentious and hurtful past; yet united and bounded together by common aspirations, the need to reason together and evolve a minimum consensus on the future, is the need of the hour.
At this time of immense challenges and opportunities a holistic initiative is required to engage in a consensus building process. This process will focus on building a consensus around how Nagas envision the future. The derived consensus representing the aspirations and interests of the people provides a common basis to take both the reconciliation and resolution process forward. This further implies an agreed understanding on how to constructively address the burdens of our history, so that through the healing of our spirits, a future of dignity is made possible. When Peace like War is waged, Peace is possible…

Where ‘ordinary’ life seems extraordinary - Clash-hit refugees in Udalguri and Darrang bombard an all-party delegation with security queries UMANAND JAISWAL The telegraph


Women and children at the Bhakatpara relief camp in Udalguri on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections
Udalguri, Oct. 16: “Ordinary” life, which had seemed so mundane till last month, is a luxury that more than one lakh homeless people have been praying for in Darrang and Udalguri for the past fortnight.
When the communal clashes broke out on October 3 and snowballed over the next few days killing 23 people in Darrang and 30 in Udalguri, most had run to relief camps with little more than a bundle of clothes and utensils.
Some were Bodo, some were Khatun and all had lost, well, everything. When Assam Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai led an all-party delegation to Bhakatpara and Khruakata relief camps today, there were no demands, only questions. “Is it safe now? Is there enough security?”
Bhakatpara is among 44 camps which are home to 68,000 inmates in Darrang. Khruakata relief camp, is one of 43 temporary sheds sheltering 59,958 people in Udalguri.
Among the sea of anxious faces, a child managed a broken-toothed smile — a crushingly misplaced glee in the gloom. He asked no questions, only looked pleadingly for some assurance that he could soon go home.
“Three of our Garo acquaintances were killed in front of security personnel. They wanted to chase us away but we somehow survived,” Thageswari Boro told the team of politicians.
“Can we return now?” she asked. The possibility seems remote, given that four houses were set on fire this evening at Hatkhula near Rowta in Udalguri. The families, a senior district administration official said, had spent the day in the houses and had returned to the relief camp in the evening. On the other side of the divide, Rahima Khatun broke down recounting her twin tragedies.
Her 15-year-old nephew was shot dead by unidentified assailants while her niece died from shock. “I have lost my dear ones. They killed them. Even if we want to, we cannot return home,” she sobbed.
Both sides have suffered immensely. Some of lost their families, some their dwellings and most will not be able to reap the benefits of their harvest.
“I appeal to the government to save their crops. It is really sad that the government has not been able to instil confidence even after two weeks. In camp after camp, they all complained about insecurity,” AGP president Chandramohan Patowary said. The Opposition members also demanded an all-party meeting to investigate if the clashes were the result of any administrative loophole, a political conspiracy or instigated by external forces.
ULFA hand confirmed in Agartala blasts Prabir sil Assam tribune
AGARTALA, Oct 16 – In a new twist to the insurgency problem in the Northeastern region, Tripura DGP Pranay Sahay on Thursday confirmed ULFA’s involvement in motivating and imparting training of All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) cadres to carry out serial blasts on October 1. There is clear evidence to suggest ULFA could have guided the ATTF in developing explosive in triggering blasts, said the DGP in a news conference here.

He said that the ATTF has already constituted an urban squad capable of handling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), mobile device and grenades with the active help of ULFA.

“The exclusives had been obtained from ATTF hideout at Satcherri in Bangladesh from where these were taken to Agartala in the last week of September”, he said.

According to the DGP, two senior ULFA cadres had visited the Satcherri hideout in September to impart training to ATTF militants on how to handle explosives and trigger blasts.

“We are in touch with Assam police to get details on the style of ULFA’s operation”, he said adding that there would be no problem in disseminating intelligence inputs between two states.

“There is no evidence of jihadi hand in the blasts but ISI may have helped the insurgent group to carry out the serial blasts”, he said. “However, the Centre has set up a separate mechanism to monitor Bangladesh related inputs”, he said.

Highlighting the success of CID in the blasts cases, Sahay said that so far a total of 17 persons have been arrested in connection with the Agartala serial blasts in which 76 persons were wounded.

“Sleuths of CID have managed to unearth the conspiracy behind the blasts within two weeks. Three masterminds were arrested while three more persons, who had actively participated in the blasts are still at large”, he said.

According to intelligence inputs, both ULFA and ATTF share hideouts in Bangladesh even as repeated denial of Bangladesh authority.

As of now two Tripura based militant organizations- ATTF and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have 25 hideouts in the neighbouring country.

Govt apathy towards riot victims decried Correspondent Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Oct 16 – Flaying Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for taking an ‘anti-indigenous’ stand, the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Assam Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) today demanded adequate security measures for the violence-affected people of Udalguri and Darrang districts to facilitate their return to their homes at the earliest. Both AASU and ABSU, in protest of the step-motherly treatment meted out to the inmates of the relief camps, has decided to stage a silent rally in front of the Raj Bhawan on October 18.

The students’ bodies would also dispatch a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner demanding the latter’s intervention in ensuring security across the affected area.

Both AASU and ABSU had visited the strife torn areas of Udalguri and Darrang districts to take stock of the situation.

Informing this at a press conference, AASU adviser Dr Samujjal Bhattacharya, alleged that the affected people in both the affected districts are living in pitiable condition and the State Government has utterly failed to provide adequate food materials, medical aid and proper housing facilities.

“The inmates of the relief camps are living in most inhuman and unhygienic condition. Such is the situation that a woman even gave birth to a child without any medical aid. Such pitiable state of affairs faced by the indigenous people in their own land would not be tolerated at any cost,” Dr Bhattacharya warned.

“State Health State Minister should take note of the prevailing medical scenario in the relief camps instead of making manipulated comments,” Dr Bhattacharya stated.

“People want to go back to their homes but owing to insufficient security arrangements, they are still afraid to take any step forward,” he pointed out.

Unlike what the Government is trying to say, it is not a clash between the Bodo and non-Bodo people. Rather, it is an attack on the indigenous people of the State by the fundamentalist forces,” Dr Bhattacharya said.

“It is shocking that even after Pakistani flag was hoisted in the State, the State Government is trying to cover up the issue. The local people had heard slogans like ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ being shouted but the Tarun Gogoi led State Government is keeping mum,” he rued, adding, “ Gogoi is very conscious about the Bangladeshi vote banks and is also afraid of the fundamentalist forces”.

“There exists nothing as far as security of the area is concerned. Three persons were even stabbed to death by suspected Bangladesh is in front of the Superintendent of Police on October 3, which came as a shock to the local people,” said RG Narzary, president, ABSU.

“We warn the State Government not to play with the sentiments of the indigenous people. If no immediate measure is initiated to ensure security to the lives and property of the indigenous people, we would further intensify our agitation,” Narzary reiterated.

All-party team visits clash-hit districts Kabita Duarah Assam tribune
UDALGURI, Oct 16 – Apart from the loss of life and property, what has been lost in immeasurable terms is the loss of confidence, loss of faith and loss of goodwill in the violence-affected districts of Darrang and Udalguri. This was evident in the candid views expressed by the affected people sheltered in different relief camps in both the districts before the all-party delegation of Assam Legislative Assembly today.

As a confidence-building measure, the all-party delegation led by Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai visited the relief camps in Darrang and Udalguri and appealed to the people to exercise restraint and maintain peace and amity.

The inmates of the relief camps in Darrang, without mincing words, accused the police and district administration of failing to take the necessary steps even when the signs of disturbance were showing since the August 14 incident.

“The Government should take stern action against the SP of Darrang,” demanded the inmates of Bhakatpara relief camp in Darrang district before the delegation.

At different relief camps, the inmates submitted memorandums to the delegation demanding foolproof security and adequate compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured. The affected people have demanded Rs 10 lakh as compensation for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh for the injured.

The Speaker assured the inmates of the relief camps that their problems and sufferings would be placed before the Government, and called upon them not to heed rumours.

Leader of the Opposition Chandra Mohan Patowary who was accompanying the delegation said that till date the whole situation was beyond the control of the Government. “The people of the relief camps are still in the grip of fear,” said Patowary and added that unless security is ensured, the inmates would not want to return to their respective villages.

On the other hand, CPM has described the incident as the outcome of a hate campaign and expressed that till date, there were administrative lapses.

The BJP condemned the administrative failure to protect the life and property of the people and alleged that outsiders were involved in the incident.

The opposition parties accompanying the delegation have called upon the Government to hold an all-party meet at the earliest and to convene a special session of the Assembly on the issue.

More trade points on Indo-Burma border; Is it beneficial? Mungpi Mizzima

New Delhi – Attempting to boost bilateral trade, India will seek the opening of two more trade centres along the porous Indo-Burma, when Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Power visits Burma for two-day, (October 14 to 15), talks with junta officials in the Southeast Asian country's second largest city, Mandalay.

According to a press statement from the Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ramesh, who will lead an official delegation for trade and investment, will raise the "Indian desire" to expand border trade with Burma by opening two more trade points along the 1,600-kilometre porous border the two countries share.

With only one trade point in Moreh town in Manipur state currently operational along the border, India will propose two additional centres in "Avangkhu in Nagaland and Zowkhathar in Mizoram, which happens to be a long-standing demand of these two states," the statement said.

Ramesh, who will be visiting Burma for the third time this year, will also propose the expansion of the number of items to be traded, which currently stands at 22, in view of moving towards free trade in these centres.

India and Burma in recent years have maintained regular high-level visits to discuss bilateral relationship. Observers view Ramesh's visit, which will begin on Tuesday, as another trip to appease the military generals that have ruled the country since 1962.

"This trip is a part of the two countries [India and Burma] strategy to boost bilateral relationship," said Dr. Tint Swe, a minister of the Burmese government – National coalition Government of Union of Burma, in exile.

Ramesh will also reiterate India's offer to include Burma in the duty free tariff preference scheme, which India has announced for Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the statement said.

Following the talks in Mandalay, Ramesh and the Burmese Prime Minister Lt-Gen Thein Sein on October 16, will inaugurate a Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills set up in Rangoon with Indian assistance of $ 2 million.

The Centre will be run by Indian professionals and will train 1000 youths every year and students will be initially awarded with a diploma certificate of the Pune-based Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), which is an institution under the Ministry of Information Technology.
Look-East Policy

Dr. Tint Swe, who is based in New Delhi and who has been vociferous in his criticism of India's 'Look East' policy, said the proposal for the two trade points are in line with India's look east policy, which according to him has failed.

"India, while it wants to appease the Burmese junta, also seeks to tell the people of the Northeast that it is implementing development projects for them," Dr. Tint Swe said. He said, for more than a decade, the look east policy has not brought any sustainable development to the people of Northeast India as well as the Burmese people on the other side of the border. "India is miscalculating and should realise that the look east policy is failing after more than a decade of experience," he added.

Under the look east policy of India, first introduced in the early 1990s, India began to cosy up to Burma's military rulers by building roads, opening border trade, providing financial loans, giving technological assistance and even by supplying military hardware.

According to analysts, India has been vigorously pushing for a warmer bilateral relationship to counter the growing Chinese influence on Burma, and to tame its growing insurgency in its Northeastern states, who use Burmese soil as a safe haven to fight the central government. But Dr. Tint Swe said despite India's efforts, Burma's military rulers are playing their own game and are using India to show the world that it has the support of the largest democracy.

"India cannot achieve the objectives that it hopes through its look east policy," Dr. Tint Swe said.
Northeast connection

Meanwhile, a student body in India's north eastern states said the Indian government's plan to propose two more trade points along the border with Burma will provide no significant benefits to the people of the region but will be applauded by a few businessmen. Muanpuia, Vice Chairman of the North East Students Organisation (NESO), an apex student body of northeast India, said, "The look east policy of India overlooks the interest of the people of the Northeast."

"The benefits of the two trade points will directly go to the military junta of Burma and to the Indian government," said Muanpuia, adding that the Centre is just trying to appease the people of northeastern states by opening the trade centres while it seeks to gain the support of the Burmese generals.

"India first of all should not deal with the Burmese military junta, and it should stop claiming that it is helping the northeastern states to develop," Muanpuia added.

Instead, he said, India should review the 'Look East' policy as it does not bring any benefits to the people of the Northeast while the junta in Burma is claiming that it is being supported by the world's largest democracy to continue its rule.

NSN Lotha, advisor of the NESO, said the trade centres, if opened, will not provide substantial benefits to the people of Northeast but will be a vantage point for India to bargain with the Burmese military government for closer cooperation.

India in the past two decades has tried in several ways to appease the Burmese military government. According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, India's exports to Burma for the fiscal year 2007-08 accounted for about $ 185 million, while its imports from Burma is valued at around $ 810 million, comprising mostly of pulses. Burma thus enjoys a substantial trade surplus with India.

However, despite targeting a US $ 1 billion trade in 2006-07, it fell short with a trade volume of only at US $ 650 million. However, Indo-Burmese bilateral trade has been increasing with the trade amount reaching US $ 557.68 million in 2005-06, which is 25 per cent up from the previous year, 2004-05, when it stood at US $ 341.40 million.