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12/15/2008: "Rivalry among Naga factions harming peace Nirendra Dev Statesman"

Rivalry among Naga factions harming peace Nirendra Dev Statesman

: The rivalry and muscle flexing among different Naga factions is a major stumbling block in the 11-year-old peace process, government sources said today. As the venue of the fresh round of parleys between the government and NSCN (IM) was shifted from the Hague to Amsterdam earlier this month, the rival camp fired a salvo, issuing a public statement saying, “neither Bangkok nor Amsterdam, the issue is home based.”
The rival GPRN-NSCN said it believes that “Nagas must settle their own problem first”, official sources said, adding that muscle flexing between different groups continues to make the Naga issue a “complex” matter.
A crucial ceasefire supervisory board meeting was held at Dimapur, commercial hub of Nagaland, on 5 December to take stock of the prevailing situation “arising out of violations of ceasefire ground rules.”
The meeting chaired by Lt Gen. (Rtd) Mandhata Singh reviewed developments like violation of ground rules and continued armed conflicts between warring camps. However, four days later, on 9 December night, there was violence in Rengma-tribe dominated Tsosinyu village in Kohima district and one person was killed. The victim has been identified as belonging to GPRN-NSCN. “We have reports now that the GPRN-NSCN camp has warned of dire consequences. They said if the Isak Muivah faction believes in violence they will also not remain silent. This is a dangerous trend,” the sources said. Officials have denied that prolonging the Naga peace talks, which formally started in August 1997 during the I K Gujral regime, is in any way in the interest of the government. “On the contrary, we wanted things to move fast … And also encouraged intervention of Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), a body constituted by Naga civil society and headed by a local church leader Dr Wati Aier. It has representatives from several Naga organisations,” an official said. Sources pointed out that the meetings convened by the forum are generally boycotted by one faction or the other.
“We hardly see any euphoria, which was once visible when Naga militant leaders Isak Chi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah arrived in Nagaland in early 2003,” sources added.
Unity more important than status of solution morungexpress
Sumi Hoho President Hokishe Yepthomi explaining a point during an interaction at his home in Satakha, Zunheboto district.
Sumi Hoho president Hokishe Yepthomi makes the point that unification of all Naga underground groups is a must for any solution to the protracted Indo-Naga issue. He categorically states that any kind of “piecemeal solution will not work”. In an exclusive interaction with The Morung Express Chief of Bureau, Along Longkumer at his home in Satakha, Zunheboto, the Sumi Hoho president maintained that the NSCN (IM) should invite other Naga groups to join in the parleys with the Government of India. Making the stand of the Sumi Hoho clear, Yepthomi said the apex tribal body of the Sumis will not accept any piecemeal solution.
At the same time, he clarified that if “all Nagas are together” there was no question of piecemeal solution. “Our point is not on the status of the solution but that Nagas should be united”, Yepthomi said while adding that it did not matter even if there is no sovereignty as long as Nagas are united for a solution. In this regard, Yepthomi categorically pointed out that the Sumi Hoho will continue to support the ongoing efforts to “bring all warring factions under one political organization” so that bloodshed and fratricidal killing is completely stopped.
Known as an educationist and a social luminary, Yepthomi, who is also chairman of the Sumi Literature Board, argues that the “political salvation for the Nagas” can be achieved only through the unification of all Naga underground factions. “There are only two choices for the Nagas. We have to choose between bloodshed and peace. If we want to live in peace and harmony, we have no other option than the unification of all factions”, he reiterates. He reminds that the basis for unity already exists—the historical and political rights of the Nagas.

On ‘quit notice’
On the ‘quit notice’, while the Sumi Hoho openly pointed out that the quit notice served on the Tangkhul community was not a good thing, Yepthomi refused to further comment saying that the NSCN (IM) has banned the Sumi Hoho. “Our mouth is sealed. We will keep quiet”, the president said while lamenting that even if the Sumi Hoho wanted to go to Hebron, they cannot do so. “When Sumi Hoho is quiet they (NSCN –IM) should know that it is not good for them. Now we cannot even go to them even if we want to resolve matters”, Yepthomi says. While expressing its hurt over what it termed as people “misreading the intention of the Sumis”, Mr Yepthomi said that the Sumi Hoho “will not take a leading role” but will support any group/s or tribe/s taking initiative to bring peace and reconciliation.

On role of FNR and challenges The Sumi Hoho has categorically said that it fully supported and endorsed the reconciliation process undertaken by the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR). While expressing that the FNR was heading in the right direction, the Sumi Hoho President has a few word of suggestions as well as caution. Firstly, he says that the FNR should not become “too bulky” in order to allow it to work more cohesively.
Secondly, FNR should maintain complete neutrality though Mr Yepthomi admits that this is not going to be an easy thing to do. He cites the manner in which an earlier reconciliation commission headed by Niketu Iralu had to be winded up because the Naga Hoho could not handle pressure from a certain group. In this regard, he also expressed regret that the Naga Hoho had failed to honour its commitment made some years ago to come up with a “White Paper”.
Saying that the past had been replete with failures, the Sumi Hoho President warned that the FNR could get “stuck” likewise, unless lessons are learned from the past. He also said that Naga intellectuals have been forced to shut up at gun point and maintained that unless they speak up the truth, Nagas will not be evoked from its slumber.
(Second part of the interview will be continued in tomorrow’s edition)
Excommunication order has become a dead letter: Sumi Hoho On the recent events of ‘excommunication’ and ‘ban on the Sumi Hoho’, its president Hokishe Yepthomi said that the NSCN (IM) had “misinterpreted the action taken by the Sumi Hoho”. Explaining that almost all Sumi cadres from Hebron had come out on November 22, 2007 “declaring unification”, he clarified that the Sumi Hoho was invited only on November 27 as “witness” to the declaration of unity. The Sumi Hoho president also clarified that the so-called “excommunication order” to all Sumi cadres applied only to those who were signatories at the November 27 meeting which was chaired by the Sumi Hoho.
More importantly, the Sumi Hoho clarified that the resolution on the “excommunication order” was adopted not by the Sumi Hoho but by the undergrounds present in that meeting. “The Sumi Hoho was only a witness. Therefore the UGs should compromise and revoke it by themselves”, Yepthomi said of the “excommunication order” served on the Sumi UG cadres. The Sumi Hoho president suggested that kilo kilonser Azheto Chophy (Khehoi camp) and Q. Tuccu, senior leader at Hebron Camp should resolve the matter by themselves, pointing out that both Azheto and Q. Tuccu were signatory to the November 27 meeting.
Even otherwise, the Sumi Hoho president informed that the “excommunication order” has not been enforced till date and no action has been taken against any of those who have failed to abide by the “unity agreement”. “Q. Tuccu went back to IM while Azheto went back to Khaplang. Therefore the question of excommunication does not arise. They should revoke it by themselves”, Yepthomi said while admitting that the ‘excommunication’ has become a “dead-letter” as “we cannot take any action” either against Azheto or Q. Tuccu and their respective colleagues. The Sumi Hoho president however regretted that the Government of India did not recognize the Naga unification group citing the official recognition given to only the two groups - the NSCN (IM) and the NSCN (K).
Businessmen abducted in Nagaland The Hindu
KOHIMA: Two businessmen were abducted by unidentified gunmen from Nagaland’s commercial town of Dimapur, police said on Sunday. Bimal Jain and Kailash Kala, both from the Marwari community, were kidnapped on Saturday morning when they were on a regular morning walk in Duncan area.
The abduction, which sources said has become a fortnightly affair, triggered panic within the harried business community. Complaints were lodged at the local police station. However, the victims’ families have not received any communication or ransom demand from the abductors, police said.
A meeting of Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Nagaland Medicine Dealers’ Association expressed concern over frequent kidnappings of businessmen in the town and called upon police, administration, underground groups and concerned citizens to reach out and help in rescuing Mr. Jain and Mr. Kala. The business community also threatened indefinite closure of shops in Dimapur from Monday if the duo was not rescued. – PTI
Entrepreneurs in North-East spawning new models of enterprise IST, Gouri Agtey Athale, Economic Times Bureau
A traditional society, depending on traditional industry is finally moving out of a fixed, traditional mould. Young entrepreneurs in the north


Modern Moguls

eastern states of Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram are keen that their states progress economically, and without any government handouts. And they are doing this through their own entrepreneurial initiative in small ways.

“There is little entrepreneurial activity here but there is potential to develop it based on the natural resources available locally. For instance, medicinal plants that grow here can be made into products. We have started a bamboo processing unit for incense sticks makers,” says Joseph Lalngaihawma Ralte, managing director, Malsom Bamboo and co-founder of the Mizo Entrepreneur Network (MEN). Ralte and MEN’s co-founder Daniel Hauhnar, who runs Zokrafts Bamboo, do similar work: they process the abundantly growing bamboo in these regions into sticks, which are sent to Bangalore for making incense sticks.

Sending semi-processed goods from the north-eastern part of the country to the industrially better developed regions across India is not restricted to incense sticks. Anthurium flowers grown in Mizoram are exported, again via Bangalore. Another traditional activity common across the region is handloom weaving. But it needs to grow and create a market outside the local ones, says Zohmangaiha, chairman of the Mizoram Apex Handloom and Handicraft Cooperative Society (MAHCO).

“We need to expand outside the local market because there is stagnation here. We want to encourage all women to take it up, create a surplus and then sell to the rest of the country. Right now, production is too much for the local market but not enough to serve markets outside the state,” Zohmangaiha adds.

There are an estimated 1,000 handloom weaving units in Mizoram. The largest unit has 50 looms, with one unit on average manufacturing 15 metres of fabric a day. While the scale of operations is a critical issue, finance is even more crucial. Zohmangaiha’s wife, Ralmani, has a unit, the Zonunsang Handloom and Handicraft Centre in the heart of Aizawl, Mizoram.
The unit borrowed Rs 4.5 lakh in 1986 but is yet to repay it. “It is this non-repayment of loans that affects others. Banks don’t want to lend to entrepreneurs,” maintain Ralte and Hauhnar of MEN, who would like to build a culture of repayment of bank dues among borrowers. That is something Entrepreneurs Associates (EA), a microfinance unit in Kohima, Nagaland, set up by Neichute Doulo has begun to do—ensuring that the small entrepreneur repays his loan so that they can lend again to others. This is a culture that needs developing, Doulo too maintains. Theja Meru, an entrepreneur in Kohima whose Dream Cafe is a popular coffee bar in the central market, is now setting up a heritage hotel at the place where the British Indian army held back advancing Japanese troops during World War II.

“We have turned the DC’s Bungalow, a heritage property, into a heritage hotel, using the space for public events,” Meru says. “I see myself as a social entrepreneur because I believe that through my business I will be able to improve the lives of the unemployed young people here. If I am able to hold two events a week, the person in charge of the sound system or the lights will be able to earn Rs 10,000-15,000 a month. At the lowest level, this could mean a monthly income of Rs 3,000-5,000. And even more if there is a concert.”
Abducted businessmen released morungexpress
Dimapur: Giving a sigh of relief to the district administration, police and citizens of Dimapur, the two businessmen Kailash Kala and Bimal Jain, who were reported kidnapped on Saturday morning, were “released” at around 6:30 pm this evening. Family members informed that the victims reached home safely and no harm was inflicted on them physically.
Appreciating the police, district administration and different business establishments for their support, Chamber of Commerce Dimapur and Nagaland Medicine Dealers’ Association (NMDA) informed that the proposed indefinite strike which was earlier scheduled to begin on Monday in protest of the abduction, has been called off. However, they cautioned that if such crimes are repeated against the business community, there would be immediate and indefinite closure of shops without any prior information.
Speaking to media persons immediately after the release of the two businessmen, Kasheto Yepthomi, interim president of the CCD said there is already fear psychosis in the citizens and public. He appealed to the miscreants involved in the abduction, ‘not to repeat such acts’. Ironically, as usual, no details behind the motive or the persons or organizations responsible for the abduction, were provided.
The CCD also requested the district administration to check the scourge of extortion, donation-collection, threats, forceful sale of tickets and such activities which are thriving in the city and with the coming festive season. Due to all these factors, Kasheto said, ‘15 %’ of the business community has already left Dimapur and another ‘15 to 20%’ planning to leave after the New Year. He urged the law-enforcing agencies to check these illegal practices while strongly calling on the police and intelligence departments to be more vigilant and proactive during the festive season.
Reiterating the long-felt need and about time for the police force to pull up its socks, president of the NMDA, Ato Yepthomi brushed away excuses that the Home department ‘did not have enough police personnel to provide proper coverage’. He suggested that the state government cut down on police personnel deployed on VIP duty and redeploy them for security of the public. He also cautioned that in future, any similar harassment on any member of the business community, be it the owners or salesmen, all business establishments of Dimapur would invite “protest”.