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05/02/2010: "Manipur not to allow Naga leader Muivah's visit Indo-Asian News Service"


Manipur not to allow Naga leader Muivah's visit Indo-Asian News Service

Imphal, The Manipur government has decided not to allow Naga leader Thuingaleng Muivah's visit to the state fearing ethnic trouble in the northeastern state, police said in Imphal on Sunday.
"In view of the state government's decision, we would not allow him (Muivah) to visit the state," Manipur Director General of Police Y. Joykumar Singh said.
Muivah, the general secretary of the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), proposed to visit his home place at Somdal village in northern Manipur's Ukhrul district May 3-10. He was scheduled to attend a public reception May 8 at Ukhrul district headquarters.
The 75-year-old Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur, was born in interior Somdal village, 100 km north of capital Imphal in Ukhrul district and had last visited his birth place in 1960.
"His (Muivah) visit might escalate further ethnic troubles in the mixed populated areas adjacent to Nagaland," the state police chief said.
The DGP admitted that the union home ministry earlier asked him to arrange security for the NSCN (IM) general secretary's Manipur visit.
The Manipur cabinet chaired by Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh, however, decided not to allow the NSCN (IM) leader to visit the state's northern areas.
"We have also communicated the government's decision to the prime minister and the union home Minister," Manipur Sports and Youth Affairs Minister and government spokesman N. Biren told reporters Saturday night.
Manipur's seven Naga legislators have in a statement welcomed Muivah's visit to the state.
It was not known so far if in view of the Manipur government's decision Muivah would call off the visit.
The NSCN-IM, one of the oldest and most powerful of the about 30 rebel groups in India's northeast, earlier fought for an independent homeland for the Nagas. The demand was scaled down to a Greater Nagaland, which the NSCN(-M) proposed to be formed by merging Naga populated areas of adjoining states with Nagaland.
The governments of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh have rejected the demand for unification of Naga areas. The central government too has rejected the demand.
The NSCN (IM), which is now holding fresh talks with the central government since March, entered into a ceasefire in August 1997.
Manipur to prevent entry of Naga leader STAFF WRITER (PTI)
Imphal, May 2 The Manipur Government has stepped up security measures at all border points to prevent entry of NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah into the state on the apprehension that his visit might disturb communal harmony, official sources said today.

Muivah could enter Manipur, his home state, through two possible points -- the Manipur-Nagaland border at Mao gate in Senapati district and Jessami town on the Nagaland-Ukhrul route in Ukhrul district, they said.

India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Manipur Rifles and police commandos were deployed at these areas to prevent the entry of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) leader who was to visit his home town at Somdal in Ukhrul district from May 3 to 10.

The 75-year-old Naga leader has not visited his birthplace since 1960, sources close to him said.
No issue with Muivah visit if state integrity is not sought to be compromised says UCM The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, Apr 30: The United Committee Manipur, in a statement, has asserted that it is not against the proposed visit of the NSCN(IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah to his native village in Ukhrul in Manipur.

However, if the NSCN(IM) leader`s visit turn out to have an agenda of disintegrating Manipur, it would certainly be a situation of `frying pan to fire` for the people of Manipur, the UCM said in a statement issued today.

The People of Manipur had been hit hard by the peace talk between the Government of India and the NSCN(IM) that begun in the year 1997 and remains unresolved even as 70 rounds of talk, the UCM said.

As a fallout of the recent round of talk between the two sides held at New Delhi from February 28 earlier this year, the NSCN(IM) leader is proposing to visit Manipur on May 8 as his first step towards restoring normalcy.

The UCM statement further said the proposed visit of the NSCN(IM) leader to Manipur territory where there is no extension of cease-fire means that Muivah`s visit with prior announcement has approval of the Government of India.

Even though it is not officially declared, there had been enough evidences during the past few years that cease-fire between the GOI and the NSCN(IM) is unofficially in forced within Manipur territory, the UCM said and recalled some of the incidents depicting extension of cease-fire in Manipur.

The UCM said an officer of the IRB was forced to take voluntary retirement for his involvement in gunning down 11 cadres of NSCN(IM) at Pallel.

All the weapons seized from the deceased NSCN(IM) cadres in the Pallel firing incident were later handed over to the outfit by Manipur government, the UCM said adding the incident is still fresh to the minds of the people of Manipur.

Citing another example, the UCM said some key leaders of the NSCN(IM) who were arrested by Manipur police along the IT road en-route to Tamenglong district headquarters some years back were later escorted back upto Mao Gate.

Expressing concern over Manipur government`s silence about Muivah`s proposed visit to the state, the UCM asked whether informal cease-fire between the GOI and the NSCN(IM) is being extended to Manipur.

Manipur government should give a fitting response in this regard, the UCM demanded and asked Manipur government to avoid the habit of ignoring these questions.

The people`s uprising for the cause of the state`s territorial integrity and the fire that engulf after the announcement of the extension of cease-fire between the GOI and the NSCN(IM) into the Manipur territory is yet to be extinguish completely.

It is still unpredictable that such explosive situation could recur anytime, the UCM said and urged the Manipur government to unearth inner motive of the Muivah`s visit and declare its decision.

The UCM also asserted that people of Manipur never opposed or gave disturbance to the peace talk between the GOI and the NSCN(IM), except when it comes to threaten the territory and integrity of the state.

At this crucial juncture, the people of Manipur need to remain alert, the UCM said and appeal people to be ready for taking up a united effort.
Cabinet decides not to allow Muivah visit apprehending explosive civil strife in state The Imphal Free Press

IMPHAL, April 30: Taking cognizance of the proposed maiden visit of Th Muivah, general secretary of the underground NSCN (IM) to his native village at Ukhrul and other Naga inhabited areas in Manipur, state government seriously discussed its possible consequences, in particular the civic unrest and ethnic tension the visit is likely to cause in an emergency sitting today.

The news of the intended visit became public after the Kolkata based The Telegraph reported it in its April 29 issue.

After a thorough deliberation during a special cabinet meeting under the chairmanship of the chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh at his official bungalow soon after he returned from the New Delhi today after meeting various central leaders, the government decided it would be wiser to not allow the visit.

A senior cabinet minister of the SPF government who interacted with the media today immediately after the meeting said after considering all the possible consequences and the effect the visit would have on law and order situations, the cabinet unanimously decided it was not time yet for such a visit.

In another decision, the cabinet meeting also decided to seek additional central paramilitary forces for the holding of the already announced election to the District Councils of various hills districts of the state scheduled to be held in two phases starting from May 26, the minister said.

The cabinet meeting also took serious note of the boycott call of the election to the Autonomous District Councils of the six hills districts by the some of the apex tribal bodies like the ANSAM and UNC in demand for rectification of the 3rd Amendment of District Council, 2008.

Some hill organisations want the 6th Schedule in place of the ADCs under the Manipur Government Act of 1971.

It may be recalled the government had already notified the elections despite strong objections from these Naga bodies.

The cabinet meeting also gave the approval for providing adequate security provisions to transporters of the state along the National Highways in the state in view of the constant interruption of services on account of economic blockades and bandhs called by the various organisations and student groups.

The cabinet minister further mentioned that the cabinet also discussed other major issues including the paralysis of state administration caused by the prolonged cease work strikes of the state employees under the aegis of AMTUC and AMGEO demanding implementation of 6th pay revision to the state with restospective effect from January 1, 2006.

The cabinet meeting however could not chalk out any blueprint for a resolution to the problem this evening, the senior cabinet minister added.

It may be recalled the government had announced state government employees would get the substantially hiked 6th Pay Commission salaries, but not with restrospective effect from 2006, as the state government does not have the funds to meet the huge extra cost of about Rs.200 crores.

The striking employees however are not ready to budge their stance of having everything that their Central government counterparts have already received.
9th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
New York, 19-30 April 2010
Agenda Item 4: Human Rights
Statement by:
MR. ATHILI ANTHONY SAPRIINA Executive Member
NAGA PEOPLES MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (NPMHR)
Endorsed by: ASIA PACIFIC INDIGENOUS YOUTH NETWORK (APIYN)
Thank you Chairperson,
Distinguished delegates of States, UN agencies, support groups, Indigenous sisters and brothers, the political conflict of the Nagas with India is among the oldest in the region spanning six decades and has cost many lives – Indians, Myanmarese and the Nagas.
Human Rights have no boundaries and include our ability to declare the realities of our situation to this gathering, despite the understanding that the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is not a complaint body. It is very difficult for us to be nice when we are faced with the question of survival.
India has reduced the Naga political issue as a law and order problem and convinced the rest of the world that “underdevelopment” is the chief cause of unrest and that “Development coupled with a deliberate and sustained assimilation” programme into the mainstream will bring lasting Peace. This legitimizes the destruction of Mother Earth in collusion with a section of Indigenous Peoples who have been co-opted by the state.
Chairperson, a ceasefire agreed upon by Nagaland and India in August 1997 has held despite a show of insincerity on India’s part. Now, while overt violent confrontation has lessened, the psychological gameplan of destroying our social fabric through a vilification and hate campaign among our communities is alarming. India asks us to unite while she devices ways to divide us.
Further, despite India supporting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, she has done little to realize the intentions inscribed within this document primarily because India refuses to accept that Indigenous Tribal peoples deserve a better deal. We hope that India would sit down and participate in the UNPFII and not being content to monitoring what the contingent from India does here.
Chairperson, the Naga peoples would also acknowledge the commitment of the Indian leaders with successive Prime Ministers pushing for reaching a negotiated settlement acceptable to both peoples. India faces very difficult questions and we respect that. Nagas wish to reiterate that we shall honour every commitment we made as we journey towards a peaceful settlement.
I put forth the following recommendations:
1. India must honour Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and take bold steps in reaching a negotiated settlement with the Nagas.
2. That, India recognize that a physical and political integration of the Nagas from the four States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Nagaland is the first step to sustainable and just peace.
3. We reiterate our call made during the 7th Session of UNPFII that India’s multi-billion dollar counter insurgency operations using propaganda and the military in Naga areas be halted. That, India desist from interfering in the Reconciliation efforts emerging from within the Naga peoples, a people who were once divided by India.
4. India and Myanmar halt the joint military exercises against the Nagas and ensure that Article 36 of the UNDRIP be adhered.
5. That the World Bank, ADB, IFAD, UNDP and other agencies operating in Naga areas ensure that safeguard policies on Indigenous peoples be ensured. That, their engagement should not be confined to those Indigenous Peoples who are co-opted and work closely with the Indian State as they do not necessarily represent the true voices.
6. That, India to engage in constructive dialogue with tribal and indigenous peoples in India at the UNPFII and other related international forums so that we can together find ways to peaceful co-existence and mutual benefit.
7. That, the Human Rights (agenda item 4) which encompasses every agenda within the UNPFII, be allotted much more time, than it is now, during every session.
I thank you Chair.
State Govt set to nip Muivah's proposed visit in the bud
By Our Staff Reporter Sangai Express

The Muivah
IMPHAL, Apr 30 : Observing that the proposed visit of NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah to his birthplace Somdal in Ukhrul district and other Naga inhabited areas of Manipur to hold consultative meetings may cause social unrest, the State Cabinet, which met today has recommended to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister not to allow the visit.
An emergency meeting of the State Cabinet was convened by Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh soon after he arrived from New Delhi today afternoon and after discussing the issue minutely categorically decided that Muivah should not be allowed to visit Manipur and accordingly, recommendations of the State Cabinet to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have been sent, informed Government spokesperson and Sports Minister N Biren while talking to media after the Cabinet meeting at his official residence here.
The Cabinet meeting thoroughly discussed the proposed visit of NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah from May 3 to 10 amid the imposition of economic blockade by those who are opposed to the ADC election, the UG ultimatum to non-Manipuris and the cease work strike of the Government employees.
In this given scenario, the Cabinet felt that the visit of Muivah to Somdal and other parts of Manipur may aggravate the situation. So, the Cabinet decided that he should not be allowed to come to Manipur. Accordingly, the Cabinet's decision has been faxed to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Reiterating that the cease fire agreement signed between the NSCN-IM and the Government is India is limited only within the State of Nagaland and Manipur is out of its jurisdiction, the Government spokesperson also recalled the mass uprising of June 18 in 2001 when the ceasefire was extended to Manipur.
There is also the opposition to the demand for integration of all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit, he added.
Therefore, in consideration of the possible impact it may create on the existing cordial relationship among the people, the Cabinet unanimously decided to object the proposed visit of Muivah, Biren said.
Disclosing that the Union Home Ministry has despatched a tour programme of Muivah to the DGP, the spokesperson informed that the DGP has also given his response to the Home Ministry stating clearly that no escort would be arranged and it would create social unrest.
Biren further informed that today’s Cabinet meeting also discussed the ongoing cease work strike of the employees and later on entrusted the Ministerial Team (Cabinet Sub-Committee) led by Revenue Minister to work out the resources of the State.
Meanwhile, when The Sangai Express contacted, chairman of the Cease-fire Monitoring Group Retired Lt Gen Mandatta, he said that information about the proposed visit of Muivah to Manipur has been received. However, as his responsibility is confined to monitoring the cease fire within Nagaland only, he said it would not be appropriate for him to give any comment on the issue.
It may be recalled here that 13 individuals including AK Lungalung, a leader of NSCN-IM were arrested by the police from Turibari in Kangpokpi on October 6, 2003. But all of them were released by the Govt the following day.
Naga MLAs welcome Sangai Express
Imphal,: Independent Naga MLAs have welcomed the proposed visit of NSCN-IM supremo Thuingaleng Mui- vah to Manipur.
Muivah is scheduled to visit his birth place Somdal, in Ukhrul district on May 8.
Announcing this while talking to mediapersons after a joint meeting of the Independent Naga MLAs here today, MLA of Phungyar AC Wungnaoshang Keishing informed that the meeting also seriously deliberated on the ultimatum given to the Naga MLAs to tender their resignations over the issue of ADC election.
Keishing also drew the attention of the Government on the possibility of deferring the ADC election for sometime in the interest of the people in the hill districts and their aspirations.
Meanwhile, Newmai News Network has informed that Muivah's ite- nary in Manipur will not cover Tamenglong and Chandel, as published earlier. The NSCN (IM) leader is expected to address a public meeting at the Tangkhul Naga Long ground on May 8 .
NDFB Chief arrested; red alert in Assam morungexpress
Guwahati, May 1 (IBNS): Chief of the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Daimary, was picked up by the Indian forces near Dawki, Meghalaya, early Saturday morning and is being brought to Assam by a team of top Assam Police officials. “He will be produced before the court after formalities are completed, which might take some time,” a top Assam Police source said. Meanwhile, a red alert has been sounded across the state following the development. Security has been increased at all vital installations, market places and other public places. The anti-talks NDFB have several armed cadres in the state and the alert has been sounded fearing repercussions following the arrest of their leader.
NDFB chief handed over to India Correspondent Nagaland Post
SHILLONG/ DAWKI,
Ranjan Daimary, the founder of one of deadliest militant outfit in Northeastern state has reportedly been captured in Bangladesh and handed over to India.
A 50-year-old Daimary, who was hiding in Bangladesh for over decades, until his recent arrest from a hideout in Bangladesh, was handed over to Border Security Force at Dawki along the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya on late Friday night. The BSF later handed over the most wanted Bodo rebel leader to the Assam Police.
“We have heard about Daimary’s handing over, but we haven’t heard anything official yet,” Meghalaya Director General of Police, SB Kakati told Nagaland Post.
The BSF is yet to issue an official statement on Daimary’s arrest.
Daimary is accused of masterminding several blasts, including the infamous serial blast in Guwahati on October 2008 that killed over 100 people.
Early this year, the Interpol issued red corner notices for a range of crimes, including murder, extortion, and kidnapping.
The NDFB was originally formed on under Daimary’s leadership as Boro Security Force on October 3, 1986 and on November 25, 1994, the outfit rechristened its name to NDFB.
It had entered into a ceasefire agreement with the government on May 25, 2005. The group then split into two factions - one headed by Daimary, who stuck with the armed struggle for sovereign Bodoland and the other led by B Sungthagra, the moderate face of the NDFB. That apart, the Bodo militant outfit also established a working arrangement with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), currently on a peace talks with centre, and other smaller outfits in the region.
NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary held Staff Reporter Assam Tribune


GUWAHATI, May 1 – The anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) today suffered a major setback as the chairman of the outfit Ranjan Daimary alias DR Nabla has been handed over to Indian security forces by Bangladesh and subsequently he was handed over to Assam Police. Daimary is the prime accused in the serial blasts on October 30, which killed more than 90 people.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that Daimary, who was staying in Bangladesh for a long time, was picked up by the security agencies of the neighbouring country a few days back. Initially, Bangladesh was planning to put the militant leader in jail but after hectic talks between New Delhi and Dhaka, Bangladesh agreed to hand him over.
Sources said that the NDFB anti-talk faction chief was handed over to the Border Security Force (BSF) near the international border in Dowki in the wee hours today and was later handed over to Assam Police to be brought to the city. Interestingly, the Assam Police is very tight lipped about the arrest of Daimary and none of the senior officers was ready to make a public statement on the arrest.
Though the area where Daimary was arrested in Bangladesh is yet to be ascertained, it is believed that he was picked up in the Sherpur area where the NDFB has its bases. Sources said that the NDFB has strong bases in the Sherpur area from where most of the operations were masterminded and Indian security agencies gave pinpointed information to Bangladesh about the bases of the NDFB.
Security sources said that the anti-talk faction of the NDFB has around 150 cadres and around 50 of them are still in Bangladesh. Sources revealed that several batches of NDFB cadres were trained in Bangladesh in recent years.
Though Ranjan Daimary was the chairman of the NDFB when the outfit signed a ceasefire agreement with the Government of India in 2005, he did not sign the agreement on behalf of the outfit and during several rounds of talks on the cease-fire also, he did not come to India to represent the outfit. The division in the ranks of the NDFB came out in the open only after the involvement of Daimary and his supporters in the serial blasts on October 30, 2008 became known and the outfit was formally divided into pro talk and anti talk factions.
The anti-talk faction of the NDFB suffered severe setbacks in the last one year as the security forces achieved major successes in the operations against the outfit. But members of the outfit are still active in areas bordering Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and are indulging in extortions and kidnappings.
Ranjan Daimary formed the Boro Security Force in 1986 and the outfit was later renamed as NDFB. The outfit gradually turned out to be one of the most dreaded of the militant groups in the state and it always maintained close ties with the ULFA. However, the NDFB was the worst sufferer in the ‘Operation All Clear’ launched by Bhutan in 2003, following which, the outfit signed a ceasefire pact with the Government in 2005. However, Ranjan Daimary later walked out of the ceasefire pact and constituted the anti talk faction of the NDFB.
Meanwhile, commenting on the arrest of Daimary, former state DGP GM Srivastava said that it was a major success. He said that the NDFB has been “finished” after the arrest of Daimary.
'Daimary is Assam's Kasab' Assam Tribune

GUWAHATI, May 2 (IANS): Ranjan Daimary, the arrested chief of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), is Assam's Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, say residents of the State who recall with horror the Oct 30, 2008 serials blasts he masterminded that killed nearly 100 people.
Drawing parallels with the lone Pakistani terrorist captured after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, people in Assam want Daimary hanged or publicly flogged.
"Hand over the terrorist (NDFB chairman) to us and let us decide his fate in public. He should be hanged," Anirudda Das, a vegetable vendor at the Ganeshguri vegetable market in Guwahati, told IANS in a tone laced with anger and remorse. Das saw at least five fellow vendors killed in front of his eyes and he himself got serious injuries and lost his hearing.
"Ranjan Daimary is Assam's Ajmal Kasab (the lone arrested Pakistani terrorist responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks) and he should not be spared at any cost," said an equally angry Dharitri Das, a mother of two who lost her husband in one of the three blasts in Guwahati.
Nine serial explosions rocked Assam on Oct 30, 2008 - three each in Guwahati and Kokrajhar, two in Barpeta Road, and one in Bongaigaon. Nearly 100 people were killed and about 800 injured in the string of deadly explosions blamed on the NDFB, the mastermind being their leader Ranjan Daimary.
The NDFB chairman was arrested on Saturday after he was handed over by Bangladesh to Border Security Force (BSF) officials at the Dawki outpost in Meghalaya.
Daimary is now being interrogated at the Assam Police Special Branch headquarters in Guwahati. "We are interrogating him and have been able to extract vital information about his outfit," a senior police official said requesting anonymity.
Lawyers not to fight for Daimary Staff Reporter Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, May 1 – In what could worsen things further for NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary, top criminal lawyers of the State are likely to shy away from appearing on behalf of the dreaded militant in the court of law.
Daimary was reportedly handed over to State police today after being detained in Bangladesh. He has been brought to Guwahati.
The NDFB chief is likely to be produced before a camp court tomorrow, though official confirmation is still awaited.
Advocate Bijon Mahajan, when asked, informed that he cannot take up the case as he lost some of his dear ones in the CJM court blast that was allegedly triggered by the NDFB group on October 30.
“I am not going to take up the case on moral ground,” he confirmed. Mahajan, it needs mention, is advocating some of the high-profile cases including the one involving ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.
Another senior criminal lawyer Nekibur Zaman too informed The Assam Tribune that he is not in a state of mind to contest the legal battle for the NDFB chief.
“I would dissociate myself from this case,” Zaman said. He also referred to the decision taken up by the lawyers’ association in this regard as one of the reasons for taking the decision.
Senior lawyer and general secretary of All Assam Lawyers’ Association (AALA) Sailen Das said that the decision of not appearing for anyone involved in the October 30 serial blasts was taken by the Guwahati Lawyers’ Association (GLA) and was later endorsed by the AALA. The AALA comprises lawyers of all the 37 bar associations.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) charge-sheeted Daimary as the prime accused in the October 30, 2008 serial blasts, including the one in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate premises.
Amitabh Thakuria, secretary, GLA, told The Assam Tribune that the association will stick to its decision of not appearing on Daimary’s behalf, and a review meeting in this regard is scheduled for Monday, where members and top lawyers will meet.
Bodo woman leader and sister of the NDFB chief, Anjali Daimary, when contacted, said that neither she nor any other member of her family has been intimated about the arrest and that they would wait till tonight after which the decision on appointing a lawyer would be taken.
Bangladesh hands over Ranjan Daimary to India
Fact file as given by police By our Staff Reporter Sentinel

Name: Ranjan Daimary alias DR Nabla
Father’s name: Late Stephen Daimary
Place of birth: Kahibari in Paneri
Qualification: MA in Political Science
Occupation: Lives on extorted and looted cash.
Maximum possible punishment: Death penalty
Countries travelled: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Thailand.
Miscellaneous: Red notice served against him. A wanted international criminal.
GUWAHATI, May 1: Bangladesh authorities today handed over Ranjan Daimary, chairman of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), to India, official sources said, adding that he was nabbed at Bankapur, a known hub of Northeast militants in Sherpur district in Bangladesh, a few days back. According to the sources, the BDR handed over Daimary to the BSF at Dawki in Meghalaya in the wee hours today, and the BSF handed him over to the Assam Police. The NDFB chief may be produced in the court on Monday.
According to the sources, a few days back, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had sent a report to Bangladesh with concrete evidence that NDFB chairman Ranjan Daimary and ULFA leaders Dristi Rajkhowa and Jibon Moran had been active in the Bankapur area. Acting on the information from India, security personnel in Bangladesh cracked down on the militants and nabbed Daimary, the sources said. They said that the Bangladesh Government wanted to deal with Ranjan Daimary in Bangladesh in the same manner as ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia was handled, but under pressure from the Government of India the neighbouring country had to hand over Daimary to India.
Daimary is the fifth top separatist leader from the Northeast to have been evicted out of Bangladesh in the past four months.
According to the sources, Daimary arrived in Guwahati and were being interrogated by Assam Police intelligence officials and a team from New Delhi at an undisclosed place in the city.
The sources said India gave specific information about Daimary’s son who was a student at a school in Dhaka. It is through him and subsequent telephone intercepts between the NDFB chairman and his wife that led to his arrest.
Ranjan Daimary alias Nabla is wanted in a number of cases, including the case relating to the October 30, 2008 serial blasts in the State that had killed about 100 people and wounded about 800, case numbers 123/95 u/s 307/302 and R/W Sec 25(1)(A) Arms Act at Udalguri police station.
Earlier, the Awami League Government of Sheikh Hasina had handed over four top leaders of the ULFA — chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika — to India.
Ranjan Daimary formed the Boro Security Force (BSF) on December 3, 1986 and changed its name to NDFB on November 25, 1994. In 2005, a faction of the NDFB led by its general secretary Gobinda Basumatary entered into a ceasefire agreement with New Delhi, but Daimary preferred to continue his armed struggle. Daimary has the third battalion of the outfit with him. The battalion has about 200 cadres.
Now what is interesting is that The Daily Star, a Dhaka-based daily, had reported in its December 4, 2009 issue the following: “BBC News Online adds: There are unconfirmed reports that two other rebel leaders — chairman of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) Ranjan Daimary and chairman of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) Biswamohan Debbarma — have also been held elsewhere in Bangladesh.” If what the BBC News Online had reported as “unconfirmed” was true, could it have anything to do with the BTC election that was held peacefully a few days ago?
Two Manipur rebel leaders arrested Iboyaima Laithangbam
Two top rebels leaders of the banned underground organisation, the United National Liberation Front — Khumbongmayum Tomba, its vice-chairman, and Ningombam Dilip, its deputy organisation secretary — were arrested on Friday evening from Guwahati. They were apprehended from Pathar Quarry near Guwahati by a combined intelligence team of the police, the CRPF and the Army. They were about to leave for Myanmar.
One laptop containing vital information about the outfit and an undisclosed amount of money were seized from them.
Muivah barred
The Manipur government has decided not to allow Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Issac-Muivah), to visit some tribal areas of Manipur as it is felt that his visit will be “prejudicial” to the peace and communal harmony in the State. A decision not to allow Mr. Muivah inside Manipur was taken at a late night Cabinet meeting on Friday.
Maoists' clarification
A spokesman of the Special Areas Committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) has clarified that it never issued a deadline against the Manipuris in some States to leave by June 30. The statement further said that the CPI(Maoist) had nothing to do with the earlier statement to this effect and that it was a ploy to drive a wedge among the people. It further said that it honoured the “freedom movement” launched by the people of Manipur.
On the road to MyanmarThe Hindu News
May 1, 2010: The Stilwell Road, linking India with Myanmar and China during World War II, is alive with history. Inspired by the explorations of journalist Arun Veembur who met with a tragic end en route, SHYAM G. MENON goes the whole way…
Past the dusty, coal-smeared roads of Ledo a large board with a long forgotten railway track nearby leading to a long gone bridge announced the start of the Stilwell Road. Officially it was National Highway 153. Across the river, the old track led to the Lekhapani station. Once the eastern most tip of the Indian Railways, the last train here was in February 1997.
Now the tracks end at Ledo from where during World War II, General Joseph Stilwell of the US Army built a road into Myanmar to connect with the famous Burma Road leading to China. Technically speaking, if the world would set aside boundaries and conflicts, the road I was on would take me to Kunming, 1737 kilometers away. What a thought!
The Stilwell Road's construction and the preceding airlift, flying in supplies from Assam to Yunnan in China across mountains exceeding 10,000ft in elevation, is considered one of the most remarkable chapters of World War II. It was necessitated following the Japanese invasion of China and the consequent inability of Allied Forces to supply China by sea. To make matters worse, the Japanese land thrust towards India from South East Asia, cut off access to the Burma Road once Myanmar fell.
The airlift from Assam – called “Flying the Hump” – became a legend in aviation history. Flown by American and Chinese pilots, several aircraft were lost on this route at a mountainous knot on the planet where the combination of altitude, rain bearing clouds and powerful winds made flying terribly difficult. Some of the air strips associated with the Second World War airlift have since come under Indian Air Force charge and are still functional at Dibrugarh.
As are the tea estates which lent their names to the air strips, provided accommodation for the airmen and whose personnel – through the Indian Tea Association – were associated with building transport infrastructure in these parts, not to mention, taking care of the refugees that poured into India when Myanmar fell to the Japanese. The 3727ft-high Pangsau Pass in the Patkai Hills was among places they had crossed into India. That's where the Stilwell Road was headed.
The area was like a history book come alive. At the Jairampur camp of the Assam Rifles in Arunachal Pradesh, soldiers recently recovered two vintage machine guns while tilling land for cultivation. Down the road was the official World War II cemetery, with almost 1000 graves, many of them Chinese. Among them was the grave of Major Hsiao Chu Ching of the “Independent Engineers of Chinese Army stationed in India,” born July 1913 in Hapeh Province and died, December 1943.
Less than 100 feet away was the newly erected memorial. I was on my way to the 2010 Pangsau Pass Winter Festival at Nampong, last settlement on the Stilwell Road before it crosses the pass into Myanmar. The festival has built a buzz around the road highlighting its potential for trade. At the festival's inaugural ceremony attended by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu, speakers welcomed the tribal artistes from both sides of the border and hoped the road would be opened for trade.
Sporadic attempts
Lobbying to reopen the Stilwell Road has been on for some time. Former Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh once said he would like to see the road reopened by 2010. Then a June 18, 2009, report from Guwahati quoting B.K. Handique, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region said that plans to reopen had been shelved following Myanmar's objection on security grounds. At Nampong, I asked Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defense, what the government's official position was on reopening the road.
He declined comment. Arunachal Pradesh with China to the north and west has only Myanmar to probe for international trade route. Setong Sena, Finance Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, had been among those who visited the Prime Minister's Office to seek the reopening of the Stilwell Road. According to him, the government had put the Stilwell Road as a third priority after routes opened in Mizoram and Manipur.
Now in retrospect, it would appear that the Myanmar authorities having seen India build a Friendship Road into Myanmar from Manipur may be wanting similar work this side. Indeed, much of the Stilwell Road in its World War II form reportedly lay on the Myanmar side. That's great history but bad infrastructure for trade.
Nampong resembled a market town spilling with activity for the festival. There was a designated spot for traders from Myanmar. Articles on offer included packaged food items, garments, toiletry, cosmetics, porcelain and small gadgets. A lot of it was Chinese but some, like the instant tea and coffee, was from Myanmar.
A particular attraction was knives and ceremonial swords. Although there are instances of the same tribe spanning both sides of the border, not everyone there for the festival succeeded in communication. Plenty of gesticulation and intonation sealed a transaction. The currency was always rupees; that's what the Myanmar traders prefer. Border policing in these parts works on the principle that people residing in the neighbourhood of the international divide be allowed to cross.
There are specific days for visits by either side. Previously a visitor from Myanmar crossing over to the Nampong market was identified by a rattan basket. Then, the basket while still around, was overshadowed by weather beaten 4-stroke step-thru motorcycles. They are allowed to be driven till a small clearing overlooking Nampong, where all vehicles are parked and the visitors walk down. The Stilwell Road was being widened here. It alternated between narrow stretches that emphasized the lush green jungle around and bulldozed patches of orange earth betraying the soft terrain that had made work difficult in the 1940s.
Past the last Assam Rifles check post, the road deteriorated into a bouncy mud track. The old hotline between army commanders ran alongside, strung on poles. Tucked behind a couple of bends was the real boundary line between India and Myanmar with a stone marker and alongside, an overgrown path – the old alignment of the Stilwell Road. Few more turns and the first check post on the Myanmar side drew up followed by a cracked building with a derelict Lifan truck parked in front.
Ahead, the village of Pangsau in Myanmar was busy with people who had crossed over as part of the festival. Behind the market place, a steep road ran down to the edge of a beautiful lake – The Lake of No Return. It was associated with the region's World War II history as a lake into which planes had crashed. Its shores were utterly peaceful.
Inspiration
I wouldn't have come this far had it not been for Arun Veembur, a young journalist from Bengaluru who was obsessed with the Stilwell Road and set out to write a book on it. Born into a family related to E.M.S Namboodiripad, Kerala's best known Communist leader, this former student of Christ College subsequently worked at Deccan Herald, Silicon India and Mid-Day.
Having made it nearly to the border in India, he travelled to Myanmar in 2007 and tried connecting to Pangsau Pass via the Stilwell Road that side. However the trip had to be aborted midway as Myanmar army officials, who grant permissions en route, declined access for the final stretch. Although forced to turn back, Arun along with another friend from that Myanmar trip, continued to Kunming from Mandalay.
Little is known of this journey. They must have travelled down the Burma Road; the Stilwell Road links with the Burma Road at Wandingzhen. Arun is believed to have reached Kunming in typical backpacker fashion with no money and just happiness for the journey done. He found a base at The Hump, a backpackers' hostel with a colourful bar and lot of World War II memorabilia for theme. Arun loved this place where all sorts of travellers and people with crazy projects washed up.
The variety of work Arun did to stay in Kunming and complete his book ranged from content development for The Hump and tourism in the area to work with the Yunnan Chamber of Commerce and helping Indian businessmen in Yunnan. He learnt Chinese. He moved to Dali as part of an assignment, developing content for a website on the historic city.
In early November 2009, Arun was out on a solo hike in the Changshan Mountains. During descent, he slipped at a dry waterfall and injured himself badly. Having informed his friends in Dali of the accident, Arun who was on a less frequented trail, crawled under a ledge for shelter. By the time rescuers found him, it was too late. He was 28 years old. “He had told me that travelling and writing was what he wanted to do.
After Stilwell Road, he had planned something in Peru and another trip in Europe,'' P. Rajesh, Arun's uncle said. The family is currently trying to compile Arun's notes from China. I heard of Arun in 2007 from Pearly Jacob, a young lady from Mizoram who worked as radio jockey in Bengaluru and who later cycled from Thailand to China and Mongolia. Arun's junior in college, she mentioned his trip to Myanmar to help me get started on exploring the North East.
The first time I saw Arun was his photo in the obituary published by The Hindu. His friends, in their attempt to help me gain insight, forwarded me samples of his writing including an eight point declaration of intent that he wrote in September 2009 at Dali. The eighth point said, “I stand firmer than ever in my dedication to the avoidance of boredom.
This boredom is not the situational one, like when a reputed bore buttonholes you at a boring dinner (well, even there I would try my best to flee to the loo and dodge out the back door). It is a boredom of existence.'' That got me off my chair and as far as the lake side in Myanmar. It was my first visit to the North East.
What struck me that day in Pangsau was the absence of the Myanmar military. At the first check post I had seen a policeman; at the second I saw one person in olive green surrounded by men who looked like villagers. A senior officer of the Assam Rifles later said that overt military presence had been relaxed on either side for the festival.
Nevertheless it felt strange to be in a country ruled by a military dictatorship with no passport or visa on oneself. Either side of the border in these parts had experienced insurgency. In Myanmar it was the Kachin rebels. On the Indian side, Dibrugarh from where one proceeded to Ledo, was the home-town of Paresh Barua, leader of the ULFA while Jairampur and Nampong fell in Arunachal Pradesh's Changlang district, which along with neighboring Tirap district, were part of the Greater Nagaland claimed by Naga militant groups.
Further, Indian militant groups have operated from foreign soil and militancy everywhere has links to narcotics. In Dibrugarh, I met Dr Nagen Saikia, former Member of Parliament and former President of the Asam Sahitya Parishad. He wrote in a newspaper article that reopening the road would be a blunder. Dr Saikia felt that the government's “Look East Policy” was both an over-simplification of the North East's cultural roots and a boost to international trade from the region earlier than required given China's confusing stance towards India. “Assam also does not have so many products to trade with Myanmar and China,'' he said.
Teams continue to attempt traversing this link between India, Myanmar and China. Some like the Cambridge / Oxford team of 1955, Eric Edis in 1957 and Donavan Webster later, have written memorable books. Others plot travel in Internet chat rooms.
None of this matters for local people crossing the border. Quirks of history and accumulated neglect have made their everyday life an adventure for others. The irony of the Stilwell Road is that not long after its completion and the first convoy of Allied supplies reached China in February 1945, the Second World War ended.
Hundreds of lives had been sacrificed building the road but its use in entirety for the purpose it was meant for – a transport link between India and China, was hardly tapped. In the years following the war, the forces supported by the Allies shifted to Taiwan and mainland China became a Communist nation.
Then in 1962, China invaded India in a war that contributed greatly to the mistrust which characterises present day relations between the two countries. Economic growth only made them competitors. Post World War II, Myanmar enjoyed a brief fling with democracy before slipping to military rule in 1962. Over the last decade, while India has initiated steps to work with Myanmar including the opening of trade routes and proposing a sea port at Sittwe, the latter's proximity to China has been more. Sixty five years old, the Stilwell Road awaits realisation of intent.
The author is a freelance writer based in Mumbai



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