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06/04/2010: "Manipur’s cut-off date Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times"

Manipur’s cut-off date Rahul Karmakar, Hindustan Times
P Brajakumar had to postpone his weekly health check-up by more than 21 days on Thursday.
The 62-year-old farmer can’t pay for the bus journey from his village near Thoubal to Manipur capital Imphal. The buses that are plying are charging too much – Rs 40 one way, more than double the normal fare for the 22-km distance. In village Keibi, 19 km north of Imphal, N. Sanajaoba has been forced to pay Rs 700 for hiring a tractor to plough his paddy field. “The rate is Rs 300 per quarter of a hectare (about 27,000 square feet), but these are hard times, and the sowing season will be over if I wait for prices to come down,” he says. “I have seven mouths to feed, after all.”
The prices have dipped a bit 50 days after the All-Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM), imposed an economic blockade on National Highways 39 and 53 on April 11. Petrol and diesel are selling at Rs 120 and Rs 100 a litre, down from Rs 180 and Rs 150 a week ago.
Rice too is “cheap” at Rs 22 a kg, but that is no respite for people such as housemaid Borni Devi, who returned empty-handed on Thursday from a ration outlet.
The ‘respite’ for Manipur follows the resumption of truck service on NH 53 – it connects Imphal with Badarpur in south Assam’s Barak Valley, albeit once a week, and under police escort.
Despite such hardship, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), are refusing to back down on their stubborn positions. While Singh is adamant about not letting Muivah come to Manipur, .the latter is exploring all opportunities.
Muivah was trying to exploit the dislocation caused by ANSAM’s economic blockade to visit his ancestral village in Manipur. Within hours of the Manipur government’s decision to prohibit Muivah from entering the state, the NSCN-IM joined the blockade.
The standoff culminated in the death of two Naga protestors at Mao, the border between Manipur and Nagaland, on May 6.
“The Centre cannot ask Muivah to restrict his movements in India. Any attempt to put curbs on him could probably result in a unilateral withdrawal by the Nagas from the peace talks. Ibobi has added fire to the issue by allowing his police to kill Naga protesters at Mao. This is a situation difficult to get out of,” said Manipur-based Human Rights Alert.
The plight of Manipur’s ordinary people is the ultimate depiction of the failure of the Centre and the state governments in Manipur and Nagaland to tackle insurgency and address its socio-political impact.
But there is no easy solution either. Appeasing the Nagas means angering the Meiteis, the dominant community of Manipur.
With inputs from Sobhapati Samom in Imphal
Muivah's visit agenda still on the card, may take Jessami route The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 02 2010: Despite the 'advice' of New Delhi to Th Muivah to abort the plan to visit his birth place in Somdal for the time being as well as the strong stand against by the State Government against his entry to the State and the May 6 incident at Mao Gate, reports have come in that the NSCN (IM) leader is determined to visit Somdal at any cost.

According to a highly reliable source, Th Muivah who is presently camping at Viswema village in Nagaland is set to proceed to Pfutsero and enter Manipur through Jessami which lies on the border of Nagaland and Manipur and then take the road to Ukhrul district headquarters.

The source said that the Government of Manipur has already got wind of the plans of the NSCN (IM) and has immediately despatched additional security forces to Jessami including paramilitary forces.

If Muivah takes the Pfutsero route, then he will have to traverse at least 132 kms across hostile terrain from Kohima.

From Jessami, Muivah has to travel another 120 kms or so to reach Ukhrul district headquarters.

Though Jessami is under the influence and control of the NSCN (IM), what has compounded the matter, is the BSF personnel deployed there are presently on duty at Tamenglong district for the ADC polls.

The region around Pfutsero, dominated by the Chakhesang tribe is understood to be the stronghold of the rival NNC as well as the Khaplang faction.

It is highly likely that the NSCN (IM), have had a tacit understanding to open the route through Pfutsero, said intelligence sources.

Significantly, after the latest round of talks held between the NSCN (IM) and the GoI represented by interlocutor RS Pandey, at Kohima yesterday, Muivah did not return to Camp Hebron located near Dimapur, but proceeded towards Viswema, indicating his determined stand to enter Manipur.

Office of the
NAGA HOHO
“Unity & Fraternity”

Ref. No…………….. Date……………
R E J O I N D E R T O A M U C O
In view of the serious allegation perpetrated by All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) against the Naga Hoho platform on May 26, 2010, the Naga Hobo is constrained to issue this Rejoinder based on truth and justice.
1. We question the consistency of AMUCO in view of their continual change in positions. This is not just in regard to their protest against the aspirations of the Nagas but in their past policies with regard to their own people. It is everyone’s knowledge that the AMUCO, initially stated that they have no objection to the homecoming of Mr. Th. Muivah. However, very soon they did a U-turn and started objecting to the visit. We are inclined to conclude that these actions are done in cahoots with the Meitei politicians who took the infamous Cabinet decision banning Mr. Muivah from visiting his village. Nagas are not surprised by the behavior of these organizations because they have shown their lack of direction and principles in many instances. The public knows that AMUCO have been trying their utmost to bring down Ibobi calling him a criminal in the wake of the Khwairamband incident of July 23, 2009. Now, they are colluding with Ibobi and his corrupted colleagues in conspiring against the aspirations of the Nagas. How can organization such as these which have no principles or values face the public time and again and claim they represent the interests of the “people?
2. AMUCO also advised the Nagas of not falling into the tactics of colonial rulers of snapping “age old fraternity ties” and yet they are trying to do exactly the same by stopping the Nagas from coming together and living together as one. It is clear that the AMUCO is espousing the same colonial tactics by opposing the Naga aspiration to live together as one.
3. Who are the “people of Manipur” that AMUCO represent? Do they have any democratic practices within their system or their representatives merely self-promoting individuals? Is it the AMUCO or UCM which represents the “people of Manipur”? Do they also represent the people in the hills? Clearly, the people that these organizations represent are the Meitei majority and their area of activity is confined to the small geographical area of Imphal Valley. How can they then
4. say they are representatives of the “people of Manipur” given the fact that these organizations themselves say Manipur is a land made up of many different groups of people?
5. AMUCO constantly talk about the “peace loving people of Manipur” and yet they are opposed to the application of ceasefire in all Naga areas. If they represent the peace loving people of Manipur then why not support peace initiatives? Is your action not directly against what you talk about in front of TV cameras and newspersons? The Nagas have been voicing their desire for peace for a long time and the ceasefire between India and the NSCN was a welcome development. Yet these organizations were unhappy when it was sought to be applicable to all Naga areas. Is it because they want the Nagas to face the same kind of bloodshed and violence rampant in the Imphal Valley? Your opposition to the ceasefire is a direct propagation for violence in the hill areas. Do not victimize and create problems for the Nagas because you are unable to solve your own problems.
6. AMUCO needs to understand this simple basic fact- THAT THERE IS NO GREATER OR SMALLER NAGALAND. Nagas have their land and it is theirs and theirs alone. Nagas are not going to claim what is not theirs but they will also not give up an inch of their land. If such simple facts are not even understood, it is difficult to comprehend that the organization has the capacity to take informed decisions.
7. The Meitei Maharaja signed away the land and freedom of the Meeteis to the Avas and the British and therefore AMUCO should stop talking about their proud history. Refer to the many history books written by your own Meitei authors for more information in this regard.
8. The AMUCO as an organization that cannot even speak out against the atrocities committed in their own front-yard and yet they demanded the Nagas to “review their political strategies in view of the welfare of the North East”. These are tall claims given the fact that menial laborers from different parts of the country, including Assam, are leaving Imphal Valley in flocks for fear of their lives in view of the Quit Notice diktat of some Meitei groups. If they work for peace and rights, they should not discriminate and ignore others purely because they are not Meiteis. In the many cases of helpless menial laborers arbitrarily shot dead in Imphal valley, have AMUCO spoken a single word of condemnation? Have they done anything to prevent such clear violation of human rights? Have they spoken a single word against the clearly peace and rights violating Quit Notice issued against non-Manipuris by Meitei people?
9. Were these organizations and organizations affiliated to them, not responsible for the counter blockade specifically targeting the Nagas? These communal acts in itself speak volumes about their sense of right and wrong and as such AMUCO should stop and think before they accuse others of being communal. Clearly they are the ones who are communal.

10. AMUCO talks about the age-old relationship between the Meiteis and the Nagas and yet they have not, at any single time, spoken against the discrimination and prejudiced suffered by the people in the hills for many years. Their slogan of “Ching-Tam Amatani”, is just a rhetorical slogan without any substantive meaning.
In view of all these, AMUCO should stop their attack on the Nagas. Nagas are patient but not weak.
Dated-Kohima, the 3rd June, 2010
Publicity Cell
Naga Hoho

Stop pressing panic button Kanito Sumi Morung Express
•-Through your esteemed daily I would like to vent my few observations of the current situation vis-à-vis political gimmick in Nagaland. As we all know that for the last couple of weeks some Naga national workers and national groups have been mudslinging each other by trying to claim themselves as true representatives of Naga people.
But according to simple observation and as a rational thinking concerned Naga citizen I think all those mudslinging statements some groups despite appeals from Naga organizations and the state government are nothing short of venting their desperation and frustration.
Nagas know what is there in the pockets of these people who claim themselves as the Naga national groups. I would appeal to these groups to first check their pockets before criticizing or making comments on others. You can’t criticize others when your pockets and bags are empty. Naga people know which group is on the right track and which groups are pseudo national groups. Who are anti-Naga elements and who are the driving forces behind these pseudo national groups.
Empty vessels make more noise and that is how some groups are today. But Nagas will move ahead with the rest of the world community. “The dogs will bark but the caravans will go on”.
Kanito Sumi
4th Mile, Dimapur

European Manipuris urge PM to diffuse crisis Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 02 2010: The European Manipuri Assocition (EMA), London, United Kingdom has urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh to take immediate steps to diffuse the humanitarian crisis prevailing in Manipur.

In a letter, the EMA drew the attention of the Prime Minister to "the profound humanitarian crisis continuing in the state of Manipur due to the ongoing economic blockade, enforced by the All Naga Student Association Manipur (ANSAM) and others since 11th April 2010" .

The letter said, "As you are aware, the two national highways, NH 39 and NH 53, are the only proper conduits linking Manipur to mainland India.

They are the lifelines on which millions of Manipuris depend for all their essential supplies" .

"The blockade of the national highways, in particular, has effectively choked the entire population of Manipur resulting in acute shortages of food, medicine and other essential commodities in the state.

The price of food grains and other household supplies has escalated to such a level that ordinary people are being driven to starvation" .

The EMA further said that school children have been denied the most basic rights to education as school vans and buses have halted service due to fuel shortage.

Many hospitals have closed down emergency services due to shortage of essential supplies including medicines and oxygen.

If the situation continues unabated the entire infrastructure and support system in the state would collapse.

"The tragedy is that it is not the first time Manipur has faced a crisis of such magnitude.

Time and again, various groups have blockaded NH 39 and NH 53 as a form of collective punishment taking the entire population of Manipur to ransom.

Every time the end results are untold miseries and suffering of the innocent public of Manipur" .

The EMA said that it feels strongly that these blockades amount to the worst form of human rights violations and need urgent attention to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Association urged the Prime Minister to take up immediate measures to end the present crisis and prevent the repetition of such inhuman acts in the future.

The Association also requested the Prime Minster to look into corrective steps in the form of appropriate security and infrastructure development of the national highways so that they are kept open at the worst of times.

Under these circumstances, the completion of the railway project connecting Manipur to Mainland India becomes an urgent necessity.

Therefore, the government would like to draw the PM's attention to take a prioritized and appropriate action regarding the matter.

The EMA urged Dr Manmohan Singh to respond expeditiously to this situation in accordance with the mandate to uphold human rights as enshrined in the charter of the United Nations.

Muivah to go to Phek district near Ukhrul district Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Dimapur, June 02 2010: After a month-long stay at Viswema village near the Nagaland-Manipur border, NSCN-IM general secretary will head for Nagaland's Phek district bordering Ukhrul district of Manipur on Friday.

In this connection, the Viswema public will organise a fare-well programme on Thursday at Viswema.

Reports said that Thuingaleng Muivah will be going to Pfutsero in Phek district.

In that district Muivah will hold consultative meetins with the people.

However, it is not clear when the NSCN-IM leader will enter Ukhrul district.

Thuingaleng Muivah has been camping at Viswema village since the first week of May as the state government has been sternly barring him from entering Manipur.

Sources from the NSCN-IM said that Thuingaleng Muivah will definitely go to Ukhrul district.

"We have been patiently waiting for the government of India to control the government of Manipur but how long can we wait ? Our Ato Kilonser (Th Muivah) will go to his birth place in Ukhrul district at any cost.

We will never retreat," affirmed an NSCN-IM leader tonight.
Rebuilding psychological integrity need of the hour:Tangkhul body: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Imphal, June 02 2010: The Tangkhul Peoples' Organisation, Imphal (TPOI) today urged the civil society organizations of the Imphal valley 'to exercise the yardstick of rights in denouncing state terrorism and in advancing for human rights campaign'.

The TPOI president SW.

Tharmi Shimray also urged the valley based organisations to 'rebuild psychological integration which is the need of the hour instead of lashing out with the abstract words "Manipur integrity"' .

The TPOI president pointed out that the Nagas have experienced the complete exodus from Imphal valley in 2001 due to arrogant prevailing nature and situation in those days.

"The Nagas desire to live together as one people, is challenge with slogan of 'territorial integrity.

As matter of fact, we are still safeguarding our inherent rights over our land fighting the hegemonic intention of the government of Manipur to intrude into our land holding system and opposing transfer of ownership to outsiders," said the Tangkhul organisations.
It then suggested that the campaigns of the Manipur government and the majority community in the valley should concentrate towards nurturing for better ties with the Nagas.

On the stalemate in connection with the proposed visit of Th.Muivah, TPOI cited that government of Manipur's opposition to the visit was based on the imagined apprehension followed by United Committee Manipur (UCM)'s over night changes of its position which led to common mass anti-Muivah campaigns throughout the valley areas'.

Pointing out the status of Muivah, the TPOI claimed that Muivah is a person who refused a post of 'under-secretary' in the government set-up offered by the then Chief Commissioner J.M.Raina ( ICS ) in those days. Instead Th Muivah led the Naga fighters on foot to China across the jungle marking the history of guerrilla warfare.
The Tangkhul body then said that 'today this die hard leader is able to bend the Government of India for political talks after impressing upon many others with the Naga history rights'.
ABSU revives separate State demand Staff reporter Assam tribune
GUWAHATI, June 3 – The All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) today revived the demand for the creation of a separate state of Bodoland and submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram in this regard. The ABSU also demanded intervention of the Government of India for protection of life and property of the common people of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, the president of the ABSU, Promode Boro said that a seven member delegation of the students’ body today met the Union Home Minister to put forward its demands. He said that with the Government of Assam adopting a discriminatory attitude towards the BTC area, only creation of a separate state would be able to solve the problems facing the people of the area.
The ABSU president alleged that though law and order is a state subject, the Assam Government totally failed to protect life and property of the people living in the BTC area. He said that the Bodo accord is yet to be fully implemented because of lack of sincerity of the State Government and the Bodo people living in Karbi Anglong are yet to get the status of ST hills as per the provisions of the accord. He said that under the present circumstances, only creation of a separate state would be able to protect the identity of the Bodo people.
Boro said that the Assam Government totally failed to deal with law and order situation in BTC area and more than 140 innocent persons were killed in the area in the last couple of years. He demanded that the Centre should intervene immediately and take steps for seizing the illegal weapons. He said that the Governmentof India should take immediate steps for finding permanent solution to the problem of militancy, which has been haunting the BTC area for years.
The ABSU demanded that the Government of India should immediate constitute a language promotion bureau for the development of Bodo language and a full fledged centre of the Doordarshan should be set up in Kokrajhar.
The ABSU, in its memorandum to the Union Home Minister, also demanded that immediate steps should be taken to improve the academic scenario in the BTC area and a Central university, a medical college, agriculture college, branches of the Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Management should be set up in the area. The ABSU demanded steps for industrial development of the area and said that the potential for setting up of agro based industries and developing tourism as an industry were not tapped so far.
The ABSU president said that the Union Home Minister assured the delegation that the MHA would look into the demands of the students’ body.
The Crisis in Manipur: A Joint Statement issued by Human Rights Alert and the Asian Human Rights Commission (Source: The Asian Human Rights Commission)
A Joint Statement issued by Human Rights Alert and the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: Manipur crisis is the result of brokering with factional interests
Three weeks after the Home Secretary Mr. G. K. Pillai’s discussion with the Chief Minister of Manipur, Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh, the state and its people continue to suffer from the unilateral economic blockade imposed by the Naga nationalist and political organisations including Naga student political groups. After the meeting held in the first week of this month with the Chief Minister, Pillai said, "*[u]nder no circumstances shall Manipur be allowed to suffer any longer and there will be all help from the central government to break the deadlock*".
44 days into the blockade, essential commodities in Manipur are priced at such high levels that most people living in the state cannot afford to buy their regular household provisions from the market should there be any merchandise available to be purchased. A kilogram of rice, if available in the open market, is priced at Rs. 30; a litre of petrol is priced between Rs. 150 to 200. Diesel is hardly available in any fuel stations, so is kerosene and cooking oil. A standard domestic LPG cylinder is priced between Rs. 1000 to 1500. Overall, the price of essential commodities has increased more than five times of their original cost.
It is reported that most public food distribution shops have shut down in the entire state and the government warehouses are empty. Public vehicles have stopped plying affecting the daily commutation of the people, including students. The Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, two vital public health facilities and hospitals for the entire state, have literally stopped functioning due to the non-availability of life supporting medicines and patients are discharged against their will.
The Intensive Care Unit at RIMS is closed since the past 30 days due to the non-availability of medicines, nasal cannula oxygen and diesel for its power unit. At present the RIMS has only 200 litres of diesel which can only last for 14 hours. The hospital that used to conduct 30 to 40 surgeries each day has limited itself to conducting two to three caesarean sections, that too in unavoidable cases due to the acute shortage of nasal cannula oxygen.
There is nothing new about this blockade since in the past the Naga political groups operating inside and outside Manipur have enforced similar economic blockades against Manipur, for instance 52 days in 2005, between June 20 and August 11. Manipur is a landlocked state in India’s northeast where the vital link road, National Highway 39, connecting Manipur with the rest of India has to pass through Nagaland, the neighbouring state.
The blockade that started on April 11 was initially organised by Naga student bodies and some Naga nationalist civil society organisations in protest against the decision of the Manipur state government to hold elections to the Manipur Hill Areas Autonomous District Councils (ADC). Sensing the political opportunity, Naga separatist leader, Mr. Thuingaleng Muivah, in the first week of May publicly announced that he wanted to visit his home village in Manipur, for which the Manipur state government denied permission on the excuse of security.
Muivah is the General Secretary of National Socialist Council of Nagalim [Isak-Muivah] (NSCN-IM), a political group mostly comprised of Tangkhuls, a Naga tribe generally living in the hill regions of Manipur. Within hours of the Manipur government’s decision to prohibit Muivah from entering the state, the NSCN-IM joined the blockade.
The NSCN-IM however is not the only Naga political outfit that has a claim for setting up Nagalim. Stronger groups like NSCN (Khaplang) and NSCN (Unification) also operate in Nagaland purportedly for the same cause. Most of their leaders like Muivah and several of their cadres do not have a clean record.
Nagalim is a claim raised by the Naga secessionist groups to constitute a separate independent nation for the Nagas. Over the years the government of India has negotiated a peace agreement with some of these groups forcing them to abandon their claim for a separate nation and to join mainstream politics on the agreement to constitute a separate state with more autonomous powers.
The reduced concept of Nagalim is however opposed by several Naga groups and other ethnic communities in the region. Some Naga groups oppose the proposal as they view the peace agreement with the government of India as an unacceptable compromise, whereas many other ethnic groups view the concept of Nagalim as a threat against their territorial domain.
Until the blockade Muivah was considered as just one of the several leaders of the Naga secessionist movement. The blockade has helped Muivah to enhance his political profile. Muivah’s wish to visit his home village Somdal in Manipur is the mere exploitation of the Naga sentiment against Manipur for declaring elections to the ADCs. Ibobi counteracted on similar fault lines of political shrewdness by prohibiting Muivah from entering Manipur. The resultant impasse has helped Ibobi and Muivah to emerge as the leaders of Meitei and Naga nationalism.
By stirring up the issue, both Ibobi and Muivah have only contributed to deepening the divide between the two ethnic communities, the Meities and Nagas. The latest public expression of this divide is the statement issued yesterday by the president of Naga Hoho, Mr. Keviletuo Kiewhuo. "*The problem in Manipur initially started with Autonomous District Council elections which led to economic blockade to prevent the polls in certain areas. In the midst of that, NSCN-IM General Secretary Th. Muivah’s proposed visit compounded the situation and now it has crossed that certain level … while we will not comment on the issues of Muivah’s proposed visit or the ADC election, we want the total separation of the people, that is the Nagas and the Meiteis. We have to live as different identities, we cannot co-exist anymore*". Naga Hoho is the apex body of Naga tribal organisations.
The central security agencies that have overshadowed life in Manipur and Nagaland by means of arbitrary and often brutal use of force against any form of dissent have thus far avoided involving in the issue. The government of India which uses the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Manipur, and in the region generally, has failed to do anything further other than organising security for trucks that used a long alternate route to enter Manipur though National Highway 53 that passes through yet another state Meghalaya. Some cargo is also brought into Manipur by air from Assam. None of this however is a permanent solution to the problem.
For instance the minimum requirement of essential commodities to be brought into Manipur each month to meet domestic demand is 7887 metric ton of rice; 1763 metric ton of sugar; 1106 metric ton of wheat; 2131 kilolitre of kerosene; 2200 kilolitre of petrol; 6600 kilolitre of diesel and an estimated 1900 standard LPG cylinders each month. This is not a requirement that could be met physically or economically by air transit between Guwahati and Imphal. The worst affected from the lack of food supplies is the 4.8 million children aged between one to eight years in Manipur.
The government of India has the singular responsibility of allowing the issue to escalate to this proportion. The current situation is the predictable result of the government of India’s flawed policies of brokering with criminal elements operating in the region, like Muivah and Ibobi. The deepening divide and the fragility of peace between the ethnic communities is also the result of unilateral negotiations that were brokered in the past by the government of India, ignoring the collective tribal and ethnic identities of the people living in the region.
The government of India has literally walked into a trap set by Ibobi and Muivah. At the very minimum the government cannot ask Muivah to restrict his movement within India, the least to prevent him from visiting his home village since over the past decade Muivah has been encouraged by the government to accept the Constitutional premise in the country with all its guarantees including the freedom of movement. Any attempt to restrict Muivah could probably result in a unilateral withdrawal from the peace accord by the Nagas, a costly affair for the government and Nagas alike. Ibobi on his count has added fire to the issue by allowing his police to kill Naga protesters in Mao town two weeks ago. Mao is a border town in Manipur adjacent to Nagaland.
At the minimum, Muivah and Ibobi are individuals with tainted records who cannot be trusted to sort out the crisis. Muivah for instance is believed to be the mastermind behind the ethnic violence that hit the region in 1992-93 where an estimated 780 Kukis were killed. In spite of the omnipresence of military and paramilitary units in the region, various Naga, Meitei and Kuki insurgent groups operate abundantly in Manipur and Nagaland. They run parallel governments openly and uninterruptedly within their respective domains, a feature the state as well as central government have let continue for so long.
The economic blockade of Manipur and the plight of its ordinary people is the ultimate example of the failure of the government of India and that of the state governments in Manipur and Nagaland to counter armed insurgency in the region. The blockade is sheer exploitation of the many political power loopholes that exist in the region. It epitomises the continuing failure in the governments’ flawed policies of using sheer force than democratic means to curb violence and secessionist ideologies rooted in complex and ethnic identity issues.
The government over the past decade has spent millions worth of taxpayers’ money to militarise the region, but has failed to contain serious human rights violations like murder, rape, abduction and torture committed by both state and non-state actors. Yet, the political and democratic solution to the existing crisis is with the people living in the region, irrespective of their tribal and other ethnic identities.
It is for a responsible government to publically address the people living in the region, in Nagaland and Manipur in particular, calling for an end to the crisis. For this, the government will have to regain the lost confidence of the ordinary people.
The government must hold open and engaging discussions with the political and other democratic groups including the members of credible human rights organisations working in the region to resolve the crisis. The government forces stationed in the region will have to be tightly disciplined and the people must be given the guarantee that abuses of rights committed by state as well as non-state actors will face prosecution in civilian institutions.
The government of India has not yet devoted enough intellectual and financial resources to find a peaceful solution to the crisis and to avoid the impending human catastrophe in Manipur. The government of India has the responsibility and the mandate to immediately intervene in the situation.
About HRA & AHRC: Human Rights Alert is a Manipur based human rights organisation. The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.