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07/28/2010: "Details of Naga talks can't be disclosed: Centre Zee News"
Details of Naga talks can't be disclosed: Centre Zee News
New Delhi: Government today refused to divulge details of the peace process it had initiated with militant group NSCN-IM to find a solution to the vexed Naga homeland issue.
"Dialogue with NSCN-IM is continuing. The details in this regard cannot be disclosed as negotiations are underway," Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran told Lok Sabha, replying to a question. Integration of of all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast has been a key demanded of NSCN-IM. The Centre has been holding peace talks with NSCN-IM since August 1997. So far over 60 rounds of parley were held between the two sides.
Last week, NSCN-IM 'general secretary' Thuingaleng Muivah met Home Minister P Chidambaram and discussed with him issues related to the Naga peace process. Muivah has come here after wrapping up his nearly one- and-a-half-month-long peace mission across Nagaland. The NSCN-IM wants formation of a 'greater Nagaland' carved out of Naga-dominated areas in Nagaland, as well as Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
The demand to integrate Naga-dominated areas has been rejected by the three neighbouring states. Earlier this month, another round of peace talks was held between Centre and the NSCN-IM where the contentious issue of integration of Naga-inhabited areas had figured.
UNC threatens to resume agitation (EMN):
DIMAPUR, JUL 27 Voicing deep resentment and disappointment that the concerns and demands of the Naga people in Manipur are yet to be addressed by the Government of India (GoI) even after 39 days of the temporary suspension of the economic blockade, the United Naga Council (UNC) today dashed off a representation to the Prime Minister stating that it would be forced to resume its agitation if the centre fails to intervene in the issues that have repeatedly been submitted before it.
In the ‘ultimatum’ addressed to the PM, the UNC reminded that the economic blockade which had been enforced by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) in protest against the imposition of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act 2008 on the tribals, and later compounded by the NSF issue and the killing of 2 students at Mao on May 6 by the Manipur State Armed Forces, had been temporarily suspended in deference to the request of the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Leader of the Opposition. However, it said this has not been reciprocated with any proactive response by the Government of India, adding that ‘the confidence and good will towards the GoI have therefore been considerably eroded before the Naga people’.
In view of this, the UNC once again placed before the PM its demands: Institution of a judicial enquiry into the May 6, 2010, incident at Mao Gate where two students were shot dead and more than a hundred peaceful protestors wounded by the Manipur State Armed forces, immediate withdrawal of the imposed section of 144 CrPC and demilitarization of Naga areas by removal of the Indian Reserve Battalion and Manipur Police Commandos, removal of ‘wanted’ tag and fixing of rewards imposed on Naga leaders and dissolution of the Autonomous District Councils. Demanding the GoI’s intervention on these issues within five days, the UNC ultimatum said it would have no other option but to resume the temporarily suspended agitation if its concerns are continued to be ignored by the centre. It also sought to make it ‘explicitly clear’ that ‘this step is the expression of our democratic rights and will be intensified in different forms and at different level till the issues are addressed in the right perspective’. The UNC further reiterated its strong commitment and support to the Indo-Naga Peace process till its logical conclusion.
Mangmetong accepts Assam Rifles apology (EMN):
Concern Senior Citizen Forum Mokokchung, NSF, NPMHR, etc. FIR against officer withdrawn
DIMAPUR, JUL 27 While stating that the ‘callous and unwarranted’ act of the Commanding Officer of 9 AR Col Rohit Khare had been a direct challenge to the village, the Mangmetong Village Council (MVC) today informed that its citizens have decided to acknowledge the apology of the AR authority in the unique traditional and customary practice of extending forgiveness for peaceful co-existence of the people.
Informing of the development, a press note issued by MVC president Imlimeren Longchar and general secretary Talimeren Tzudir further stated that the FIR registered against Col Rohit Khare at PS II Mkg will stand withdrawn.
Making known the seriousness of the AR officer’s action, the release said the ‘most callous and unwarranted’ act on July 9 last when the officer vindictively destroyed the ‘Historical Monument’ had been taken by the village as ‘a direct challenge to our historic rights of preserving our suffering for the cause of the Naga Nation’. However, it said Maj Gen Sandeep Singh IGAR (N) had personally come to the village and ‘confessed and admitted the wrongdoing of Col. Rohit Khare and tendered sincere apology in the presence of Civil Societies from Mokokchung town’.
Following this, the Mangmetong Village Council convened a special meeting of all the Mangmetong citizens on July 27 whereby a threadbare deliberation was held on the matter. Subsequently, it was informed that the Mangmetong citizens unanimously resolved to acknowledge the sincere apology ‘without any pre-condition, keeping in view of unique traditional and customary practice of extending forgiveness for peaceful co-existences amongst the Nagas in general and Mangmetong villagers in particular’.
The MVC also acknowledged the support of the various individuals and civil organisations, including Ongpangkong Mungdang (OM), OKM, Watsü Mungdang, OWM, ASUK, AKM, Ao Senden,
Hindu terrorism doesn't exist, but do we want one? Rajeev Srinivasan
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the state can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie.
It thus becomes vitally important for the state to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.
Joseph Goebbels pithily described propaganda thus. And by this measure, there appears to be a conspiracy in India to propagate a certain set of views, and in Noam Chomsky's words, to "manufacture consent". Like the military-industrial complex in the US, there is a media-state nexus in India, whereby the mass media unquestioningly regurgitates the state's perspective.
A recent example is the fuss about a new Indian 'laptop' for $35. It is virtually impossible to get a large portable display for less than $50, and with the electronics and packaging, even if the software is free, there is no way the bill of materials can be less than $100. Yet the media swallows this story whole.
This is far from the most egregious example. Bafflingly, the media repeats the government's anodyne, statements that inflation will subside "in the next six months". This is ludicrous and has no rationale, yet mandarins mouth it regularly. But it is never challenged by the media; meanwhile, food inflation continues.
But the cravenness of the media is most evident when it comes to that pet project of the state, known as 'secularism'. The actual meaning of the term, which emerged in the context of the interference of the Catholic Church in the affairs of the state in medieval Europe, is that the state is fully indifferent to religion.
However, in India, so-called 'secularism' means precisely the opposite — the state looks upon every individual primarily based on his religion. For instance, the PM made the statement in December, 2006, that Muslims should have first rights to the resources of the country. This violates the Constitution, but it has become part of the accepted ethos through repetition.
The most blatant example of this propaganda is the current feeding frenzy about 'Hindu terror'. The fact is that there is practically no history of Hindu terror. Religious terrorism has traditionally been the monopoly of the Abrahamic traditions, including Communism. Monotheists by definition divide the world into 'us' and 'them', and demonise the Other, probably a necessary condition for terror.
Communist terrorists regularly massacre people in central India, West Bengal and Kerala. There was Jewish terrorism — the Stern gang in Palestine, which had as a member Yitzhak Shamir, later prime minister of Israel, comes to mind. There are many historical examples of Christian religious terrorism, going back to the liquidation of the Albigensians and other heretics around 345 CE, the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition (and especially the version in Goa), all the way to assassinations by radical anti-abortionists in the US.
The National Liberation Movement of Tripura is an explicitly Christian terrorist group, forcibly converting people. The National Socialist Council of Nagaland has unleashed terrorism in its pursuit of "Nagalim for Christ". The assassination of Swami Lakshmananda in Orissa, when his major 'sin' was that he was defending tribals against the depredations of Christian missionaries, is another example.
But clearly Islamic terrorism is the biggest example of religion-based terrorism today. Suicide bombings, the fatwas on Salman Rushdie and others, 9/11 and 26/11, the periodic bombings in many parts of India, college professor TJ Joseph's hand getting sliced off as retaliation for alleged blasphemy, all these are instances of Islamic religious terrorism. The terrorists themselves take pains to point out that their acts have religious sanction.
Compared to all this, there is no evidence whatsoever that there is Hindu terrorism. The so-called Malegaon blast case and other alleged instances of Hindu terrorism languish because of lack of evidence, although, those accused such, as Sadhvi Pragya, are also rotting away in jail. If there are incidents of Hindu violence, these are almost inevitably reactions to terrorism imposed on them.
The moral equivalence drawn between the Abrahmics' inherent tendency to violence and the non-existent Hindu or Indic terrorism is abhorrent. There is the Panchatantra story about the man with the goat and the three rogues. The rogues convince the gullible man, via the ruse of repeatedly telling him that he is carrying a dog, to abandon the goat, which of course was their original intent. The rogues in the media and the state are, through repeated assertion, convincing people of the 'fact' of Hinduterrorism. Do we want to make it a self-fulfilling prophesy?
India, Myanmar boost ties;sign counter-terror pact Zee News
New Delhi: India on Tuesday signed a clutch of pacts to boost counter-terror cooperation and cement cultural ties with Myanmar, the energy-rich Southeast Asian country whose military junta is considered a pariah in many Western capitals.
The two countries signed five pacts after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with visiting Myanmar military ruler General Than Shwe over a wide range of issues, including counter-terror cooperation, enhanced energy ties and collaboration in a string of developmental projects.
Among the pacts is a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters that will be crucial in enabling India get access to insurgents from India's northeast states who continue to shelter along the sprawling 1,650-kilometer India-Myanmar border.
The treaty aims at deepening bilateral cooperation in combating transnational organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering and smuggling of arms and explosives.
Increased collaboration for developing cross-border connectivity and infrastructure development figured prominently in the discussions.
The two sides also signed pacts in the areas of small development projects, science and technology and information cooperation.
A memorandum of understanding on Indian assistance in restoring the Ananda temple in Bagan, a renowned Buddhist shrine and a major tourist site in central Myanmar, was also inked.
Against the backdrop of China's growing clout in Myanmar, India has rolled out the red carpet to welcome Than Shwe, who began his five-day visit to the country Sunday by offering prayers at the Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. Than Shwe, who heads State Peace and Development Council, as the junta calls itself, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan Tuesday morning.
He met Vice President Hamid Ansari, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Sawraj before sitting down for talks with the Prime Minister.
Than Shwe's visit to India, the world's most populous democracy, takes place days after the US renewed sanctions barring trade with companies tied to the junta in Myanmar. On the eve of the visit, the US has said it "expects to send a clear message to Burma that it needs to change its course".
Thousands of Myanmarese refugees staying in India for years aired their outrage at Than Shwe's visit and have urged the Indian government not to endorse the upcoming elections in that country. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has officially said about 3,500 Myanmarese refugees are in India, with another 4,500 asylum seekers. Unofficial figures put the number at about 100,000, mostly in the northeastern states.
"We feel outraged with his visit as India is the largest democracy in the world, and the land of the Buddha and tolerance," said Tint Swe, who was elected a member of the Myanmarese parliament in 1990 and is now a leading member of the Burmese Pro-Democracy Movement in India.
India supported the pro-democracy uprising in 1988 led by iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but started engaging the junta in the mid-1990s in view of Beijing's surging trade, energy and defence deals with Myanmar.
Besides energy, India sees Myanmar as a gateway for increased connectivity of its northeastern states to Southeast Asia. The transport corridor that would give India's landlocked northeastern states access to the Bay of Bengal through the Myanmar port of Sittwe was also discussed between the two sides. -IANS
27th July, 2010
Dr Manmohan Singh,
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India
New Delhi,
ULTIMATUM: ON THE POSITION AND SITUATION OF THE NAGA PEOPLE IN MANIPUR STATE AND FOR HONOURING THE COMMITMENT FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE.
Sir,
The Naga people in Manipur have been patiently awaiting for the response of the Government of India (GOI) to the urgent demands for intervention made to your good office on several occasions, given the irredeemably vitiated situation prevailing in the present State of Manipur.
It will be kindly noted that the economic blockade which was enforced by the All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur(ANSAM) in protest against the imposition of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils(3rd Amendment) Act 2008 on the tribals and later on compounded with the insult on the Naga Students’ Federation by the Manipur State Armed Forces and the killing of 2 students at Mao on 6th May, 2010 by the Manipur State Armed Forces, was temporarily suspended on the 18th June, 2010 in the joint meeting of the Naga Hoho(NH), United Naga Council(UNC), Naga Students’ Federation(NSF), ANSAM, Naga Women’s’ Union, Manipur(NWUM) and the Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights(NPMHR-S) in deference to the request of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Home Minister of India and the Hon’ble Leader of the Opposition, Government of India, which was conveyed through the Naga Students’ Federation during their visit to Delhi in the second week of June, 2010.
Hon’ble Sir, even in the face of extreme provocation and total disregard for our existence as a people by the communal State Government of Manipur, the Nagas in Manipur had been hopeful that the GoI will intervene and address the issues that had been repeatedly brought before the GoI. The Naga People have always cherished peace and good sense in approaching issues and our forbearance this far will bear testimony to this.
However, our earnest request for intervention of the GoI on the urgent and grave situation that has been created by the Communal Manipur State Government in the Naga areas in the present state of Manipur has till date been ignored and left unaddressed.
It may kindly be recalled that the following demands had been placed to your office in the 6th May, 2010, in a joint memorandum submitted to your office by the UNC, ANSAM, NWUM and the NPMHR(S) through the Sub-Divisional Officer, Mao - Maram Sub-Division, Manipur and followed up with another reminder on 17th May, 2010 which was communicated electronically and also through the media to:-
1. Institute a judicial enquiry into the 6th May, 2010 incident at Mao Gate, where two students were shot dead and more than a hundred peaceful protestors wounded by the Manipur State Armed forces.
2. Immediate withdrawal of the imposed section of 144 CrPC and demilitarization of Naga areas by withdrawing the Indian Reserve Battalion and Manipur Police Commandos.
Again, on the 15TH June, 2010, in a letter addressed to your good office, the UNC had registered its strong protest against militarization of Naga areas by Manipur State Armed Forces and the continuing brutal atrocities by them while carrying out the communal mission of the Manipur State Government.
The agitation of the Naga people to protest against the communal agenda of the Manipur State Government was however responded at the home front with the declaration of Presidents of the UNC and ANSAM as “wanted” and fixing of rewards on them by the Government of Manipur, equating the Nagas demand for their democratic rights with a criminal act.
The Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils(3rd Amendment) Act 2008, a clandestinely doctored Act which was devoid of any autonomy and power and which subjected the Council to the pleasure/whim and control of the State Government was imposed on the tribal people against their expressed wishes. A farcical Autonomous District Council (ADC) election was then enacted which was boycotted by the Nagas and when the 2008 Act and the ADC elections under it were rejected by the Naga people, instead of conceding to the demands of the people who are the stakeholders, as is the fundamental rule in democracy, the Communal Manipur State Government has made arrangements to make the ADCs functional from the Imphal valley. This confirms that the Communal State Government of Manipur has recognized the fact that the ADCs have not been accepted by the Naga people who are in the hills. Therefore by using some few self seeking Nagas, on the pretext of fulfilling constitutional obligation of putting in place the ADCs, the Manipur State Government has launched the continued deprivation of the tribals at a new and unprecedented dimension. This is adding insult to injury already caused to the tribals and the Nagas by the Communal State Government of Manipur.
Thus, given the unmistakable fact that the Nagas cannot continue to live under the administration of the Government of Manipur and protect their rights to their land, life and identity and also fully committed to the settlement of the Indo-Naga issue through a mutually respectable and honourable solution, the Nagas in Manipur have declared in the Naga Peoples’ Convention, the highest decision making platform of the Nagas in Manipur, held on the 1st July, 2010, the severance of all political ties with the Government of Manipur and to seek the intervention of the GoI for an alternative arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur State. The related documents had been transmitted electronically to your office for information and reference on the 3rd of July, 2010 and we are sure that the GoI agencies would have also apprised your good office of the development.
The respect and the honour with which the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Home Minister’s request was conceded in temporarily suspending the Economic blockade has not been reciprocated with any proactive response by the Government of India. The confidence and good will towards the GoI have therefore been considerably eroded before the Naga people. Even after 39 days of the temporary suspension of the economic blockade, the issues highlighted above have not been addressed nor have any communication been made to indicate that the GoI has taken cognizance of them.
On the other hand, the external force of the Manipur State Government is continuing its intrusion and aggression with the continued militarization of the Naga areas in Manipur with the State’s Armed Forces, continued to hunt for the Naga leaders as criminals and instituted the ADCs for the tribals and the hills at Imphal Valley, making a mockery of democracy and insulting the sentiments of the Nagas.
In the light of the above, the UNC is constrained to submit this ultimatum whereby the GoI’s intervention within five days on the following issues should take place, failing which, having no other option but to resume the temporarily suspended agitation till the aspiration of the people is fulfilled: -
1. Institute a judicial enquiry into the 6th May, 2010 incident at Mao Gate, where two students were shot dead and more than a hundred peaceful protestors wounded by the Manipur State Armed forces.
2. Immediate withdrawal of the imposed section of 144 CrPC and demilitarization of Naga areas by removal of the Indian Reserve Battalion and Manipur Police Commandos.
3. Removal of “wanted” tag and fixing of rewards imposed on Naga leaders.
4. Dissolution of the undemocratically instituted Autonomous District Councils.
May we make it explicitly clear that this step is the expression of our democratic rights and will be intensified in different forms and at different level till the issues are addressed in the right perspective. We further reiterate our strong commitment and support to the Indo-Naga Peace process to its logical conclusion.
Yours sincerely,
(SAMSOM REMEI)
President
Enclosed:-
1. Copy of Memorandum to Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government of India, dated 6th May, 2010
2. Copy of Ultimatum to Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government of India, dated 17th May, 2010
3. Copy of Memorandum to Hon’ble Prime Minister, Government of India dated 15th June, 2010.
4. Copy of Joint Declaration of Naga Hoho, United Naga Council, Naga Students’ Federation, All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur, Naga Women’s’ Union Manipur and Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (South) dated 18th June, 2010.
Copy for information to:-
1. The Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Government of India
2. The Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Nagaland
3. His Excellency, Governor of Manipur
4. Mr. R.S. Pandey, Interlocutor
5. The Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi
6. The Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi
7. The President, Naga Hoho
8. The President, Naga students’ Federation
9. The President, All Naga Students’ Association Manipur
10. The President, Naga Women’s’ Union Manipur
11. The Convenor, Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (South)
(A. ASHOHRII)
General Secretary
Burmese activists in Delhi label Than Shwe a war criminal Myint Maung (Mizzima)
New Delhi– Instead of rubbing shoulders with Indian leaders, Burma’s military strongman should be on trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes committed against his own people, contend members of the Burmese Diaspora community in New Delhi.
More than 300 Burmese activists in India’s capital yesterday protested against the visit of Burma’s military leader, Than Shwe, who arrived in News Delhi on Monday.
The protesters waved banners reading “Than Shwe get out of India”, “Wanted: Than Shwe for crimes against humanity and war crimes”, “Please support an ICC referral for General Than Shwe” and “Than Shwe go to hell”.
Senior General Than Shwe and his party arrived at the ITC Maurya Hotel in New Delhi at around 7 p.m. on Monday and will today meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Pratibha Patil and other ministers, according to the Foreign Ministry of India.
On Wednesday, the Senior General and his party are scheduled to travel to Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh and home to a TATA motors factory.
“India is trying to seek stronger business ties with Burma. We worry for that. Under the military dictatorship, even if international trade and foreign investment in Burma are increased it may not affect the lives of the Burmese people,” Dr. Tint Swe, a minister with the exile-based National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) said.
Protesters insist they will continue with their campaign until the Burmese delegation leaves India. Than Shwe and company are scheduled to return to Burma on Thursday.
“We stuck posters that read ‘Wanted: Than Shwe for crimes against humanity and war crimes’ on trees. We will put up the posters on walls in downtown Delhi. We will also stick them up on the walls of the hotel where the junta is staying,” voiced Thin Thin Aung, a protester and board member of the Women’s League of Burma.
Indian political activist Jaya Jaitly agrees with the stance of the Burmese activists and insists India should not invest in Burma.
“I want to urge TATA not to invest in Burma, especially in information technology. Burmese people including Aung San Suu Kyi don’t have the right to freely express themselves. Under the circumstances, if we invest in information technology in Burma it’ll be a crying shame,” emphasized Jaya Jaitly.
Senior General Than Shwe and his party, more than 80 in all, arrived in Bodhgaya on July 25, where they visited the popular temples prior to moving on to the Indian capital.
