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08/31/2010: "Delhi-IM peace talk already dead: 'K' Newmai News Network"
Delhi-IM peace talk already dead: 'K' Newmai News Network
Dimapur, August 30 2010: After a brief calm in Nagaland, the heat is rising with both the rival NSCN factions engaging in a media war which is fast heightening. The factional killing at Wokha where an NSCN-K cadre died and the killing of NSCN-IM 'major' few days ago have given serious set back to the effort of the Dr Wati Aier led Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) which had brought the Naga underground groups to stop the factional clashes two year ago.
The Khaplang group of the NSCN today called upon the Nagas to understand the 'ground reality' that the peace talks between the Government of India and the Isak-Muivah group of the NSCN is already dead. The NSCN-K also pointed out "the groundwork being prepared by a section of people at Hebron Camp (NSCN-IM) aiding and abetting demand for alternative political arrangement for Nagas in Manipur state".
Given this situation, the Khaplang group of the NSCN has urged the Nagas to prepare the future course of action towards the Nagas' inalienable political rights.
"In the name of Naga political struggle blatant accusations, killings and justifications have been the three most important tools employed by a group of people at Hebron Camp (NSCN-IM) against the Nagas. Many prominent Naga intellectuals have been killed simply because they chose reason over emotion.
Thousands of civilians and Naga national workers have been murdered over the decades accusing them as traitors. A struggling people deserve the right to know and identify the obstacles along the path to unity and political destiny," the NSCN-K stated.
Meanwhile, the NSCN-K said that the killing of 'major' Ngachonmi of NSCN-IM by Assam Rifles at Namsa in 'Konyak Region' and the press release of NSCN-IM in its aftermath is in a nutshell, a shallow display of bravado at a very wrong moment.
We will fight if Assamese are attacked: ULFA OneIndia
Dibrugarh (Assam), Aug 31: The ULFA rebel leader Mrinal Hazarika warned the NSCN (I-M) against any attack on Assamese people in the border areas of Assam-Arunachal and Assam-
He has threatened to resume the road blockade if the attacks are not stopped. “We might block all the major link roads to the states Arunachal and Nagaland if the situation does not improve,” Mrinal said.
He also alleged that the NSCN (IM) has not been following ceasefire rule unlike other insurgent groups in the region.
Hazarika further welcomed the stand taken by the NSCN (K) saying that the ULFA always maintained a cordial relation with them. He urged the NSCN (K) leader to tie a good relationship between Assamese and Nagas.
Nagas and Info-power morungexpress
The power of information has been at the helm of human affairs since the dawn of human kind. Consequently, the holder of any vital information has acquired and entrusted with much power and is in a position to make critical and decisive interventions that can alter decision-making. With the evolution of the modern state, it ensured that the state was the sole custodian and holder of information in the name of security. Having the monopoly over information, the state system has exercised great power over people and influenced their opinions and actions and has persuaded their decision making abilities. Such is the power of information; and more so the holder of information, which is the state. The citizen’s demand for transparency and accountability from the state has therefore been central to the realization of democracy.
In recent times, the state’s monopoly over information has been strongly challenged due to progress in technology and more so with the revolution of the internet. The internet perhaps poses the greatest threat to the state system’s control over information; and states are therefore seeking to assume control over the internet. Today, all most all information is available in the internet. This has revolutionized people’s thinking and the state no longer enjoys the same kind of power and control over its citizens. This however is not the case in all scenarios; as citizens that are under military authorities do not enjoy such access. This is also true for situations that are not yet strong democracies.
Today in Nagaland, a history of protracted armed conflict, a situation that is highly militarized and alive with corruption, the question of information is vital; and more so the holder of information will play a decisive role. Ideally, it is the people who should be the holder of the information; and yet in places like Nagaland, people are starved for real authentic information. This has given rise to rumors and propaganda; and hence the ordinary citizen is often disempowered to make meaningful and informed decisions that affect their lives. The lack of opportunities and access to quality information and statistics has only encouraged rampant corruption and a culture of impunity. Hence any attempt and effort to uncover information and to bring them to public attention in the Naga context is met by fierce criticism.
Considering that the print media is the one of the only organized means of mass communication in the Naga context, its responsibility to uncover and present information vital to public interest is fundamental. This however becomes challenging when genuine information is not readily and easily accessible. But the greatest hindrance is the growing habit to shoot the messenger. The inability to differentiate between information and the messenger has unintended consequences and may be detrimental to the democratization of information in Nagaland. For the whole truth, nothing but the truth, it will take some years before the Naga psyche can open itself for a democratic discourse on information. Nagas need to objectively rationalize truth, only then can we utilize the power of information.
The Counter allegation of the GPRN / NSCN
31st August 2010.
To the NSCN and one of its Hon’ble Kilonsers, Mr V.Horam on the brutal murder of Lt. Major Ngachonmi is a ploy to diverted and distract the attention of the people.
Nevertheless, it will never condone the heinous crime committed by them on August 26, at Tizit, Namsa. Why the crime was committed by the GPRN / NSCN it is ridiculous to charged and Hon’ble Kilonser who have only stated nothing but the reported facts of the incident. Any fall out has to be borne by the perpetrators.
If the GPRN / NSCN is sincerely committed to reconciliation as they claimed then they must either claimed responsibility for the crime or investigate and bring to book the errant cadre if done without the official sanction of the Government as was the case of May 9 episode at Hotel Grandeur, Kohima of your Organization who badly manhandled and looted FNR member and Naga Hoho Officials.
Issued By MIP GPRN.
Naga consultation meet at Ukhrul Kangla Online
IMPHAL, Aug 30: The Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights organised a consultation programme on August 29 at the TTA Conference Hall, Ukhrul.
A release of the Naga human right s group said the forum debated and articulated the exigency of taking cognizance of the natural rights of the Nagas for self-determination in Nagalim. It strongly stressed the need to create an effective mechanism to process and institutionalise certain important information, ideas, opinions etc with credible public importance for tangible implementation.
The release added the forum regrets the failures of the Governor of Manipur in discharging his constitutional responsibilities in the Manipur Hill areas when the same is burning with the tribals’ rights being deprived and manipulated.
CFMC decries arrest of IM deputy kilonser The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 30 2010: National Socialist Council of Nagalim, Ceasefire Monitoring Cell, Chandel branch has strongly condemned the arrest of Ng Koningam, deputy kilonser , GPRN by Imphal West Police commandos from Imphal on August 26 despite 'being well-versed with the existing ceasefire agreement between Government of India and NSCN'.
In a statement, CFMC Chandel branch member P Tongsin decried the arrest as a deliberate act on the part of Government of Manipur and its forces to infuse disharmony and disrupt cordial relationship and co-existence between NSCN and Central forces in Manipur.
''The most disheartening fact is that despite our utmost effort to maintain patience so as to shun violence, some elements with ill-intentions and evil design are labouring hard to arouse the warrior instinct from within us, thereby dragging us to the part of violence/war'', Tongsin said, while appealing to all and sundry not to compel them to part with their hard earned peace which 'we value most and are too dear to part with'.
GPRN/NSCN demands Nagaland post
Reacting to NSCN (I-M) kilonser, V. Horam’s allegation that it was involved in the killing of “major” Ngachonmi at Tizit on August 26, the GPRN/NSCN has asked him to furnish the names of Naga army personnel who allegedly assisted Assam Rifles in the operation.
GPRN/NSCN MIP kilonser, Meren Nokpu said any iota of evidence available must be handed over, at the earliest, to the Joint Working Group (JWG) of three political groups who were signatories to the Covenant of Reconciliation.
He said it should also be clarified to the Nagas whether accusing GPRN/NSCN was Horam’s idea or the propaganda policy of NSCN (I-M). It warned that Horam shall be held solely accountable for any fallout arising out of his baseless accusation.
Pro-talk ULFA warns NSCN (IM) Staff Correspondent Assam Tribune
DIBRUGARH, Aug 30 – Pro-talk ULFA faction leader Mrinal Hazarika has warned the NSCN- IM against any attack on Assamese people in the border areas of Assam-Arunachal and Assam-Nagaland.
The pro-talk ULFA leader threatened to resume the road blockade if the attacks on the border people of Assam are not stopped. “We might block all the major link roads to the states (Arunachal and Nagaland) if the situation does not improve,” Mrinal said.
The pro-talk group of the ULFA has taken serious note of the violent inicidents in the border areas. Addressing mediapersons at the Dibrugarh Press Club on Sunday, Hazarika said that the NSCN (IM) was provoking the tribal people in both Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to encroach on Assam’s territory. He alleged that the NSCN (IM) has not been following the ground rule of ceasefire unlike other insurgent groups and held the Centre responsible for it.
Hazarika further welcomed the stand taken by the NSCN (K) in the present situation saying that the ULFA always maintained a cordial relation with them. He urged the NSCN (K) leadership to come forward to carry forward the century-old ties between Assamese and Naga people.
Hazarika said that the road blockade on Margherita-Changlang road was lifted keeping in mind the suffering of the Arunachali people. However, he warned that the pro-talk ULFA group along with the Assamese people would initiate strong measures against the states of the perpetrating people in the event of anymore incidents in the border.
Dimaraji state cry grows shriller OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph
Silchar, Aug. 30: In a massive show of solidarity, thousands of Dimasa people, led by a conglomeration of 84 frontal organisations of the community, today took part in a rally at Haflong, demanding a separate Dimaraji state.
The rally, which was held in the Town Committee field, was followed by a colourful procession through the main streets of the town (district headquarters) before culminating at the deputy commissioner’s office. Prafulla Hafila, the president of All Dimasa Students Union (ADSU), which had organised the programme, said a memorandum, addressed to Union home minister P. Chidambaram and chief minister Tarun Gogoi, was submitted to deputy commissioner Dilip Barthakur. A source in the Assam police’s special branch (intelligence) today estimated that about 6,000 persons had participated in the rally.
While several shops in the town had downed shutters, not many people were present in the state and central government offices today because of the rally. Official sources in Haflong said there were no reports of any untoward incident during the programme.
Earlier, addressing the sea of humanity, Hafila regretted that the Centre had not paid any heed to the preservation of the identity of the community through creation of a separate Dimaraji state. He warned that the Dimasa people would be compelled to add more teeth to their demand for a separate identity through more such demonstrations if the Centre and Assam government do not consider their demand for a separate state.
Though the organisers had earlier estimated that nearly 20,000 people would take part in the rally, such a number was not reached owing to the lurking fear of trouble in the wake of a blast at Langthasa Bazaar in the town last night. One person was injured in the incident.
Police said they are investigating the blast, which also damaged a few shops in the market. However, the needle of suspicion points to the Hill Tribal Force, a new militant outfit. The outfit is believed to have recruited Kuki, Hmar and Jeme Naga youths into its fold.
AR reaches out to farmers of the land By Our Staff Reporter
IG AR (S) Maj Gen CA Krishnan addressing the gathering
I MPHAL, Aug 31 : Stre-ssing the point that the Assam Rifles is here not for Counter-Insurgency operations alone, but also to extend a helping hand to all sections of the people as much as possible, 28 Assam Rifles of the 9 Sector Assam Rifles under IG AR (S) Hqs along with Krishi Vigyan Kendra sponsored an awareness cum training pro-gramme on agricultural and allied activities at the Cente-nary Hall of Manipur Uni- versity today.
The first of its kind in recent times, the event was graced by the IG AR (S), Maj General CA Krishnan as the chief guest along with Professor M Premjit Singh, Director of Extension Education, Central Agriculture University.
Addressing the gathering, Maj Gen CA Krishnan underlined the point that the Assam Rifles is here not only for CI Ops but also to extend all possible assistance to the local population.
To ensure food sufficiency, it is important to disseminate information on new technologies, ma-chineries and scientific research, to the tillers of the soil, said the IG.
Towards this end, the responsibility of the scien- tists is of paramount importance, he stressed.
Professor M Premjit Singh, Director of Extension Education, Central Agriculture University in his address to the gathering informed that the KVK, Andro conducted a mobile agri-clinic from August 18 to 20 in Imphal East and distributed high quality seeds and also shared information on pests control and how to be more productive.
The primary objective of the KVK is to make the farmers more aware of the available technologies and new methodologies that would help them to increase their earnings, he added.
A number of scientists from KVK, experts in the field of horticulture, animal husbandry, piggery, fishery, fertiliser management, IMP and other allied activities were present at the workshop, besides around 740 villagers from Andro, Lilong, Singjamei and Canchipur.
The IG. as a goodwill gesture distributed rape-seed mustard seeds. The CO of 28 Assam Rifles was also present.
Burma ‘hosting India’s greatest security threat’ Democratic Voices of America
August 31, 2010: Maoist rebels in India are being trained at bases inside Burma run by a Northeast Indian insurgent group, Indian press has reported.
The Maoist rebels, known as the Naxalites, are collaborating with the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur, the Indian state which borders northwestern Burma, the Asian Age newspaper said yesterday. It cited a Director General of Police conference given in New Delhi last week that focused on a growing “nexus” between the two groups and allegations that the Naxalite leader Kishenij has visited Manipur to meet with the PLA and “succeeded in sending a batch of Maoist cadres to Burma for arms training recently”.
The Naxalites have their heartland in the belt running from the Nepali frontier down through Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and into Andhra Pradesh; areas with a large proportion of tribal peoples, or Adivasis.
The conference was reportedly dominated by “serious concern” about the Maoist-Manipuri nexus, which regional analyst Bertil Lintner, who visited the area earlier this year, “absolutely” corroborated when contacted by DVB.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his first term in office called the Maoist insurgents India’s greatest security threat; the rebels are believed to be active in a third of the country’s districts, and were allegedly behind an attack on a high-speed Indian train in May this year which killed upwards of 100 people.
The northeastern states of India, many of which border Burma, form a fractious and trouble-prone region, with numerous ethnic separatist groups fighting for independence from India. As in Burma, the combination of ethnic diversity and geographical remoteness has formed a formidable obstacle to attempts by the central government in Delhi to pacify the region.
The Naxalites nearer the central plains of the subcontinent have had a significant year in terms of military victories, with two major successes on the battlefield against beleaguered and ill-equipped Indian security services, including an ambush in which almost 80 Indian security personnel were killed.
The wellspring of the Naxalites has been their disenfranchised support base, the Adivasis and lower castes. These are groupings for whom the economic miracle, which Prime Minister Manmmohan Singh has embodied in India, has all but failed, with land taken for mining projects and few, if any, improvements in living standards.
There is also a continual fear from Delhi of Chinese influence over the region, much of which is still claimed by Beijing. In July the BBC reported alleged links between the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma’s largest ethnic army, and the Naxalites, with UWSA-made clones of Chinese weaponry making it into their hands.
Lintner confirmed to DVB that the PLA, which has no intrinsic relation to the Chinese army of the same acronym, is believed to have bases in the Kabaw Valley in Burma’s northwestern Sagaing division and was trained by the Chinese in Lhasa in the 1980s. Indeed so were the UWSA, who have strong ethnic and historical links to their northern neighbour, being former communist allies of Beijing before the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) disintegrated in 1989.
Junta threat may spur refugee exodus, Karen council warns Bern Smith Mizzima
Mae Sot (Mizzima) – An exodus of refugees in numbers never before seen along the Thai-Burmese border could begin within days, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council has warned.
A makeshift camp near the Thai-Burmese border in Tha Song Yang district last year. Karen refugees lived in this camp for months, through the worst of the wet season. Photo: Mizzima
In a plea to the “international community”, the Peace Council this week said 6,000 to 10,000 people could initially be evacuated, but if the Burmese Army made a clean sweep of its capital, as many as 100,000 people could be affected.
The KNU/KNLA Peace Council signed an agreement with Burma’s ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), in 2006 when it broke away from the Karen National Union. Since then it has developed a capital on the western side of the Dawna mountain range at Htokawko village in Karen State and its leaders have entered into business arrangements with the Burmese Army.
Peace Council leaders have consistently been accused of switching sides merely to enrich themselves.
This year, the SPDC demanded ethnic groups transform themselves into its Border Guard Forces (BGF), taking orders directly from Burmese Army commanders.
The Peace Council has repeatedly refused to join the BGF as an armed wing of the Burmese Army and steadfastly refused to fight troops of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). But now the SPDC has demanded the Peace Council begin obeying orders or be declared an “unlawful or illegal organisation”.
KNLA Colonel Nerdah Mya
Burma Army Lieutenant General Ye Myint recently met Peace Council leaders and delivered the ultimatum: “Join forces with us by Sunday or the population of Htokawko will be displaced and your capital destroyed.”
In a move that could be perceived as tactically unwise, Peace Council leaders said they dismissed the demand on the spot and began preparing to defend themselves.
The Peace Council is well armed – this correspondent has seen truckloads of brand new M-60s and M-16s and many thousands of rounds of ammunition in their possession.
A council spokesman said: “If the Burmese determine to breach and violate the peace agreement and initiate war, then the Karen will have no choice but to do everything in their power to defend [themselves].”
“However [if the] safe area [Htokawko] is no longer considered safe, the children and families may have to cross over the border into Thailand,” he said. “Acceptance by the Thais is not certain.”
Elements of the KNLA last night declared that they would flank KNU/KNLA Peace Council units if they were forced to evacuate to the Thai-Burmese border.
KNLA Colonel Nerdah Mya, eldest son of the late KNLA General Bo Mya, said: “We are all Karen and the people must be defended.”
He said his men would certainly help the Peace Council forces if they were attacked by the Burmese Army and found themselves in danger of being overwhelmed.
Nerdah’s primary concern was for the civilian population, he said.
By all accounts it is unlikely Thailand will accept thousands of Peace Council refugees pouring over the border. While contingency plans have been made for three sites around Mae Sot – at Tha Son Yang, Phop Phra and Umphang – there are strict conditions for people seeking refuge in Thailand.
Anyone who comes across the border must be directly fleeing fighting and no combatants of any side, or their families, will be given food or shelter.
The Thai Third Army, which controls an area from Kanchanaburi in the south to Mae Hong Son in the far north, maintains that the dispute between the SPDC and the Peace Council is an “internal affair”, one for the Burmese to sort out among themselves.
While NGO workers along the border are treating the situation developing between the Peace Council and the Burmese Army as a serious matter, they remain sceptical that 100,000 people might flee Burma.
Faced with reduced capacity because international donors are becoming fatigued from the effects of more than six decades of fighting in Karen State, the organisations providing for refugees are hoping they are not inundated with tens of thousands of new arrivals from Burma.
But, should the Burmese Army make a clean sweep from Htokawko to the Thai border, the number of people fleeing could well dwarf last year’s exodus to Tha Son Yang. Last year, during June and July, about 6,500 people ended up on the Thai side in Tha Son Yang district when the KNLA lost its Seventh Brigade region to the Burmese Army-aligned militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.
What followed was a disaster, as people clustered in small groups along the border and NGOs scrambled to sustain simple needs, such as sanitation, food and shelter.
