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04/03/2012: "This Week The Northeast: As naga talks stutter on, peace back on the ground Indian Express As naga talks stutter on, peace back on the ground"

This Week The Northeast: As naga talks stutter on, peace back on the ground Indian Express
As naga talks stutter on, peace back on the ground

While talks between the NSCN and the Centre continue without any solution in sight, insurgency is gradually fading away in Nagaland. This was proved this week when several youth organisations led by the Angami Youth Organisation asked the authorities to evict all militant factions from civilian areas and restrict them to their respective designated camps. Killing a Naga by a Naga was not nationalism, said a resolution adopted by a convention orgainsed by the AYO, which added that collection of “tax” by militant groups should be immediately stopped and criminals booked under the law.
Land for the taking
Assam’s worries about encroachment of government land have become deeper than ever. While encroachment upon national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved forests have been on for years, latest government reports said over 80,000 hectares land has been under illegal occupation of neighbouring states too. Over 59,000 hectares land has been encroached by Nagaland, followed by 15,000 hectares by Arunachal Pradesh and the rest by the three other states, Assam’s Minister for Border Affairs Siddique Ahmed said. The encroached land is in 14 districts: Tinsukia, Sibsagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup Metro, Kamrup Rural, Goalpara, Sonitpur, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj.
Language exchange
Relations between India and Myanmar are improving and appear set to continue so. And Aung Sung Syu Kii’s historic victory is not the only reason. Last week, a group of Myanmarese police personnel were in Champhai in Mizoram to learn English. As part of an agreement between the two countries, a group of 28 Myanmarese cops are undergoing English training at the District Institute of Educational Training, which would help them manage trans-border crimes better, a Mizoram official said in Aizawl. Mizoram officials, in turn, were picking up Myanmarese, the official added.
Call for Bangla flight
A week after Bangladesh felicitated the people of Tripura for their role in the liberation of that country in 1971-72, the Northeastern state has asked New Delhi to expedite the process of introducing air links between Agartala and Dhaka. Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, who was among the 129 Indian leaders specially honoured by Bangladesh, said the Civil Aviation Ministry had already identified Agartala as a “critical” airport, and introducing flights between Agartala and Dhaka would immensely benefit people on both sides. A trans-border road link has already helped Tripura move various commodities to the landlocked state in the past few years
“Hardly any deployment in Mon”: Yona (Asiantribune.com): By Oken Jeet Sandham
Congress leader from Mon District N Yona Konyak said the issue concerning the areas of the ENPO that culminated to the demand of a separate “Frontier Nagaland State” was very much genuine. “We should admit that there is chronic negligence by the Governments to this region over the years,” he disclosed.
The fact is in the recently concluded State assembly sessions, the members on the floor cutting across party affiliations agreed that the region needed to be taken care of and invested so that people in this region could come up at par with the rest of their counterparts. This itself was an admission of the prolong negligence to the people of the ENPO region, the NPCC general secretary told NEPS here today.
Asked his opinion on the ENPO issue, Konyak, who was a Congress candidate in the 42 Wakching A/C in last assembly elections, described that it was not an individual issue. It was a people’s movement and this would be there to stay till the right medicine to cure the syndrome was found, he stated.
“But I am happy that the recently concluded Nagaland Assembly had deliberated on the burning issue,” he said. “But I am afraid whether concerns expressed by the legislators would really be translated into reality.”
Konyak also expressed his regrets that in spite of having two cabinet ministers and other four legislators as parliamentary secretary, chairman, adviser, etc. from his district, developments were yet to come up in the district. “Of course, except for a few pockets, there were hardly any developments worth mentioning in the district of Mon,” he alleged.
The Congress leader also revealed how pathetic the conditions of the roads in his constituency, water supply, electricity, administrations, educations, etc. He said the condition of the road from Naginimora to Wakching remained as it is without any maintenance. He said the only maintenance came was from the Coal Contractors Union. He said this road was so important that it was a lifeline of Mon and Tuensang districts.
There was no water supply in Wakching HQs and the only village that availed water supply was Tanhai village. This was also from the World Vision. And least electrification had reached Wakching, Chingphoi and Chingdang through another Central scheme. Otherwise, nothing was there from the State Government, he further alleged.
Interestingly, for the water supply in Wakching, it was already in the work program and more than Rs 50 lakh was already released against it but never implemented, Konyak stated.
He also disclosed that road from Naginimora to Tiru was also maintained through NREGA fund. Here also interestingly, Rs 25 lakh was sanctioned for maintenance, but it was never utilized, he said.
Asked why people did not react, the Congress leader said the citizens in the area got fed up to react now as most of these ruling legislators and Ministers failed to live up to their expectations.
He also said the DAN Government kept on creating more and more administrative blocks, upgrading EAC to SDO, SDO to ADC, but no officers were appointed to man all these offices. “So what is the point if you go on creating offices, upgrading existing offices to higher status while no manpower is there to see these offices,” he said. “It is absolutely meaningless and the people in the backward areas will remain as it is if not worsening.”
- Asian Tribune -
KOHIMA ATTACK OF 1956 : AZ . JAMI.
(Press Release) 3rd April 2012

While offering heartfelt condolences of the sad demise of Late. Brig. Khashepu Kath, I, AZ Jami would like to supplement with some corrections of the writing of Mr.Joel Nillo, carried in the local paper of 3rd April 2012 under the caption “Naga patriot laid to rest” about the Naga Hills District Capital Kohima attack or rather siege in his word in the summer of 1956. Whatever people may say or claim, the District Capital Kohima attack, as Mr.Joel Nillo had rightly projected was the major event in the Naga National movement which drew the attention of the Indian people as well as the foreign well-wishers.

I was then a sergeant (Havildar) in the then Naga Home Guards and participated in that fighting and when the attack or siege ended, I was promoted to 2nd Lieut. That’s why I remember some of the events of the siege. Yes, Lt. Brig. Khashepu Kath was also a Commandar of one of the groups. From the Lothas, Late. Brig. Etsonyimo Tsopoe, a former veteran of Indian army, took command of one of the groups. And Late. Brig. Tsemomo Ovung, a young, brave and intelligent Indian Army soldier become one of the sub-ordinate Officers under Etsonyimo in the rank of Captain.

During the time, Late Gen. Thongti Chang was the Chief of the Naga Home Guards and Late Gen.Yanpamo Lotha was the Adjutant General of Naga Home Guards in the rank of Lieut.General. Both of them stayed together at Rukroma (Now Rosuma) and directed and supervised the Kohima siege. But while the Naga fighters were on the verge of victory, a dispute arose between Naga Home Guards and the Naga Safe Guards, and the Naga safe Guards who were assigned to block Dimapur – Kohima road withdrew enmasse. Then the enemy, the Indian army came in Battalions and Brigades from Dimapur and re-captured the Kohima town. The Indian Soldiers marched in hundreds on foot from Dimapur to Kohima and the vehicle carrying loads of supplies moved in hundreds behind the soldiers. Then the Rosuma Village was heavily bombarded by Indian Army and kept in ruins at the time.

The divisions among people face defeats. The present Naga situation is just like that. Therefore, let us unite again and put up a united effort for the common cause.




A.Z.Jami
Senior Kilonser, NSCN