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05/02/2012: "Nagas hope in Prince Andrew’s historic visit Chizokho Vero Morungexpress"

Nagas hope in Prince Andrew’s historic visit Chizokho Vero Morungexpress

Kohima Great Britain’s Duke of York, Prince Andrew today visited Nagaland as part of the British kingdom’s celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. In honor of the celebrated royal’s visit to Nagaland, a civic reception was organized by the Government of Nagaland at the NBCC convention centre in Kohima where thousands of people gathered and accorded a hearty welcome to one of the most famous royal personalities in the world.


Britain’s Prince Andrew, Duke of York is presented with a Naga traditional headgear as Nagaland State Chief Minster Neiphiu Rio looks on during his one-day visit to Kohima in the north eastern state of Nagaland on May 1. (Photo Caisii Mao)

On Prince Andrew’s arrival, Naga citizens, both young and old, lined up along the roads holding flags of Great Britain and greeted the Prince. Aside from high officials of the government, the royal dignitary was accompanied by James Bevan, British High Commissioner and Sanjay Wadvani, British Deputy High Commissioner.
Speaking at the civic reception, Prince Andrew expressed gratefulness for the opportunity to be in Nagaland. He called his coming here important in that the ‘past is recognized and which need to be cherished, that the future is all important.’
The Prince said there were discussions where they should go when they came to India “because there are certain symbols that the Queen wanted the Prince to participate in.” One of important tasks during his visit was to acknowledge the memory of those who served not only the United Kingdom but also the commonwealth around the world.
“The Queen could not think of a better place to ask the Prince to lay the wreath than here in Kohima,” Prince Andrew said, referring to the capital where one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles against the Japanese invasion was fought during the Second World War. The Prince said – “It is very important for the modern generations particularly across India, for people to remember and recognize the sacrifice that took place in Kohima. Because without that sacrifice and that stand, the freedom that you now have and the rest of India has would not have been possible”.
For that reason, Prince Andrew said, he is delighted to be in Kohima to represent Her Majesty to lay wreath and pay respects to the fallen defenders. “But it is not just about those that had gone before, it is for the future. It is about looking forward to what we can all be and what our potentials really is. We have a whole potential as commonwealth nation in a particularly troubled world.”
Prince Andrew also conveyed the greetings of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth “who knows the great debt the Naga have paid in that fight for freedom over the years and the Queen wanted the Prince to pass on the message for the future of all people of India and of the Commonwealth.”
Extending a warm welcome to the royal, Chief Minister of Nagaland said “Indeed, we are honored by your visit and terming it as a red letter day, and a historic occasion for the people of Nagaland.” He hoped that the visit of Prince Andrew will go a long way in strengthening the relationship between the British and the Nagas especially for the younger generations who were born after India’s Independence.
Rio informed that during the Ist World War, thousands of Naga labor corps served in Europe. Kohima is known because of the historic and decisive Battle of Kohima fought between the British army and the Japanese army. The battle was described by Lord Mountbatten as probably one of the greatest battles in the history. The Chief Minister said that the battle of Kohima changed the course of the 2nd World War, and of the world history. In this, Rio stated that the Battle of Kohima Cemetery will forever remain part of the Nagas’ history. The Commonwealth War Cemetery that lies in the heart of Kohima is a constant reminder of the horrors and pains of war, he said.
The Chief Minister said further that the local Naga people played a crucial role in the victory of the allied forces in the battle, and till today they have pride in the fact that they contributed to the victory of the allied forces and fought for freedom and democracy.
Entire generations grew up hearing the painful stories of war, he said, but the visit of His Royal Highness will usher in a new era for greater partnership and better understating between the Naga s and the British. “Your visit will also re-kindle old friendship, shared history.”
Informing Prince Andrew that the Nagas are still in search of a permanent and lasting peace, Rio said “we have great hope that a peaceful and non-violent approach on the basis of political negotiation will bring about resolution of the Naga issue, and create lasting peace.”
The Chief Minister also congratulated the Queen, on her diamond jubilee, and also conveyed the wishes of the Naga people to her, good health and long life. “I hope that you and your entourage will go back home with fond memories of Nagaland and the Naga people, and that you will become ambassadors of Nagaland wherever you go,” Rio said in wishing the Prince.
Rio presented a Konyak brass gong, a head gear, a spear and a dao and two bamboo baskets to the Prince amidst applause. Naga folk dances and music were presented before the Prince who was accompanied by the British officials including the High Commissioner to India.
Earlier, immediately after his arrival in the town from Dimapur by road, the Duke visited the Kohima War Cemetery and paid homage to those who were killed in the battle of 1944. Later he also visited World War Museum at Kisama Heritage Village, 12 km south of Kohima before his departure.
Rebels plan stir as Prince Andrew heads for Kohima Samudra Gupta Kashyap : Guwahati Indian Express
A day before Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, arrives on a one-day trip to Kohima, the Nagaland capital, to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne, at least two Naga groups have opposed his visit by holding the British responsible for the “plight” of the Nagas.
“The British throne and Her Government was and is the main factor in the first place for the plight of the Naga people for six long decades of struggle for the rightful freedom of the Nagas as a nation,” a statement issued by the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), the political wing of Naga National Council, said in Kohima on Monday. It also asked the Nagas to protest Prince Andrew’s visit scheduled for Tuesday.
Prince Andrew, who is on a week-long visit to India since Sunday, will arrive at Kohima on Tuesday morning, and place a wreath at the Kohima War Cemetery and attend a couple of other functions before flying back to Kolkata later in the day.
The FGN note said, “As an imperial power from the 16th to 20th century, the British stated clearly that Nagas were not Indians and their territory was not a part of India. But on your departure from your South Asian Empire in 1947, your government dissected the Naga country into two pieces and gave them like presents to Burma (now Myanmar) and India.”
Asserting that Prince Andrew’s visit to Kohima was merely “to affirm that Nagaland is a part of India”, the NNC statement said that he was not welcome to “the Naga nation”. Another group, the Netherlands-based Naga International Support Centre (NISC) asked the Nagas to stage a demonstration against Prince Andrew’s visit. A group said to be close to the NSCN (IM), the NISC also hinted that an apology from the British royalty for “betraying” the Nagas would not be out of place.
Honour for the heroes of Kohima Dean Nelson Agency: The Daily Telegraph
Kohima | It is the scene of some the Second World War's greatest acts of heroism and sacrifice but few beyond a select group of historians, veterans and relations of the dead will be aware of the gruesome history of the small Indian hill station town of Kohima.
Nestled in the vast country's north-eastern state of Nagaland, it is a place where two Victoria Crosses were won and where a 1,000-strong British and Indian force, outnumbered 10 to one, halted the Japanese army's relentless march across Asia.
Blood-soaked battles in April 1944 saw the troops of the Royal West Kent Regiment, with comrades from the Punjab Rifles and other Indian regiments, under siege on the top of Kohima's Garrison Hill. Troops fought hand to hand in torrential rain from rat-infested trenches dug on the then British deputy commissioner's clay tennis court.
The two sides were so close that they could lob grenades in each other's strongholds barely 50 feet away. According to chroniclers of the battle, Allied troops sometimes woke in their monsoon mud trenches with Japanese troops sleeping alongside them.
When the siege was finally lifted some 45 days after it had begun, British officers were appalled at the conditions in which both sides had fought and compared it to the Battle of the Somme. Some of the Japanese soldiers had died of starvation and disease. More than 4,000 Allied soldiers and 5,764 Japanese troops died. Had they won the Battle of Kohima, Japan would have taken the nearby railhead and air field at Dimapur, then in Assam, and used it as a base to sweep across Bengal.
Until now, the heroism of the Allied troops of Kohima has been the stuff of legend but their unique contribution to winning the war will finally be recognised by the Royal family today (Tuesday) when the Duke of York honours their sacrifices and bravery at the town's war cemetery.
The tombstones at the cemetery, where a crucifix monument now stands between the tennis court's singles and doubles lines, do not begin to tell their stories. Capt John Randle of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, wounded by machinegunfire, crawled towards a Japanese foxhole, tossed in a hand grenade and used his body to seal the hole and ensure the maximum number of enemy were killed. He was killed in the suicide mission and won a Victoria Cross. L/Cpl John Harman had spurned the likelihood of a commission - his family were the largest landowners on Lundy island - and instead joined the Royal West Kents. According to P Atuo Angami, whose father established the cemetery, L/Cpl Harman single-handedly destroyed two Japanese machinegun posts before being shot dead as he tried to take cover.
The cemetery reflects the extraordinary multi-racial, and religious nature of the Allied fighting forces in Asia. There is a section for Gurkhas, Punjabis, Nepalis, Burmese, with a Hindu and Sikh cremation memorial, and Muslim graves of the Punjabi Rifles, many from what is now Pakistan, facing towards Mecca.
Yesterday as they prepared for the royal visit, some of the local veterans of the Allied campaign said they were proud of their roles and honored that the Royal family was coming to honour their contribution. "My heart was with the British," said Zharvishe Angami, a 93-year-old veteran who served with the British Assam Regiment. "We had served under the Crown and it is a privilege that someone from the Royal family is coming to recognise the service we gave to the Crown at that time."
Tuochalie Rengma, 85, wore his three medals with pride - the Star of Burma and a British war medal bearing the image of King George VI. "I fought with belief to win the war, and I wanted to fight for the British Raj," he said. According to Mr Angami, the retired curator of the Kohima museum, the historical significance of the battle is receding for young Indians. But for him, it remains an enduring tribute to the sacrifices and commitment of Indians who refused to be subjugated by invaders.
"It's part of our history, we can't deny that fact. Indians went even to Africa [to fight] for King and country. When my father was honoured - with a British Empire Medal - it was for services rendered to the Crown. For me it's an honour that British royalty should come to visit this place. It shows they have not forgotten," he said.
The Daily Telegraph
Set records straight, appeals Naga Hoho Eastern Mirror
DIMAPUR, APR 30 (EMN): While warmly welcoming Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, to Nagaland on behalf of the Naga people, the Naga Hoho has also appealed that His Royal Highness and the British Government: ‘fulfil their dues to the Naga people by setting straight the records of history and affirming that the Nagas were never under any foreign rule till the British entered the Naga areas’.
In a communiqué issued today, the Naga Hoho said it takes the opportunity of the special visit by a member of the British Royal family to bring to his and the British Government’s notice the expectations of the Naga people in reciprocation to the hospitality and the support extended to the then British Empire by the Naga people. “The Naga people under the banner of the Naga Club had submitted a memorandum to the Simon Commission in the year 1929 expressing our desire to live as a people and a nation and not to live under any foreign or alien rule,” it reminded, adding that in the same spirit, the Nagas also declared their Independence on 14th August 1947, a day before free India declared its Independence.
The Naga Hoho pointed out that the struggle for the recognition of the Nagas as a people and nation still continues today while ‘within our communities we strive to maintain and hold on to our unique culture, our way of life, our values and beliefs’. Stating its believe that memories are long, it hoped that the brave warriors of the Naga Hills will not be forgotten by the British Government for all the support and sacrifices made for the British Empire. In this regard, it said the World War Cemetery will perhaps remind His Royal Highness of the crucial role Nagaland and its people have played in World History and History of the British Empire. And towards this, the Naga Hoho said it would also like to appeal to His Highness and the British Government to fulfil their dues to the Naga people by setting straight the records of History and affirming that the Nagas were never under any foreign rule till the British entered the Naga areas.
The Naga Hoho wished the Prince a pleasant and memorable visit to Nagaland.
Prince Andrew arrives today Our Correspondent | EMN KOHIMA, APR 30: Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and the third child of Queen Elizabeth II, will arrive the State capital Kohima on Tuesday. He is likely to reach by 11 am. Hectic preparations are in progress at various locations along the National Highway gates and other areas to accord him a warm welcome.
Sources said he will be visiting the Commonwealth War Graves, better known as Kohima War Cemetery, the first ever by a member of the British royalty, where he will lay a wreath and pay tribute to the World War-II soldiers. Later in the day, a civic reception will be held at the NBCC Convention Centre at 1 pm. He is also likely to visit the popular Naga Heritage Village Kisama and join a private launch.
Heros of 'India's Battle of the Somme' honoured by royal visit Dean Nelson
It is the scene of great acts of heroism and sacrifice – but few beyond a select group of historians, veterans and relatives of the dead will be aware of the gruesome history of the small Indian hill station town of Kohima.


The trenches at Kohima in 1944

Kohima Nestled in the vast country's north-eastern state of Nagaland, it is a place where two Victoria Crosses were won for outstanding bravery, where a 1,000-strong British and Indian force, outnumbered 10 to one, halted the Japanese army's relentless march across Asia.
Blood-soaked battles in April 1944 saw the troops of the Royal West Kent Regiment, with their comrades from the Punjab Rifles and other Indian regiments, under siege on the top of Kohima's Garrison Hill.
Troops fought hand to hand in torrential rain from rat-infested trenches dug on the then British deputy commissioner's clay tennis court.
The two sides were so close that they could lob grenades into each other's strongholds barely 50 feet away and, according to chroniclers of the battle, Allied troops sometimes woke in their monsoon mud trenches with Japanese troops sleeping alongside them.
When the siege of the hill was finally relieved some 45 days after it had begun, British officers were appalled at the conditions in which both Japanese and allied forces had fought and compared it to the
Battle of the Somme. Some of the Japanese soldiers had died of starvation and disease. By then end, more than 4000 allied soldiers were dead, and 5764 Japanese troops had been killed.
Had they lost the Battle of Kohima, Japan would have taken the nearby railhead and air field at Dimapur, then in Assam, and used it as a base to sweep across Bengal.
The heroism of the troops of Kohima has been the stuff of legend but their unique contribution to winning the war was finally recognised by Britain's royal family on Tuesday when the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, visited the town's Commonwealth War Cemetery.
"It's very important for the modern generation, particularly across India, for people to remember and recognise the sacrifice that took place here, because without that sacrifice and that stand then the freedom that we now have … would not have been possible," he said.
The prince, dressed in a white Navy uniform, laid a wreath among the tombstones which now surround the former tennis court, but the words on those granite memorials do not begin to tell the stories of those who lie beneath.
There's Captain John Randle of the Royal Norfolk Regiment. He was wounded by machine gunfire from a Japanese fox hole, but crawled towards it, tossed in a hand grenade and used his body to seal the hole and ensure the maximum number of enemy troops were killed – he too he was killed in the 'suicide mission' and won a Victoria Cross for his bravery.
Lance Corporal John Harman had spurned the likelihood of a commission – his family were the largest landowners on Lundy – and instead joined the Royal West Kents. According to P. Atuo Angami, whose father established the cemetery, Lance Corporal Harman single-handedly destroyed two Japanese machine gun posts before being shot dead as he made to take cover.
The cemetery reflects the extraordinary multiracial, and religious nature of the Allied fighting forces in Asia. There is a section for Gurkhas, Punjabis, Nepalis, Burmese, with a Hindu cremation memorial, and Muslim graves of the Punjabi Rifles, many from what is now Pakistan, facing towards Mecca.
Old local veterans of the Allied campaign told The Daily Telegraph they were proud of their roles and delighted that the Royal Family had finally honoured contribution.
"My heart was with the British," said Zharvishe Angami, a 93-year-old veteran who served with the British Assam Regiment. "We had served under the Crown and it is a privilege that someone from the Royal
Family is coming to recognise the service we gave to the Crown at that time," he added.
Tuochalie Rengma, 85, wore his three medals with pride – the Star of Burma and a British war medal bearing the image of King George V. "I
fought with belief to win the war, and I wanted to fight for the British Raj," he said.
According to Mr Angami, the retired keeper of the Commonwealth War Cemetery, its enduring legacy is as a memorial to the sacrifices and commitment of Indians to a foreign power which had subjugated them.
"It's part of our history, we can't deny that fact. Indians went even to Africa [to fight] for King and country. When my father was awarded the British Empire Medal, the high commissioner told him it was for services rendered to the Crown. For me it's an honour that the British Royalty should come to visit this place, it shows they have not forgotten," he said.
Prince Andrew pays homage at World War II cemetery in Nagaland PTI Hindustan Times
Kohima, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, on Tuesday paid homage to the hundreds of soldiers of the Allied Forces who fell in the fierce battle of Kohima in 1944 in the Second World War, at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Kohima.
Prince Andrew, who is visiting India to commemorate the diamond
jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation, is the first person from the royal family to visit the war cemetery constructed in memory of soldiers of the Allied Forces.
He will also visit the Second World War Museum at Kisama Heritage Village, 12 km south of here, officials said.
The Nagaland government is arranging a civic reception in the honour of the visiting royal later in the day at the convention centre of Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) near the civil secretariat complex.
The apex tribal council Naga Hoho has welcomed Prince Andrew.
In a statement, Hoho president Kevilatuo Kewho and vice president Inaka Assumi said the World War Cemetery would perhaps remind the Prince of the crucial role Nagaland and its people had played in world history and history of the British empire.
"We believe memories are long and for all the support and sacrifices made for the British empire, the brave warriors of the Naga Hills will not be forgotten by the British government," the statement said.
US eases sanctions for Myanmar nonprofit work NZHerald AP
The United States eased financial sanctions against Myanmar on Tuesday to enable private US-based groups to do charity work in the impoverished country.
The announcement by the Treasury Department is the first of a series of rewards from Washington in response to the military-dominated country's by-elections this month that were swept by the opposition party of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The changes are intended to support development and humanitarian assistance. Five decades of military rule turned what was once among the most prosperous nations in Southeast Asia into its poorest.
Treasury eased restrictions on financial transactions in support of private groups working on areas such as democracy-building, health and education, sports and religious activities.
Over the past three years, the Obama administration shifted from the long-standing US policy of isolating Myanmar, and has said it will "meet action with action" - gradually easing sanctions to reciprocate the government's democratic changes.
The US also plans to send a full ambassador for the first time in more than two decades, and to ease restrictions on American investment and the export of other financial services. The US retains tough trade sanctions.
Other Western nations are taking similar steps.
Australia said Monday it will lift financial and travel restrictions covering more than 260 people in Myanmar, including President Thein Sein, but will keep its arms embargo and sanctions against around 130 other people, including military officials.
Next week the European Union is expected to discuss suspending its economic sanctions. Such a step by the EU would put pressure on the US to do likewise, for competitive business reasons.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said the US is likely to ease investment restrictions in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, telecommunications and banking. It would retain bans on sectors such as natural resources and precious stones perceived to be closely linked to the military. Oil, natural gas and timber are major money earners for the country, also known as Burma.
Lifting sanctions entirely will be contingent on government consolidation of the reforms. The military is still the dominant political force in the country, and severe rights abuses still are reported in ethnic minority regions. Despite the release of hundreds of political prisoners in recent months, others remain in detention.
- China plans to rebuild Burma's World War Two 'Stilwell Road' China is to rebuild Burma's historic 'Stilwell Road', the route from India used by British and American forces to supply Chinese troops in the battle against Japanese occupation during the Second World War. The Telegraph UK

The Stilwell Road 1945, showing the first transport convoy from India to China Photo: ALAMY Dean Nelson
The road was named after American General 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell by nationalist China leader Chiang Kai-shek to honour his determination to find a faster way to get more military supplies from India to Chinese troops in Kunming.
Allied forces had been hampered after Japanese troops seized the Burma Road, and were forced to transport supplies to their Chinese allies by air over the Himalayan mountains. US Army engineers started work on the 478 mile road from Ledo in Assam (now in Arunachal Pradesh), India, to Mogaung in Burma in 1942.
With the help of Chinese troops, they cut through the high Pangsau Pass as an alternative route to Burma at Mu-se in January 1945.
General Stilwell was a bitter critic of Winston Churchill's decision to focus Britain's war effort on the fight against German forces in Europe and believed it was more concerned to retain its colonies than to defeat imperial Japan.
The road is now set to be rebuilt by the Yunnan Construction Engineering Company in a joint venture with the Burmese military-backed Yuzana Group.
The deal was signed by Burmese ministers and leaders of the Yunnan Communist Party during a visit to the capital Yangon on November 22 last year. It will build a 194 mile stretch of road from Myitkyina to the Pangsau Pass, close to the Indian border.
Details have now emerged amid growing concern in India about China's territorial claims in Arunachal Pradesh. In recent months tension has grown between New Delhi and Beijing over China's claim to sovereignty over Tawang district, which it claims is part of Tibet. India is also disappointed that its own hopes of constructing the road have been overlooked.
Security commentators however said that while the road could pose a strategic threat to India if relations with China deteriorate, it could also lead to greater trade between India and both Burma and China.
"It could be a good thing or a bad thing. It could serve either trade or military purposes. It was a vital road to China during the Second World War and it remains so. Whether it is good or bad depends on how we take care of our interests," said Vikram Sood, former head of India's main intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing.
Prince Andrew unveils monolith at Kisama WW-II Museum PTI
Kohima, May 1 (PTI) Prince Andrew today unveiled a monolith at the entrance of the World War II Museum at Kisama Heritage Village near this capital town of Nagaland. The monolith was erected to commemorate his day-long visit and mark the presence of the Duke of York in Nagaland, officials said. After visiting the museum, set up in 2009 by the Nagaland government to convey the message about the futility of violence and war, the Duke shook hands with the World War II veterans here numbering around 12 and gave a patient hearing to the war stories and their problems narrated by them. "I will see what I can do," the Prince told the veterans, saying "the whole of India holds you in high esteem, and what you did change the course of history. You took a clear stand and nothing can be said more than that, thank you." His Kohima visit was part of the Prince's week-long tour of India to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's coronation to the British throne. He had also lunch along with British officials accompanying him at Bamboo Hall of Kisama Heritage Complex. The menu included mixed vegetable soup while the main course comprised Nagaland special steamed rice, assorted bread, stuffed potato chops, fish wrapped in spinach, grilled chicken, chicken amsu broth, sliced roasted pork with ginger and roasted beef. The Prince left Kohima in the evening.