Nagalim.NL News

Home » Archives » May 2012 » NSCN-IM says Khole-Kitovi faction trying to sabotage peace talks TNN Times of India

[Previous entry: "Centre to include all three NSCN groups for talks to bring final settlement Naga Journal"] [Next entry: "EU diplomats’ furore unveils more Eastern Mirror"]

05/18/2012: "NSCN-IM says Khole-Kitovi faction trying to sabotage peace talks TNN Times of India"



NSCN-IM says Khole-Kitovi faction trying to sabotage peace talks TNN Times of India

DIMAPUR: In view of the recent political development that NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) has urged the Centre, through MHA joint secretary Shambu Singh, to seek a settlement within the boundary of the so-called Nagaland state, the joint council of the NSCN(IM) stated that the group's move was a "calculated, deliberate step" to sabotage the 14-year negotiations being held between the NSCN and the Centre.
"It is also an assault on the reconciliation process," chief principal secretary of the NSCN(IM) Samson Jajo said. The steering committee and the council of 'kilonsers' of NSCN(IM) on Monday held a joint council meeting and decided to refrain from attending the reconciliation meeting to be held at the highest level from May 21 at Chiang Mai, Thailand, till a clarification is issued to the Naga people by the NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) group. The joint council also opined that the FNR is required to make its position very clear on the matter.
Naga reconciliation meeting to be held in Thailand
Dimapur: With the stand of the NSCN-IM to refrain from participating in the Naga reconciliation meeting to be held in Thailand from May 21, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) said that ‘with all firmness and clarity reiterates its position to work for the reconciliation of Naga national political groups on the basis of the historical and political rights of the Nagas.
On Monday, the NSCN group led by Thuingaleng Muivah and Isak Chisi Swu had accused the Khole-Kitovi led NSCN, also known as GPRN/NSCN of attempting to sabotage the formers 14 year-long peace process.
The NSCN-IM decided to refrain from the Thailand reconciliation meet of the Nagas.
“With the acceptance of FNR as a facilitating body by the various Naga national political groups (Naga underground organisations), the Naga reconciliation process provided opportunities for the Nagas to contemplate and work together for a shared Naga future through non-violence and forgiveness. In 2008, during the Naga Peace Convention organized by the Naga Shisha Hoho, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation was formed with the purpose of bringing the Naga national political groups together for the rights of the Naga people. Today, in 2012, the FNR remains steadfast to this purpose and has not deviated from this principle,” the FNR stated today.
It said on February 29, 2012, during the Naga reconciliation meeting, the Naga public endorsed the resolution wherein it recognized that sovereignty of the Naga people is at the core of the uniqueness of the Naga historical and political rights and affirmed that ‘Nagas are a sovereign people who uphold the principle that sovereignty lies with the people and hence abide by the concept that the will of the people is supreme.” It further emphasized that ‘the historical and political rights of the Naga should form the basis of any political solution. Founded on this premise, any negotiation process must focus on how Nagas can determine, safeguard and exercise their historical and political rights in a contemporary and inter-related world.’ “Finally, the Naga public “called upon all Naga national political groups and the people henceforth, to jointly pursue this common cause of realizing and determining our Naga historical and political rights.” The FNR remains committed and will continue to respect and uphold the resolutions adopted by the Naga people on February 29, 2012,” the FNR added.
During the last Chiang Mai meeting in March 19 to March 23, 2012, the ‘Naga national political groups’ themselves urged the Forum for Naga reconciliation to organize and facilitate the highest level meeting at the earliest, the FNR stated. The proposed highest meeting was to take place over an extended period to ‘hammer out’ all outstanding differences and to work together to respond positively to Naga public demand for all Naga national political groups to reconcile. Based on this expressed commitment, the FNR has proposed the highest level meeting starting from May 21, 2012. The FNR therefore requests all the Naga national political groups to honor their own commitment and to participate in the forthcoming reconciliation meeting, the Forum for Naga reconciliation said on Tuesday.
Nagaland: MHA upset over EU diplomats' 'uninformed' visit Rediff
The home ministry on Monday lodged a protest with the ministry of external affairs over the visit of eight envoys of the European Union to Nagaland without any intimation and security clearance and raised concern on the delegation meeting with political leaders and civil society. Upset over the 'unilateral' decision to allow the diplomats to visit the sensitive northeastern state, the home ministry asked the MEA to tell it the purpose of the visit and wanted to know why security clearance has not been sought before giving permission for the visit as is the normal practice.
Official sources said the delegation, which includes ambassadors of Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia, met Nagaland Chief Secretary, Speaker of the Assembly, leaders of political parties, representatives of several NGOs and businessmen on Sunday.
The envoys also visited Nagaland University and met Governor Nikhil Kumar on Monday. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is hosting a dinner for them on Monday night. Sources said the home ministry was particularly upset over the delegation's meeting with leaders of political parties and civil society members as Nagaland being an insurgency-prone state, such representations could lead to sharing of information which are inimical to country's interests. Besides, sources said, several vested interests were trying to "internationalise" the vexed Naga issue and they may try to exploit the diplomats' visit to highlight it in Europe. PTI
Khole-Kitovi envoy clarifies The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 15 2012: Envoy to the collective leadership of GPRN/NSCN (Khole-Kirovi group) Alezo Venuh has clarified that since the formation of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) in 2008, GPRN/NSCN has been very vocal that a meaningful reconciliation among the Nagas would not be forthcoming as long as IM leadership believe in having reconciliation process and political negotiations running parallel to each other.

Covenant of Reconciliation (COR) was signed to narrow the differences among the Nagas. It was clear from the very outset that Naga reconciliation process was never a bargaining chip for any group to take advantage of.

Reconciliation process includes all sections of Nagas but one cannot say the same about the negotiations between GOI and IM because Nagas are still in the dark about the core demands and the progress or lack of it,the envoy asserted in a press statement.

In many Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings of the COR in the last four years, the general opinion was that since the political talks were not heading in the right direction, negotiations should be kept in abeyance till the Nagas find a common ground to jointly pursue their common political aspiration.

The word 'Nagaland' encompasses all Naga lands irrespective of national or international boundary demarcations.

There is only one Nagaland which is inclusive or Naga areas in Burma, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur or Assam.

Nagaland does not exclude any area or portion of Naga history or people.

This is the position of the GPRN/NSCN on the question of 'Nagaland', it said.

GPRN/NSCN has opened up all diplomatic channels with Naga frontal organisations and tribal hohos including the UNC to brief and be briefed for entrenchment of political and historical rights of the Nagas.

GPRN/NSCN supports the demand of the UNC for it reflects the genuine grievances of the Naga people living in Manipur.

Asking if IM, through UNC is demanding for alternative political arrangement from the GOI, for a secure political future for southern Nagas, the envoy questioned, "Who can stop the Nagas living in Burma, the state of Arunachal Pradesh or Assam or for that matter within the present state of Nagaland from pursuing their political aspirations?" .

The reported Charter of demand submitted to GOI by GPRN/NSCN which was carried in the local dailies is completely baseless since the first step for GPRN/NSCN is to consult the Naga people.

Shambu Singh, the Joint Secretary in-charge of NE, represents the Government of India and initiates the extension of Cease Fire with all groups and has been constantly briefing the centre which is his job.

Charter of demand is altogether a different issue which the GPRN/NSCN shall take up at an appropriate time.

Without seeking the opinion of the people, it would be placing cart before the horse.

If there are technical reasons preventing IM leaders from attending the forthcoming Chiangmai meeting, GPRN/NSCN would understand that accusing the GPRN/NSCN for attempting to sabotage the 14 years negotiations is unwise and uncalled for.

Nagas cannot accept such logic.

FNR is doing all it can to facilitate meeting of Collective Leaders of COR signatories and it is highly unlikely that FNR would need any clarification because its position is the position of the Naga people.

Non attendance of the proposed meet would be a real assault on the FNR.

The credibility and the commitment of the leadership is at stake.
MHA upset over EU diplomats' 'uninformed' visit to Nagaland Eastern Mirror
NEW DELHI The Home Ministry today lodged a protest with the Ministry of External Affairs over the visit of eight envoys of the European Union to Nagaland without any intimation and security clearance and raised concern on the delegation meeting with political leaders and civil society.
Upset over the 'unilateral' decision to allow the diplomats to visit the sensitive North Eastern state, the Home Ministry asked the MEA to tell it the purpose of the visit and wanted to know why security clearance has not been sought before giving permission for the visit as is the normal practice.
Official sources said the delegation, which includes ambassadors of Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia, met Nagaland Chief Secretary, Speaker of the Assembly, leaders of political parties, representatives of several NGOs and businessmen yesterday.
The envoys also visited Nagaland University and met Governor Nikhil Kumar today. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is hosting a dinner for them tonight.
Sources said the Home Ministry was particularly upset over the delegation's meeting with leaders of political parties and civil society members as Nagaland being an insurgency-prone state, such representations could lead to sharing of information which are inimical to country's interests.
Besides, sources said, several vested interests were trying to "internationalise" the vexed Naga issue and they may try to exploit the diplomats' visit to highlight it in Europe. Interestingly, the team apparently described the visit as a familiarisation trip and to explore for investment opportunities in the state as part of the ongoing efforts on enhancing India-EU cooperation in various fields, particularly in trade and investment.
After their return from Nagaland, the Home Ministry may ask the MEA to issue 'note verbale' to the envoys seeking clarifications on their meetings with other than the state government functionaries.
Anyone visiting the three North Eastern states - Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram - is required to take Interline Permit while citizens of China, Pakistan and Myanmar have to apply for Restricted Area Permit (RAP).
Interline Permit is granted by the state government while the RAP is accorded by the state government with due clearance from the Union Home Ministry.
A REPLY TO THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT’S OPPOSITION TO THE E.U. AMBASSADOR’S VISIT TO NAGALAND Kaka D. Iralu
Apart from the many things that the Indian Government has to hide from the rest of the world with regards to Nagaland, the main point for opposing the recent visit of the eight Ambassadors from Europe was the fear that they might internationalize the Naga issue to the world. Now, let the Indian government know very clearly that the Indo- Naga political conflict is not an internal Indian affair of the Home department. It is not an internal Indian affair because the Indo Naga issue had its genesis dating back to Jan. 10, 1929 which is the submission of The Naga Memorandum to the British Simon Commission. This action on the part of the Nagas resulted in the Naga Hills being placed under “Excluded Areas” and therefore outside The Indian Constitution Act of 1935. Besides this historical landmark, the Nagas followed up their stand for sovereignty and independence by submitting another five lengthy memorandums to the departing British Government before the Transfer of Power Act came into operation on 15th August 1947.
These memorandums submitted to both the outgoing British Government and also the incoming new Indian Government were addressed to the following political bodies and officials: (1). Memorandum to the British Cabinet Mission dated April 9, 1946.(2). Memorandum of the case of the Nagas people for self determination and an appeal to Her Majesty’s Government and the Government of India, dated march17, 1947. (3) Letter and copy of the same memorandum to Clement Atlee, Prime minister of England and Winston Churchill, Esquire, dated March 28, 1947.(4). Letter and same copy of the Memorandum to the House of Lords, dated March 27, 1947 and lastly, (5). Memorandum to Her Majesty’s Government through Viceroy Mountbatten dated May 19, 1947. On top of this, ten memorandums clearly stating the Naga stand for full independence were also submitted to Nehru, the Congress Party and the incoming Indian government before India was born on August 15, 1947. As for the declaration of our independence, our flag was hoisted on 14th August 1947 and the U.N. duly informed. (For details, see the Naga Saga p. 40 as well as the appendixes)
Had Nagas started shouting for their independence only after 15th August 1947, the Indo Naga issue would have become an internal Indian affair. But on the contrary, because of all these historical, political and legal actions undertaken by the Nagas through the NNC, the Indo Naga political issue is an international issue and not an internal Indian affair.
We Nagas have done our political, historical and legal home works well and at all the appropriate times in the flow of history. We have also paid very dearly with our lives for defending all these works. All these heroic works have been recorded in books as well as international websites with dates and names. We are therefore not intimidated by any political or military muscle flexing on the part of India or Burma. After all, India and Burma are not the only two nations in the world who can do whatever they like with smaller nations like us and get away with it. The Indo-Naga- Burmese issue is very much an international issue of invasion by brute military force. It will therefore sooner or later come to an international court of justice for an international solution.
Naga Reconciliation The moment for decisiveness
The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) with all firmness and clarity reiterates its position is to work for the reconciliation of Naga national political groups on the basis of the historical and political rights of the Nagas. With the acceptance of FNR as a facilitating body by the various Naga national political groups, the Naga Reconciliation process provided opportunities for the Nagas to contemplate and work together for a shared Naga future through non-violence and forgiveness. In 2008, during the Naga Peace Convention organized by the Naga Shisha Hoho, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation was formed with the purpose of bringing the Naga national political groups together for the rights of the Naga people. Today, in 2012, the FNR remains steadfast to this purpose and has not deviated from this principle.

On February 29, 2012, during the Naga Reconciliation Meeting, the Naga public endorsed the resolution wherein it recognized “that sovereignty of the Naga people is at the core of the uniqueness of the Naga historical and political rights” and affirmed that “Nagas are a sovereign people who uphold the principle that sovereignty lies with the people and hence abide by the concept that the will of the people is supreme.” It further emphasized that “the historical and political rights of the Naga should form the basis of any political solution. Founded on this premise, any negotiation process must focus on how Nagas can determine, safeguard and exercise their historical and political rights in a contemporary and inter-related world.” Finally, the Naga public “called upon all Naga national political groups and the people henceforth, to jointly pursue this common cause of realizing and determining our Naga historical and political rights.” The FNR remains committed and will continue to respect and uphold the resolutions adopted by the Naga people on February 29, 2012.

During the last Chiang Mai meeting in March 19-23, 2012, the Naga national political groups themselves urged the Forum for Naga Reconciliation to organize and facilitate the highest level meeting at the earliest. The proposed highest meeting was to take place over an extended period to ‘hammer out’ all outstanding differences and to work together to respond positively to Naga public demand for all Naga national political groups to reconcile. Based on this expressed commitment, the FNR has proposed the highest level meeting starting from May 21, 2012. The FNR therefore requests all the Naga national political groups to honor their own commitment and to participate in the forthcoming reconciliation meeting. Forum for Naga Reconciliation

Home ministry objects to EU delegation's Nagaland visit without security clearance Vishwa Mohan, TNN
NEW DELHI: Union home ministry on Monday strongly objected to the visit of a group of ambassadors from seven European countries to Nagaland without taking security clearance from the Centre.
The home ministry shot off a letter to the ministry of external affairs, asking under what circumstances it gave permission to the group of ambassadors to visit the northeastern state without getting the mandatory security clearance. Although the visit is reportedly described as a familiarization trip, the diplomats also met political parties leaders in the state --- which drew objection from the home ministry. Sources in the home ministry said the MEA which gave the permission to the group of ambassadors to visit Nagaland have now been asked why the delegation met politicians and other private persons including those associated with some NGOs as it was not part of their agenda.
" MEA may have to send a note to all the seven ambassadors, asking for clarification", said an official. Ambassadors of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary , Poland and Slovakia and a member from European Union are on tour to Nagaland. They were expected to explore investment opportunities in Nagaland as part of the ongoing efforts on enhancing India-EU cooperation in various fields.
European Union ambassadors meet Nagaland political parties Naga Journal
KOHIMA: The eight European ambassadors, who are on a 3-day visit to the state, on Monday met leaders of the political parties in Nagalandat the assembly committee hall.
Welcoming the diplomats, speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie said it was a rare occasion for leaders of political parties and legislators of Nagaland to have an interaction with the ambassadors of European countries.
Stating that their visit would be a milestone in the history of Nagas, higher and technical education minister and president of ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) Shurhozelie informed the diplomats about the challenges of economic development in the state.
CLP leader Tokheho Yepthomi highlighted the economic backwardness in the state and hoped that the visit of Europeans ambassadors would result in some outcomes towards easing such problem.
The visitors said that the objective of their visit is to understand the Indian diversity and to familiarise with Nagaland better and its challenges of socio-economic development in particular. Led by EU ambassador Joao Cravinho, seven top diplomats from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Poland and Slovakia arrived here yesterday on their three-day visit to Nagaland.
Hope they will do something for the good of the Naga people. Please don't loot away anything on the pretext of rescuing the Nagas. Best wishes to the team and the Nagas.
European Union ambassadors meet Nagaland political parties
KOHIMA: The eight European ambassadors, who are on a 3-day visit to the state, on Monday met leaders of the political parties in Nagalandat the assembly committee hall.
Welcoming the diplomats, speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie said it was a rare occasion for leaders of political parties and legislators of Nagaland to have an interaction with the ambassadors of European countries.
Stating that their visit would be a milestone in the history of Nagas, higher and technical education minister and president of ruling Naga People’s Front (NPF) Shurhozelie informed the diplomats about the challenges of economic development in the state.
CLP leader Tokheho Yepthomi highlighted the economic backwardness in the state and hoped that the visit of Europeans ambassadors would result in some outcomes towards easing such problem. The visitors said that the objective of their visit is to understand the Indian diversity and to familiarise with Nagaland better and its challenges of socio-economic development in particular.
Led by EU ambassador Joao Cravinho, seven top diplomats from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Poland and Slovakia arrived here yesterday on their three-day visit to Nagaland.
PM of India says consensus needed on Naga solution’ morungexpress

Kohima, The Prime Minister of India has reportedly told Nagaland Congress leaders that the government of India is committed to finding an early solution to the Naga political problem but one that would come only with consensus from all the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies and the Opposition political parties as well.

Addressing a general meeting of the Pughoboto Assembly Congress Constituency Committee today at Pughoboto town hall some 50 km from Kohima, Leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Tokheho Yepthomi said the Congress is hopeful of an early solution to the protracted Naga political problem as the ruling UPA was committed to resolving it. However, he insisted that the ruling Naga Peoples’ Front (NPF) contribute to the ongoing peace process ‘rather than pay lip-service’.

Congress leaders from Nagaland who had met Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh and several top key policymakers in New Delhi said the Centre was committed to finding an early resolution of the issue, the CLP leader said. The problem, however, is that the United Progressive Alliance is a coalition government and needs consensus of all its allies, the Prime Minister reportedly told the Naga Congress leaders. The Centre had also told the Nagaland Congress leaders and other Naga leaders that solution to the Naga problem needed consensus of all political parties in the Parliament, including the oppositions, Tokheho stated.

Tokheho also regretted that the ruling NPF has ‘strained relationship’ with all major political parties at the Centre, including the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said Rio should not have ‘forced’ the BJP and NCP legislators to merge with NPF ‘if he was sincere and committed to facilitate the Naga peace process as used to claim.’ The BJP and NCP legislators were partners of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) and could have played a pivotal role to facilitate the peace process by convincing their respective party leaders at the centre, the CLP leader explained.

The Congress leader also flayed the Naga MPs for being inactive at the Centre; they have failed to project Naga issue at the platform, he said. Suggesting that the Congress has gone far ahead of the NPF in Naga political issue, Tokheho asked NPF to be more practical and contribute equally toward finding a solution to the Naga issue. He rebutted NPF’s promise of early solution to the Naga problem in March 2003 state general elections but which was never fulfilled till date making mockery of the issue.

Another congress lawmaker Joshua Sumi said the Congress, which was branded “anti-Naga” by certain people has to step in to facilitate the peace process. He said NPF had assured Nagas of solution at the earliest but has now entered 10 years in power. The solution has eluded the people and now the Congress has to step in to break the ice, Sumi said. He also said that the demand for a separate state by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization was due to ‘gross negligence’ of the backward areas by the ruling NPF.

The CLP leader also pulled up the NPF government for alleged rampant corruption and siphoning off public funds. He said corruption has reached its peak and that Naga society has been turned into haves and have-not by the current state government.
Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as the MGNREGS, SSA and RMSA have also been grossly misused, not forgetting the 6th pay commission. The CLP leader also disapproved the NPF government’s decision to involve Naga organisations and church leaders in the working system of the government. He asked organisations to know their own limitations and responsibilities. The Congress leader was reacting to Naga organisations being involved in the decision makings of the government like DPDB. He said there was clear demarcation of responsibilities of government and organisations.
'Nagaland encompasses all Naga areas' Times of India
DIMAPUR: NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) on Wednesday said that the word 'Nagaland' encompasses all 'Naga lands', irrespective of national or international boundary demarcations.
"There is only one Nagaland, which is inclusive of Naga areas in Burma, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur or Assam. Nagaland does not exclude any area or portion of Naga history or people. This is our position on the question of 'Nagaland'," Alezo Venuh, envoy to collective leadership, NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) said.
Stating that his outfit has opened up all diplomatic channels with Naga frontal organizations and tribal hohos, including the United Naga Council (UNC), to brief and be briefed for entrenchment of political and historical rights of the Nagas, Alezo said NSCN (Khole-Kitovi) supports the demand of the UNC for it reflects the genuine grievances of the Naga people living in Manipur.
"If NSCN(IM), through UNC, is demanding an alternative political arrangement from the Government of India for a secure political future for southern Nagas, who can stop the Nagas living in Burma, Arunachal Pradesh or Assam, or for that matter within the present state of Nagaland, from pursuing their political aspirations?," he asked.
Clarifying its position on the reconciliation process, the outfit said that since the formation of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation ( FNR), the NSCN, led by Khole and Kitovi, has been very vocal that a meaningful reconciliation among the Nagas would not be forthcoming as long as the NSCN(IM) leadership believed in running the reconciliation process and political negotiations parallel to each other.
"The Covenant of Reconciliation (COR) was signed to decrease the differences among Nagas. It was clear from the very outset that the Naga reconciliation process was never a bargaining chip for any group to take advantage of. The reconciliation process includes all sections of Nagas but one cannot say the same about the negotiations between the Government of India and the NSCN(IM) because the Nagas are still in the dark about the core demands and the progress or, rather, the lack of it," the envoy said.
Alezo further disclosed that in many Joint Working Group (JWG) meetings of the COR in the last four years, the general opinion was that since the political talks were not heading in the right direction, negotiations should be kept in abeyance till the Nagas found a common ground to jointly pursue their common political aspirations.
On the reported 'Charter of Demands' submitted to the Government of India by the outfit, Alezo said that it is completely baseless since the first step for them is to consult the Naga people.
About the NSCN(IM) refraining from attending the meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand on May 21, NSCN(Khole-Kitovi) said if there are technical reasons preventing the NSCN(IM) leaders from attending the forthcoming meeting, the outfit would understand. They, however, said the NSCN(IM)'s attempt to sabotage the 14 years of negotiations is unwise.
Nagaland visit was cleared by Indian govt: EU diplomats India Today
Unfazed by the threat of being served with notes verbales, the ambassadors from some European countries visiting Nagaland on Monday claimed that their trip was cleared by the Indian government and all its concerned departments.

The envoys reacted to the reports of the face-off between the ministry of home affairs (MHA) and the ministry of external affairs (MEA) over their trip to the north-eastern state. They said they finalised their travel plans only after getting the necessary clearances.
MEA sources also said that the necessary clearances from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the state government were taken in writing before the envoys proceeded on the trip.

Rules require that the MEA asks the MHA for security clearance before permitting foreign nationals to travel to the North East. Claiming its violation, the MHA had on Monday sent a letter seeking explanation from the MEA. It had also asked the MEA to issue a note verbale to the ambassadors.

The ambassadors of seven countries -- Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Poland and Slovakia -- and a member of European Union (EU) were in Nagaland. On Sunday, they had visited few important places in Kohima, including the police headquarters, and later had an interaction with the state officials. A special dinner was hosted by the state's chief secretary in the honour of the diplomats at the Heritage Bungalow.
Nagaland may be put under PAP regime Manan Kumar DNA
New Delhi Nagaland and some other northeastern states may again be put under the Protected Area Permit (PAP) regime, thanks to the recent row between the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of home affairs over the ongoing visit of European ambassadors to the state without securing security clearance.
The MHA’s concerns emanate from the fact that the European delegation, reportedly on a familiarisation trip to explore investment opportunities in Nagaland, besides meeting political parties also had detailed talks with organisations like Naga Hoho council, Eastern Naga Public Organisation, Naga Mother’s Association and Naga Student’s Federation.
Some of these organisations are considered close to the philosophy of Naga insurgent groups. Though the MHA has conveyed its concerns to the MEA , there is a growing feeling within the security establishment that such mistakes cannot be avoided and re-imposition of the PAP regime is the only answer to save the sensitive geo-political region from blunders.
To promote tourism, the PAP regime under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958 was relaxed for the first time in Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoramwith effect from Jan 1, 2011 on yearly review basis. It was relaxed again this January.
Relaxation in PAP norms allows foreigners to visit Nagaland and other N-E states, barring Arunachal and Sikkim, without the mandatory permission of the MHA.
MHA in tussle with MEA over European envoys' Nagaland visit India Today

The Ministry of Home Affairs complex, North Block, New Delhi
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday sent a letter seeking an explanation from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over how eight envoys from various European nations were cleared for a visit to Nagaland, without security clearances.

The MHA has asked the MEA to issue a note verbale to the ambassadors.

The ambassadors of seven countries -- Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Germany, Poland and Slovakia -- and a member of European Union (EU) visted the north eastern state.

Rules require that the MEA asks the MHA for security clearance before permitting foreign nationals to travel to the North East.

On Sunday, the diplomats visited few important places in Kohima, including the police headquarters, and later had an interaction with state officials. A special dinner was hosted by the state's chief secretary in honour of the diplomats at the Heritage Bungalow.

Ignore Manipur govt’s governance – UNC reiterates Morung Express

Dimapur,The United Naga Council of Manipur (UNC) has issued a statement today directing all Naga peoples and their organizations in the Naga areas in Manipur state not to “entertain” any Manipur government leader and even apparatuses and figures of governance.

The UNC issued the statement notifications in reiteration of the organization’s July 1, 2010 declaration of the Naga People’s Convention.

The UNC reiterated that no tribal, range and village level organisations and individuals should “entertain/associate” with the nominated, elected, uncontested ‘MDCs’ who “defied the Naga people’s call through the UNC not to participate in the imposed ADC election of 2010.” This directive may be strictly implemented in letter and spirit by all concerned, the UNC stated.

Further, the council said there is no objection or intent to disturb any development works in the Naga areas which can very well be supervised and monitored by the designated officials/professionals and also by the Naga public. “However, no ministers or MLAs of the ruling party of the Government of Manipur would be welcomed in the Naga areas. Their presence is not required and development works can proceed without their intrusion and definitely better without their interference.”

All frontal organisations, tribe organisations, range and village level organisations and individuals are directed not to entertain or associate with or confer recognition or provide public platform to the ministers of Manipur state and also to Naga MLAs and ministers who defied the resolution of the joint meeting of the United Naga Council, frontal organisations and political parties held on December 15, 2011.

On developmental programs, the UNC stated that the NREGS is a programme intended to empower the villages with direct funding through wages for man-days of labour. “When the funds are supposed to be directly given to the villages, the GoM is trying to hoodwink the tribals by using middlemen, the MDCs to handle 25% of the funds. This is not devolution of power but deprivation of the powers of the village councils/chiefs, who take care of the administration in the village,” the UNC stated.

All village chiefs/authorities are directed to reject and disallow the “design of the GoM to deduct 25% of the NREGS fund and to divert the same to the ADCs when 100% of the funds is fully due to the villages.”

The UNC asserted that “in the guise of development of public facilities and infrastructures”, the Manipur government is trying to ‘encroach upon tribal lands by obtaining documents for transfer of land to the GoM.’

The organization stated in one length – “The protection against land alienation of the tribals is vested in the Hill Area Committee under 371C of the Indian constitution. All village authorities are therefore directed not to transfer ownership of any area of land in their jurisdiction to the state government for any purpose, be it under the SSA, EGS programme or any other development programmes although they can rightly allot required areas of land for construction of school complexes or other infrastructures and stand continuing guarantee for usage of the land for the purpose for which it was allotted.” All in concern are asked to stringently ‘follow up the above directives in their respective jurisdictions.’
Give clarification on EU Naga visit: BJP to Govt Zee News
New Delhi: Raising serious concerns over the recent visit by ambassadors of eight nations of the European Union to Nagaland in violation of norms, BJP on Wednesday sought a clarification from the Government on the issue and steps taken by it.

Raising the issue in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, Tarun Vijay (BJP) said even though the ambassadors were the country's guests, they could not violate the rules of the land by visiting certain areas without prior permission and meeting church leaders in a bid to internationalise the situation there.

He said the Home Ministry has also raised objections to the their visit to Nagaland without permission and written to the External Affairs Minister expressing concerns over the matter, saying they were attempting to internationalise the internal situation in Nagaland.

The BJP member also pointed out that the ambassadors proposed to visit Arunachal Pradesh and said Government must intervene to stop them (ambassadors) from visiting such areas where they are not allowed.

"Government should give some clarification," he said, adding that even where Indians are not allowed to travel without inner-line permits, how can foreign emissaries be allowed.

He said the EU envoys were reported to have gone there on the pretext of development, but said they have not talked about development and were instead reported to be talking about the political situation and unrest locally.
PTI
MHA-MEA Showdown Seven Sisters Post
If India is a nation, why shouldn’t we able to feed the starving tribals of Kalahandi with the surplus grain of Punjab? What is the idea of a nation if we cannot cross-leverage our strengths and cover our weaknesses? And if we are a democracy, obviously the world’s most populous if not the best in terms of institutionalised practices, why should we try and hide the realities of our regions? Why should our home ministry feel upset if our external affairs ministry plans to take a few European diplomats to take a first hand stock of the Naga peace process? After all, this was a planned “familiarisation trip” organised b y the MEA and the diplomats were clearly not free to b ranch off on their own and meet anybody outside the settled schedule. If the 1986 Mizoram peace accord is India’s big success story in Northeast because peace has held in the state and there has been no recurrence of Mizo insurgency, the Naga peace process is also some kind of a success story of realpolitiik because India has managed to get the leaders of South Asia’s oldest insurgent groups on the table and they have not gone back to the jungles in spite of the fact that a settlement has not yet emerged after 15 years of negotiations. But is it not reflective of the strength of the Indian polity that some of the region’s toughest battle-hardened tribal insurgents with a histor y of training in China have not given up hope of a settlement in spite of the huge delays involved!
There are reasons to suspect that the showdown over the planned trip of the European diplomats to Northeast is a typical turf battle between the mandarins of two heavyweight ministries whose perspective on many Indian issues are different. The home ministry’s bureaucracy is intelligence-driven and highly securitised and it sees a security threat to the great Indian Union at the drop of a hat. So, it is only to be expected that the home ministry will feel uncomfortable with diplomats going to Northeast. It even stops foreign researchers and academics from visiting the region for field trips. Even foreign media is checked from coming so that they don’t get to know what is happening here. But how silly these calculations are? The Indian media is free and publications such as Seven Sisters Post, which just completed six months, are around to reveal all and conceal none. The foreign media and researchers, diplomats and policy makers can always source a mine of information about Northeast from the “open sources”. Which is why the US Open Source Centre actually employs Indian analysts to put together press reviews from Northeast and treat this as an important source of information. So there is nothing that is hidden about the Northeast and the home ministry cannot do anything about it in real terms. But it feels it can it can augment national security by denying diplomats a trip to Nagaland or denying them access to the civil society. Our civil society is our greatest strength, these are the groups who have undermined the separatist constituency in Northeast by creating a constituency for peace. So if foreign diplomats meet Naga mothers, Naga students or Naga women or human rights bodies, they may hear some complaints about delays in peace processes, against home ministry bureaucrats for their divisive games. But these are the Nagas who will not speak against India because they have reposed their faith in peace — and in a solution with India.
After Laldenga was elected chief minister in 1987 following the Mizo accord the previous year, the home ministry itself brought a team of foreign journalists, mostly South Asia bureau chiefs of leading US, UK, French and German dailies, to Mizoram to witness the success story of the Indian state in Northeast. Of how a rebel leader who has fought India for twenty years then becomes the chief minister of an Indian state. What better example of forgive and forget and make up? But that was a home ministry in a mood for genuine reconciliation working to a Prime Minister who was determined to arrive at settlements and solve long-term problems. Not a home ministry under a minister who believes in using peace for war, negotiations not for conflict resolution but for dividing and derailing the perceived antagonists. The Nagas are unfortunate that they missed the bus in the late eighties when a young Prime Minister was in a rush for peace and political settlements. But it is important for India, as much as the Nagas, to push for peace and settlement after sixty years of fighting — a settlement based on appreciation of ground realities. Allowing foreign diplomats or journalists only helps us showcase our democracy, not the other way round, because it carries home the message back to the West that here is a huge country which is bravely trying to resolve impossible problems without losing faith in democracy.
Diplomats in Nagaland without ‘clearance’, Home Ministry upset
Express news service
New Delhi, The ongoing visit of some European diplomats to Nagaland without mandatory security clearance has upset the Union Home Ministry, which has communicated its displeasure to the Ministry of External Affairs and sought to know how the visit was approved without its consent.
Foreign nationals are required to take Protected Area Permit to travel to Nagaland — apart from some other parts of the country. This is issued by the Home Ministry or its designated agencies in those places. What has irked the Home Ministry more is that these diplomats have been meeting political parties and some NGOs which, in an insurgency-prone area like Nagaland, can prove to be counter-productive.
The Home Ministry is said to be concerned that some insurgent groups could utilise these interactions to further efforts to internationalise the Nagaland issue.
The ambassadors of Germany, Poland, Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia and representatives from the European Union arrived in Nagaland on Sunday on a three-day visit. The stated objective is to explore investment opportunities in the state as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between India and the EU.
They have already met Governor Nikhil Kumar, business groups and some leaders of political parties. They are slated to meet Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio as well. The Home Ministry has asked the MEA to seek clarification from the ambassadors about their interactions other than those with government functionaries.
India may face caste heat at UNHRC meet Times of India
NEW DELHI: As India prepares for its universal periodic review at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on May 24, it will be New Delhi's turn to come under global scrutiny, particularly on caste as a persistent form of discrimination in the country.

India will resist, saying that the caste system, no matter how reprehensible, is not a form of racism and that the nation has a large system of affirmative action to correct these social ills. Indian officials maintain that these campaigns smack of a political agenda.

Already international human rights groups are preparing to hold India's feet to the fire on a number of issues, including torture, sexual abuse, etc. Leading the charge, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued its first statement. "UN member states should make ending caste-based discrimination a priority when they review India's human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council in late May 2012," HRW and the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) said.

"Numerous UN human rights bodies and civil society groups are demanding that the Indian government move from promises to action to improve the lives of people who have long endured horrific discrimination."

"It would be a great injustice to over 160 million Dalits in India if the UN review of India's human rights record does not directly and comprehensively address serious concerns for the ongoing human rights violations against them," said Julie de Rivero, HRW's advocacy director. "India all too often sweeps caste discrimination under the rug," said Rikke Nohrlind, coordinator of IDSN. "The upcoming UN review provides an opportunity for the Indian government to demonstrate a genuine commitment to address the full extent of this problem. UN member states have an obligation to demand that the rights of those discriminated against on the basis of caste not be ignored."

HRW will demand that India be taken to task for non-implementation of its UPR Recommendation 1 to expedite ratification of the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol. India, they say, also failed to implement UPR recommendation 12 to ratify the Convention against Enforced Disappearance.

India has been clashing repeatedly with human rights organizations on issues like caste and other human rights violations.

‘MEA goofed up on EU envoys’ Naga trip’ Hindustan Times
Peeved over a ‘goof-up’ that led to the clearance of a trip to Nagaland by eight envoys of the European Union, the Union home ministry lodged a protest with the external affairs ministry.

“The due process was not followed. Without realising the sensitiveness of the situation in
Nagaland, someone in the MEA gave a go-ahead to the trip,” said a senior home ministry official.
“Our concern is that we should have been consulted. We don’t even know their agenda and who all this delegation will meet. We will now examine the damage if there has been any,” the official added, hinting at a possibility that there may have been one more attempt to ‘internationalise’ the Nagaland situation.
Nagaland has been home to a raging insurgency for more than half a century although one of the main insurgent organisations — the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) — is currently involved in protracted negotiations with the government.
The group, led by EU ambassador Joao Cravinho, included top diplomats from the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
Besides meeting state governor Nikhil Kumar and the state’s top political leadership and bureaucrats, they are also expected to meet civil society representatives from the Naga Hoho, Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation, Naga Mothers’ Association, Eastern Nagaland Women Organisation, Eastern Nagaland Students’ Federation and Naga Students’ Federation.
Anyone visiting Nagaland is required to take an Innerline Permit while Chinese, Pakistani and Myanmarese visitors have to apply for a Restricted Area Permit (RAP). Interestingly, the team described the visit as a familiarisation trip to explore investment opportunities.
Govt recognizes Naga tribal bodies, Rio tells envoys Press Trust of India
The Nagaland government accorded due importance to civil societies in the development process in the state, visiting EU ambassadors were told by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
Representatives from tribal hohos in each district were included in District Planning and Development Board (DPDB), involving them in the planning process from the grassroot level, an official release said today.
The diplomats, during an interaction yesterday, were informed about village councils, village development boards (VDB) implementing rural development schemes and projects. He said many states have emulated the decentralization model of development and communitisation programme and the state even had received the UNDP innovation award.
The chief minister also briefed them about functioning of customary courts in districts, pointing out that such traditional justice delivery system saved both time and money, the release said.
Rio said that Nagaland was endowed with huge potential for tourism development, but for a very long time the Centre did not encourage people to visit the state because of the Naga political problem.
But with the relaxation of the restricted area permit tourist inflow was getting better now, he said.
The chief minister said that the economic development and growth in the state solely depended on early resolution of the Naga political conflict and a permanent solution to the vexed problem was the prime concern of Nagas.
The envoys were told about the state's initiatives in promoting rural and cultural tourism, particularly the annual Hornbill Festival in the first week of December at Kohima where all the 16 tribes showcased their cultural heritage.
As a token gesture, the chief minister presented a set of informative books on Nagaland and a Naga shawl to each of the visitors.
The Union Home ministry yesterday expressed strong reservation over the visiting diplomats meeting Naga civil society groups
EU envoys meet Nagaland Guv, CM amidst controversy PTI
Kohima, May 15 (PTI) Diplomats of European countries have called on Nagaland Governor Nikhil Kumar and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio amidst a controversy in New Delhi over their 'uninformed' visit to the North Eastern state. The diplomats discussed possibilities of enhancing cooperation between India and EU in various fields pertaining to the N-E region and Nagaland in particular during their meetings with Kumar and Rio yesterday, official sources said. The envoys, who visited the state museum and other places of tourist interest today, however, refused to make any comment on their visit to the state. "Since our visit has created some controversies, we do not like to make any comment now", EU Ambassador to India Joao Cravinho, who led a team of eight diplomats to Nagaland, told reporters with a smile. "We are overwhelmed by the wonderful hospitality and enjoyed our trip to Nagaland" was the only comment he offered. During the meeting with the governor at the Raj Bhavan, the envoys talked on various issues including the on-going Naga peace process, official sources said today. Underlining the importance of India's Look East Policy, the envoys said it was equally important to take into consideration the 'West' in the same policy, the sources said. The ambassadors also met the chief minister and his council of ministers and discussed wide ranging issues for enhancing bilateral cooperation between the EU and India and how Nagaland could be part of this process, the sources said. MORE
THE TWO BURMAS: Liberalisation in Burma Proper and continued armed conflicts in ethnic homelands Sai Wansai Shan Herald

Now that Aung San Suu Kyi and National League for Democracy (NLD) have yielded to the pressure of the NLD voters, including other opposition and ethnic parties within the parliament, and have taken oath and entered the fray on Wednesday, the stage for further political reconciliation, bargaining and adjustment would likely proceed, as envisioned by all stakeholders.
Suu Kyi has held her ground that the 2008 Constitution remains the military drafted one, which does not represent the majority’s political aspiration. And as such, she is determined to amend it according to NLD’s election campaign promise and make it more democratic.
The row on taking oath is to drive home the point that she and the NLD are not keen to “protect and uphold” the military drafted constitution, for they don’t see eye to eye with it and can’t possibly follow the oath literally. In other words, they are not willing to die defending the military supremacy constitution, which they neither have part nor agree with it, but involving in the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) or military game plan for the sole purpose of amending it to be in line with democratic principles. In any case, the message of uneasiness to go along with the oath taking, without the change of wording, is being heard loud and clear, domestically and internationally.
Seen from this perspective, Suu Kyi has been able to highlight the undemocratic aspect of the constitution and her party’s desire for genuine change, even though the boycott lasted for just two weeks or so.
Nevertheless, it is fair to say that NLD’s oath taking has given hope that, at least, partial democratic process, with an added vocal opposition party entering the political arena would lend increased legitimacy for the regime and become the order of the day.
While this episode has create hope that the better change for the country could now be realised, the ongoing war in Kachin and Shan states blurs the optimistic view and create a dim picture of doubtfulness to achieve real reconciliation, within the mould of “unity in diversity”.
According to Irrawaddy’s report on 25 April, the IDP population is about one and half million and there are around 150,000 refugees along the Thai-Burmese border. Kachin News Group (KNG), in its recent report estimates the displaced population for around 70,000 in Kachin state, due to the armed conflict that has started for about a year ago. Refugee International, in its “Current Humanitarian Situation” report writes that there are 800,000 displaced Muslims in western Burma and approximately 3 million refugees from Burma forced to flee Burma to neighbouring countries.
While there are no comprehensive figures of the number of people internally displaced due to armed conflict or human rights violations in Burma, it is evident that the scale of humanitarian crisis is alarming and worrisome, to put it mildly.
All these actually boil down to the failed political strategy and twisted vision of the successive military regimes, which have embarked on racial supremacy policy to coercively integrate, assimilate or Burmanized all the non-Burman ethnic groups.
And to implement the said policy, institutionalised assimilation measures like cultural genocide and the military’s “Four-Cuts” strategy were used to counter the ethnic resistance forces, leading to gross human rights abuses and humanitarian crises, which the world is witnessing today.
The “Four-Cuts” strategy developed in the 1970s is designed to cut off access to food, funds, information and recruitment, often with devastating consequences. The strategy, which is also known as sweeping the area or “No Man's Land” policy, was to execute anyone, including children, who were found in areas of military operations.
Tragically, implementation of the failed policy of ethnic subjugation is still in place, as the ongoing armed conflict continues to rage on in Kachin and Shan states, under the regime of President Thein Sein.
While it is clearly an achievement that Naypyitaw has signed ceasefire agreements with 12 ethnic armed groups, pending meaningful political dialogue and settlement, the fragile truce could break down, if the Burmese military in the field refuses to follow the President’s directive to halt the offensive and maintain truce.
Shan report on 01 May writes: “Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), said it had been attacked at least 14 times since the ceasefire agreement was signed on 2 December 2011, but the Shan State Progress Party / Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) disclosed that it had been forced to fight 13 clashes with the Burma Army since 28 January this year when it signed the ceasefire agreement”.
Again, according to SHAN report on 02 May, a Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) high official who asked not to be named reasoned that the Tatmadaw (Armed Forces) is both constitutionally and actually “above the government”. To prove his point he said that Kachin State Minister for Border and Security Affairs Col Than Aung reports directly to the Northern Region Command and not to the Kachin State chief minister; and Naypyitaw chief negotiator U Aung Thaung was quoted as saying the Tatmadaw’s commander-in-chief is above the defence minister in order of precedence.
“He even conceded that the NDSC (National Defence and Security Council) is higher than the union government,” the official said.
Last, but not least, the Tatmadaw took an independent decision to attack the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
“For these reasons, for a negotiation to succeed, participation of Tatmadaw representatives empowered to make decisions is a must,” he said.
And so it seems that to achieve result Naypyitaw is changing its stance by involving the military in a newly restructured peace-negotiating team.
According to Reuter’s report of 30 April, President Thein Sein appointed a new negotiating team as negotiator Aung Thaung failed to reach a ceasefire agreement with the KIO. The Rail Transportation Minister Aung Min, who is also one of the chief negotiators of the regime, announced that a new 50-member team led by Vice-President Mauk Kham would now be in charge of talks with the KIO. Accordingly, the new team will comprise many members including senior army officers, parliamentary lawmakers and state chief ministers and will be led by a vice president.
But one of the Kachin rebel officials, according to AFP report, on 03 May, claimed that the move was merely a "game" for the sake of "showing an ethnic face" in the government side.
Meanwhile, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an umbrella organisation comprised of 11 armed ethnic groups that was created to negotiate with the government at union-level meetings, arrived in Japan on 25 April at the invitation of the Japanese government to discuss about the on-going peace process and humanitarian aid in ethnic conflict zones.
UNFC Vice President and Karen National Union’s Vice-Chairman Saw David Thackapaw reportedly urged the Japanese government to help realised the non-Burman ethnic groups’ aspiration of genuine federalism, for democratisation alone won’t be able to deliver a lasting peace.
On 26 April, AFP reported that the US ruled out an immediate end to its main sanctions on Burma, saying it wanted to preserve leverage to push the regime on ending ethnic violence and other key issues.
Kurt Campbell, a key architect of the US outreach to Burma, who is the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, told lawmakers that there is no intention to lift sanctions.
“We recognise very clearly that there have to be provisions and capabilities to be able to respond if there is a reversal or a stalling out (of reforms), that leverage is an essential component of our strategy,” he said.
Campbell pointed out that Naypyitaw’s reforms have mostly impacted urban and Burman-majority areas and have not benefited ethnic nationalities’ areas, which have been marred by long-running armed ethnic conflicts.
“We need to ensure that that process extends into the country as a whole and we are troubled by very clear – and we believe reliable – reports of continuing attacks and atrocities that are completely antithetical to the overall effort that we’re seeking to achieve,” he said.
The EU and Canada have suspended most sanctions and Japan waived Burma’s debt as rewards after a dramatic year of reforms in which President Thein Sein freed political prisoners and reached out to opponents.
And so the last crucial stumbling block for the lifting of financial sanctions, which will enable the regime to tap into international financial institutions, is the inability to resolve the ongoing ethnic conflicts. Naypyitaw cannot go on with its “Two Burmas” policy of measured liberalisation in Burma Proper and waging suppression wars in non-Burman ethnic areas forever.
President Thein Sein has shown willingness and courage, by making a bold peace initiative to end the conflict, that he could go beyond the acquired military mindset of racial supremacy doctrine. It is also time for the military top brass to follow suit.
Hopefully, President Thein Sein’s latest restructuring of peace-negotiating team, with the participation of the military, will be able to deliver more, unlike the previous set up, so that all could proceed with the task of reconciliation, democratisation and development.
The contributor is the General Secretary of Shan Democratic Union (SDU) - Editor
India’s globalization discontent M K Bhadrakumar, specially for RIR
The complexities of India's tryst with globalization and its bonhomie with the West become highly disputed within the international community.

Getty Images/Fotobank
A current tour by a group of European Union ambassadors based in New Delhi to the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland has blown up into a heated exchange between the security and foreign policy wings of the Indian establishment. The Indian security apparatus feels agitated that the foreign-policy establishment unilaterally allowed the European delegation to proceed with the tour without observing the stipulated guidelines regarding visits by foreigners to sensitive regions of India.
India’s home ministry, like interior ministries the world over, traditionally takes a conservative stance on such issues than the external affairs ministry, and generally speaking, it gets away with it since it is supposed to be in the driving seat on issues affecting national security and is believed to be ‘down-to-earth’ whereas diplomats are usually considered to be flippant people with their heads in the clouds most of the time and obsessed with fanciful ideas of spreading petals of goodwill no matter the fragrance is lacking.
In the case of India’s northeast region, the ‘sensitivity’ arises on at least 4 different accounts. First, it is a region where a bloody insurgency war took place and the wounds take time to heal in such brutal wars spread over many decades. The excessive force that was used by the state is bound to remain a matter of controversy for generations to come. The calm that is prevailing today may perhaps even prove deceptive insofar as it is in many ways the peace and tranquility that is available in cemeteries.
Suffice to say, there is profound alienation among the people of the northeast and so long as this alienation remains, there is a probability that the insurgency that has been put down may revive. The ebb and flow of left-wing radicalism in India testifies to that. Second, the region is hopelessly impoverished and the developmental activities are painfully slow and scratchy, what with the rampant corruption and inept political leadership at the local level. New Delhi almost seems located on another planet, aloof and indifferent and bogged own in dousing a dozen bush fires elsewhere in the vast country at any given time.
To add to it, the adjacent regions of neighboring countries – Myanmar or China’s Yunnan, in particular – are opening up and could very soon begin to gallop on the development path and in comparison India’s northeast will begin to look abysmally backward. Indeed, the tribes of India’s northeast region have cultural and historical affinities with Myanmar (and even China), which are keenly felt at the people-to-people level, whereas their ‘Indian-ness’ of the region is of recent origin and rather superficial.
Third, religion adds to the region’s distinctiveness; the bulk of the people of the northeast do not practice the Hindu religion, but are followers of the Christian faith. In principle, this ‘multiculturalism’ per se is nothing frightening since India is a country of great diversity, but then, there are all sorts of atavistic fears in the Indian mind (which is often just below the surface straining to surge) that the minorities look for empathy and support from abroad – in this case, the Christian world in the West.
Fourth, there is a near-complete lack of discussion in India about the kind of security blanket that New Delhi has put over this region to check or pre-empt any violent eruption of the pervasive popular alienation. The searchlights by outsiders into this dark area can expose the unpalatable ground reality of the excessive, arbitrary conduct by the security forces deployed in the region, ranging from the Army to the paramilitary forces.
All this, no doubt, makes the region very, very ‘sensitive’, as far as India’s home ministry is concerned. But is it a sustainable attitude to bury the head in the sand?
‘Don’t ask for whom the bell tolls…’
In an era of globalization, it is difficult to keep things hidden from the prying eyes of the ‘international community’. Conceivably, the western embassies in New Delhi already know what is going on in India’s northeast, which may have prompted the European ambassadors to see and verify first-hand what they heard or read about. The fact that they went in a group also shows that there is a collective consciousness among them about the happenings in India’s northeast. (Of course, any European country would want this not to degenerate into a ‘bilateral’ issue in the relations with India.)
It also stands to reason that these ambassadors took clearance from their capitals before venturing into the risky enterprise to undertake a ‘reccy’ trip to a remote region of India that New Delhi still prefers to keep under wraps. India’s home ministry is right if it concludes that this is not exactly a ‘business tour’ in search of investment opportunities for European companies. (In any case, do the European countries have so much surplus capital for investing overseas in regions such as India’s northeast, when they are reportedly quite bankrupt themselves?)
On the whole, therefore, Indian home ministry’s sensitivity and apprehensions cannot be dismissed as paranoia. There is always the possibility that the West could revert to India’s northeast wound as a pressure point if the chemistry between New Delhi and the Western capitals sour. By the way, the ongoing spat with the multinational Vodafone company (which is challenging the Indian government’s prerogative to impose taxes on it with retrospective effect) or the brewing tension over Telenor (with the Norwegian government having bluntly warned New Delhi against cancelling the company’s license in the highly lucrative telecom sector in India) would show that clouds can appear almost overnight on the horizon of India’s relations with the West.
Again, the paradigm tends to be highly combustible when religion mixes with poverty and political alienation, as it does in India’s northeast. The geopolitical backdrop is also to be factored in. As the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s recent visits to Rangoon, Dhaka and Kolkata testify, great game rivalries have appeared in the far-flung, resource-rich region surrounding India’s northeast. It is entirely conceivable that the European ambassadors stationed in New Delhi coordinate with their American colleague. (Most of the ambassadors in the delegation to Nagaland are ‘New Europeans’, too.)
But what does India do? Indeed, globalization is a chalice of bitter potion. Its ardent votaries like China or Russia also come across similar perplexing experiences. Drawing a firm irrevocable line to preserve national sovereignty is a tough call, as Russia’s predicament over the western interference in its recent elections or China’s predicament over the acts of a blind activist coordinated from operatives in the American compound in Beijing would show.
Simply put, will the European ambassadors based in Riyadh or Manama want to undertake a ‘local tour’ of the Shi’ite ghettos in those countries? They know King Abdullah will boot them out of Riyadh summarily. Which makes one question the very motive of these ‘New Europeans’ in New Delhi to decide to test the frontiers of the Indian establishment’s latitude.
Unfortunately, the Indian establishment is presenting itself as a divided house. If anyone thinks that history ended with India’s embrace of globalization, he lives in a world of delusions. Equally, these are moments when the efficacy of India maintaining a partial worldview and ambivalence – be it over Syria or Iran – becomes highly questionable. When the controversy over the Chinese human rights activist erupted recently, many in India savored schadenfreude. They overlooked that if the Indian tortoise begins to sprint like the Chinese rabbit on the chessboard, the bell will toll for it as well. And it can well be a 'northeastern bell'.
Hardliners Will Be Left Behind: Thein Sein By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADY


Burmese President Thein Sein says that conservatives who oppose reform will be left behind. (Photo: President’s Office)
Burmese President Thein Sein told a coordinating meeting in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday that “conservatives who do not have a reformist mindset will be left behind” while the country is on its path to change.
Thein Sein admitted that certain lessons must be adopted from the by-elections which showed a real public desire for national development. “According to the experience of the by-elections, the public clearly showed that they want change and they no longer like the performance of the governing bodies in each administrative level,” he said.
During the April 1 by-elections, Burma’s main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Nobel Laureate Aung Sann Suu Kyi, won 43 out of the 44 constituencies it contested.
Naypyidaw’s strategy of reform was widely discussed during the two-day meeting, with Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham also telling participants that “not only political, economic, administrative and social reforms are needed but there also needs to be a change to our mindset.”
Both politicians highlighted altering the attitude of administrative officials so that the country can move forward towards socio-economic development. Thein Sein again raised the significance of respect for the rule of law and provided the example of land disputes relating to investment for regional development.
“One crucial way to move our nation on from being the region’s least developed country is to work on the rule of law. Now we have good policies for change, but these policies will not succeed if those involved are not honest,” the president concluded in his address.
As Burma is now moving on the path of economic development and foreign firms are interesting in investing in the country, Thein Sein also brought up the issues of corruption, land usage policies, regional development and creating employment opportunities.
He added that the decentralization of administration management is crucial to reform so that the implementation of good and clean governance will be successful.
Moreover, the state must allow for “bottom-up initiatives” to strengthen civil society instead of just “top-down orders” for change. “Administrative officials are incapable of managing practically because society and the authorities just follow orders and decisions are made detached from the needs of the public,” he added. Thein Sein also touched on empowering human resources and managing these assets effectively within social and economic sectors.
He also invited all kinds of Burmese citizens living abroad—including professionals, businessmen and manual labors in exile—“to come back to take part in the change process as we promise to support any difficulties they encounter.” However, he did not provide any transparent procedures for those who want to return home.
In terms of the humanitarian sector, Thein Sein said his administration will collaborate with aid groups in order to effectively respond to the needs of public. He admitted that “international aid has not been going through government agencies because of corruption in the former administration,” and that only individuals or certain groups have benefited in the past instead of the real people in need.
The president’s action plans for reform have been posted in full on his office’s website for the first time since he assumed power last March. However, in contrast with this effort to reach the people, state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar, led by Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, censored some important aspects of his speeches.
The first photo published on the Burmese language version of the President’s Office website caught the public’s attention as the seat of Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo was seen empty—adding weight to rumors that he had resigned for health reasons.
UNFC gives deadline to halt military offensives (Mizzima)

Chiang Mai– The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) says it will review the ethnic cease-fire agreements reached with the Burmese government if the government does not halt military offensives in Kachin State by June 10.

PNLO chairman Khun Okkar, left, and Aung Min, the government peace team leader, opposite. Photo: Mizzima
The UNFC met on May 12 at a location on the Thai-Burma border. UNFC Joint Secretary (2) Colonel Khun Okkar said the Karen National Union (KNU), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) and New Mon State Party (NMSP) would reconsider their cease-fire agreements already reached with the government unless the government stops its military offensives in Kachin State.

“These three major cease-fire groups decided to make this demand to show solidarity with their fellow KIO at the expense of their [own] cease-fire agreements. They demand [the government] to stop using force and to seek peace instead,” he told Mizzima.

The delegates from the Chin National Front (CNF) did not attend the meeting because they were attending a meeting with a government union-level peace delegation led by Aung Min in Hakha, the capital city of Chin State.

The UNFC statement dated May 12 said the members would review and reconsider their future plans if the government offensives continue.

The statement said, “The main purpose of the government offensives in northern Shan State and Kachin State is to protect the commercial and economic interests of foreign investments in Burma. We oppose and object to the killing of our own ethnic people in the country for the interests of foreign countries.”

Despite of a presidential order on December 10, 2011, which called for a halt to all military offensives in ethnic areas, the government has deployed about 2,000 troops near KIO headquarters in Laiza, including artillery and helicopters, said KIA Colonel Khun Okkar.

The renewed fighting erupted between government troops and the KIA on June 11, 2011. The KIA said there have been 1,300 clashes.

The statement urged the international community not to suspend or lift the political, military and economic sanctions imposed on the government.

Khun Okkar said he cautiously welcomed the newly formed peacemaking central committee led by President Thein Sein, but it would not succeed if it continues with the current policy.

The UNFC statement said the current policy of President Thein Sein which calls for ethnic groups to form political parties, to stand for election and to continue the transformation and reform process in Parliament through laws and consensus is not acceptable. The decades-long political disagreements should be addressed through political dialogue, he said.

The UNFC was formed in February 2011 with six core member ethnic groups and six associate ethnic groups totaling 12 ethnic groups that are opposing the government for their right to self-determination.

Among their members, the KNU, CNF, NMSP, Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) and KNPP have signed preliminary cease-fire agreements with the government.
EU envoys meet Nagaland Guvernor, CM Neiphiu Rio amidst controversy Economic Times PTI



KOHIMA: Diplomats of European countries have called on Nagaland Governor Nikhil Kumar and Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio amidst a controversy in New Delhi over their 'uninformed' visit to the North Eastern state.
The diplomats discussed possibilities of enhancing cooperation between India and EU in various fields pertaining to the N-E region and Nagaland in particular during their meetings with Kumar and Rio yesterday, official sources said.
The envoys, who visited the state museum and other places of tourist interest today, however, refused to make any comment on their visit to the state.
"Since our visit has created some controversies, we do not like to make any comment now", EU Ambassador to India Joao Cravinho, who led a team of eight diplomats to Nagaland, told reporters with a smile.
"We are overwhelmed by the wonderful hospitality and enjoyed our trip to Nagaland" was the only comment he offered.
During the meeting with the governor at the Raj Bhavan, the envoys talked on various issues including the on-going Naga peace process, official sources said today.
Underlining the importance of India's Look East Policy, the envoys said it was equally important to take into consideration the 'West' in the same policy, the sources said.
The ambassadors also met the chief minister and his council of ministers and discussed wide ranging issues for enhancing bilateral cooperation between the EU and India and how Nagaland could be part of this process, the sources said.
The business of Nagaland
Aided by India’s growing outreach with both Myanmar and other Naga rebel groups—Nagaland’s future will continue to be India-led, and Myanmar-blessed
Root Cause | Sudeep Chakravarti Livemint
There was a buzz about Nagaland this past week, at least in regional security and political circles, and even for those who eye business in this part of India abutting Myanmar, where political temperatures appear to be cooling and India’s make-nice diplomacy to counter-balance China appears to be paying off.
Lafarge SA. Photo by Bloomberg
A group of ambassadors from the European Union countries swung by for a three-day tour of Nagaland earlier this week. They met top officials and various power centres of Nagaland in Kohima, the capital set deep in the Naga Hills; and ended their quite unusual visit with a meeting in Dimapur—the state’s flatland commercial hub—at the local chamber of commerce. The envoys spoke of the possibility of their countries and the European Commission facilitating development, commerce and investment.
Local power circles were abuzz too that Lafarge SA is in preliminary discussion with Nagaland’s leadership for establishing a limestone and shale mining facility in south-eastern Phek district of Nagaland to feed a planned cement plant in nearby contiguous Myanmar. This “bilateral” model could be a template of Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary, with its quarrying operation in Meghalaya to feed by conveyer a Lafarge-controlled cement plant across the border in Bangladesh. Representatives of several hydrocarbon businesses, both Indian and overseas, too have been nosing around, as talk builds up about the state government considering the exploration of petroleum in three districts of Nagaland.
Loud as these buzzes were, the loudest was over implications of a major Naga rebel group, National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Khaplang), whose reclusive leader, S.S. Khaplang, an “Eastern” Naga, operates out of a base in Myanmar, signing a ceasefire deal with Myanmar’s authorities in April. The deal replicates the arrangement this faction has with the government of India within the boundaries of Nagaland. But the Myanmar deal goes farther. There is even talk of an autonomous region for Eastern Nagas.
Insiders also mention a corollary deal—unwritten—by which the Khaplang faction will cease to offer support and sanctuary in Myanmar to two key Manipuri rebel groups, the United National Liberation Front and the People’s Liberation Army. This will directly bolster India’s security construct.
The Khaplang-led Naga rebel faction has also upped rhetoric aimed at its chief rival, National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah, or NSCN (I-M), the largest and most powerful Naga rebel group led by Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah, which with near-impunity runs parallel governments in most Naga regions in India. The I-M grouping, sometimes called “the mother of all rebel groups” for its propensity to nurture, train and supply rebel groups in the North-East to upset India’s equilibrium as well as keep up a stream of influence and revenue, is also in ceasefire mode. But it has for long held out with its demand for a greater “Nagalim” that, besides Nagaland, would include the contiguous Naga-majority regions in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
In a distinct departure from its arch-rivals, leaders from the Khaplang group have made statements about Nagaland and Naga regions elsewhere having their unique needs and futures—a stand that pleases India and Myanmar. A third Naga rebel faction, NSCN (Unification), also in talks with India, has made similar noises this past week. The NSCN (I-M) group, sensing a flanking manoeuvre—it openly accuses India of helping things along—has hit back with strong comments, putting in doubt an already faltering reconciliation process among various Naga rebel groups. The Forum for Naga Reconciliation, a church- and civil society-led initiative, has planned a reconciliation meeting on 21 May at Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, the site of earlier reconciliation meetings—even photo-op soccer matches in 2008 and 2009 among various factions. The meeting early next week is in jeopardy, with both the I-M and Khaplang factions declining to attend.
Indeed, I heard talk among Naga security watchers in Kohima and Dimapur earlier this week that some hardliners and “next generation” leaders in NSCN (I-M) are so upset with the recent play of its rivals and Indian’s security mandarins that it has prepared Plan B: breaking away from the ceasefire and setting up safe bases along the border with China, parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh. Should this happen, conflict will be intense and severely affect civilians.
Equally, however, there is a parallel sentiment that with NSCN (I-M) relatively cornered—aided by India’s growing outreach with both Myanmar and other Naga rebel groups—Nagaland’s future will continue to be India-led, and Myanmar-blessed. Alongside, with Manipur’s rebels under pressure, it’s a major step to secure the region.
Sudeep Chakravarti writes on issues of conflict in South Asia. He is the author of Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country and the just-published Highway 39: Journeys through a Fractured Land. This column, which focuses on conflict situations that directly affect business, runs on Fridays.
ENPO demands audience with PM Imphal Free Press
NEW DELHI, May (Vision Communications): The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation has asked the Centre to hold a high level meeting between the leaders of ENPO and the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to “discuss the long-pending issues of the Eastern Nagaland.”
The president Pongom Khiamniungan, general secretary Toshi Wungtung and the Students’ Federation president Hawang Konyak met the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and other Government officials recently in New Delhi and made this demand.
The ENPO delegation told the Vision Communications that Chidambaram has “agreed with all our demands but told us not to be impatient and not to disrupt the pre-election preparation which is likely to begin soon for the next assembly elections, slated for March, 2012.”
Talking to the Vision Communications the ENPO president said that “We are exploited by the successive state governments as well as by the Centre. The day Nagaland attained statehood, our tribes were taken to Kohima for dance and other cultural functions while on the same night over 2,000 appointment letters were distributed to other major tribes. Discrimination has begun from that day itself. And even today it is continuing.”
The president Khiamniungan continued, “Since 16-point agreement was signed and the statehood was celebrated, we the six tribes, Chang, Phom, Konyak, Sangtam, Khiamniungan and Yimchunger belonging to Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longlend districts and two subdivisions Noklak and Shamator were marginalised politically, socially and economically. Out of the 72000, class-I and class-II gazetted officers in Nagaland, we the six tribes have only 642 officers. Of them 519 are regular and the remaining officers are adhoc despite the fact that we the Nagas in these four districts and two subdivisions together constitutes about 50 per cent of the total population, Konyak being the largest tribe in the state. In fact, out of over two lakh state government employees in the state, we cover a mere three per cent which itself is a shame for the rulers.”
The ENPO president justified his statement by revealing official figure. Of the 72,000 odd gazetted officers, 30,000 belong to Ao tribe, followed by Angami, Sema and Lotha together about 40,000 and the Konyak only 250, Sangtam tribe 185, Phom tribe 88, Chang tribe 55, Khiamniungan tribe 53 and Yimchunger tribe only 45.
The president of the Students Federation Hawang Konyak described the educational scenario as “below the par.” The entire ENPO area has only five colleges and few Higher Secondary schools. Last year about 843 students in ENPO area passed Matriculation examination, but 250 students could be accommodated in the existing colleges. Remaining few could go outside due to financial constraints. Rest are looking for some trade to survive. This kind of apathy and lack of basic amenities give rise to secessionist tendencies among the youth,” he cautioned.
The General Secretary Wungtung pointed out that the most deplorable health related facilities are available in the Eastern Nagaland area. Mon has a 50-bedded Government Health centre and Tuensang has a 100-bedded Government Health centre with hardly any facilities available. Medicines are to be procured from outside. If anybody fall sick in Khipire, he or she has to be sent to Kohima by transport driving for ten hours. We do not have any emergency Helicopter service or ambulance available in this most neglected region.”
Lamenting the poor communication and the lack of power supply in the entire Eastern Nagaland region, Wungtung revealed that “we have Likimro hydel power project which generates 25 megawatt power everyday and it is located in Khipire district. But the entire power is supplied to the Ao inhabited Makokchung district. We remain as silent spectators and live in darkness.”
On the issue of peace talks, both the president and the general secretary asserted, “our demand is nothing to do with the ongoing peace talks and ceasefire agreement signed with different NSCN groups. We support the peace talks and want a solution to the Naga issue. But our issue is different.”
The president further added that the ENPO leadership has already submitted a detailed memorandum to the Prime Minister on 25th November, 2010 pleading for a “full-fledged state with special status and provisions to the people of Eastern Nagaland.”
The ENPO president said that “the memorandum was substantiated and based on popular grass root resolution and mandate encompassing every Village Councils (Gram Panchayats) and Tribal Councils of Eastern Nagaland. Now it remains to be seen how the Centre and the Niephieu Rio Government handles the pressure and resolve the sensitive issue.
Yepthomi regrets Naga Peoples Front's strained relations with Centre Times of India
KOHIMA: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Tokheho Yepthomi regretted on Thursday that the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF), led by Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, has strained his relationship with all major political parties at the Centre, including BJP, the main opposition.
Speaking at a party meeting at Pughoboto Town Hall in the district of Zunheboto district on Wednesday, the leader of opposition also said that Rio should not have forced BJP and NCP legislators to merge with his party if he was sincere and committed to facilitate the Naga peace process as he claims. Tokheho said that the then BJP and NCP legislators who were partners of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) could have played a pivotal role in the peace process by convincing their respective party leaders at the Centre. "Rio has displeased all political parties in Delhi," he remarked.
The leader also flayed Naga MPs for being inactive at the Centre, and failing to project Naga issue at the appropriate platform. He asked Nagas to judge whether NPF was living up to their words for early solution to the Naga problem or whether it had been playing the role of facilitator as used to claim often and urged the people not to be carried away by empty rhetorics by NPF.
He also disapproved of the NPF government's decision to involve Naga organizations and church leaders in the working system of the government and asked organizations to know their own limitations and responsibilities. Tokheho also alleged there were rampant corruption, flouting of rules and regulations, and siphoning off public funds were on in the present NPF-led DAN government, and strongly regretted that corruption has reached its peak and that the Naga society has been split into haves and have-nots by the current state government.
Congress MLA Joshua Sumi said that NPF is responsible for divisions in Naga society and pointed out that the demand for a separate Frontier Nagaland state by Eastern Nagaland peoples Organisation (ENPO) was due to gross negligence of backward areas by the ruling NPF.
Going online: The Naga struggle for freedom Gayatri Parameswaran (Gayatri Parameswaran) Radio Netherlands
The Naga movement for independence from India began in 1947. Over 60 years later, the region considered to part of northeast India continues to be under Indian control. Youngsters in Nagaland are now taking the struggle online.
Esther Longchar, 34, is an editor at RAMP, a fashion magazine in Dimapur, Nagaland. She defines Naga fashion and culture to be distinct. When you ask her, distinct from what, she says, “It’s different from India. You see people here dress differently. We think differently from Indians. Traditionally and culturally we are different from what is Indian.”
It’s this feeling of distinctness and her pride in being Naga that drives her passion. “Through my magazine, I’d like to tell the world about our existence and how we have independent thought and culture,” she says.
Facebook forums
Kevin Yepthomi, a 36-year-old entrepreneur, lives only a few blocks away from Esther. He knows little about fashion, but he backs Esther’s claims of independent culture and tradition. Esther and Kevin have discussed this issue a number of times.
But they’ve never met each other face-to-face. Their interactions have always been on virtual media. Kevin and Esther, along with thousands of other young Nagas around the world, are part of Naga forums such as The Naga Blog, Naga Spear, She Naga etc on Facebook.
“If I am online, I spend most of my time on these forums. Always checking, who’s saying what. The discussions are progressive, so it’s great to take part,” Kevin says.
Defining identity
Young Nagas who are part of these forums are trying to define their ‘new’ Naga identity here. But their quest towards securing their identity has been passed on from previous generations. The Naga movement for independence from India began in 1947, with the end of British colonialism.
Lhouvitsu, 67, joined the struggle in the late 60s. “We declared independence from British a day before India did. We’ve spoken to Mahatma Gandhi about our demands for an independent country and he had agreed. We are an independent nation and India has to accept that,” he says.
Fractured fight
Today Lhouvitsu is the speaker of the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN), a parallel government established by the first Naga leader Angami Zapu Phizo in 1946. The FGN split in 1988 into the Nagaland Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN), which further fractured into several splinters.
Today there are four major factions that claim to be fighting for independence on behalf of the Nagas, with most of them having signed a ceasefire agreement with the Indian government. Indian troops are still stationed in Nagaland and the state also participates in parliamentary elections.
Coming together
Lhouvitsu acknowledges that the fractions are making the struggle weak. “We are open. We would like the various factions to come together and that would make our demands more concrete,” he says. But in the past 30 years, that hasn’t happened.
There’s a flicker of hope that the next generation would take things ahead in this regard. And social media is providing the key – a space for Nagas from all sections of society to share their views openly. Peter Rutsa, administrator of The Naga Blog says, “We have people from the armed groups, people who are pacifists, and people who don’t care about the movement, all sharing their ideas with each other. When you live in your own world, you lack empathy because you don’t know enough about the other person’s views. But the Facebook group is changing that.”
Real action
From talks about peace and reconciliation to gathering support for football clubs in the local league, a range of political and non-political issues take centre-stage on the Naga forums. Debates surrounding Naga sovereignty often surface here.
But these debates and discussions online also spill over to the real world. For instance, The Naga Blog, with over 13,000 active members, raised over 13,000 rupees (approximately 200 euro) to help an infant girl have a successful heart surgery by auctioning a T-shirt on the social networking website.
Silence no more
Robert Solo, 39, a youth activist, has been working with young Nagas since nearly a decade and he says the social networks are doing away with the silence which has long prevailed in Naga society. “Initially people used to be scared of speaking out. There used to be real threats involved. Your life could have been in danger if you spoke out against the Indian Army or any one of the factions,” he says.
Online participation is open and enhanced due to the higher degree of detachment that the internet provides. “This is going to be key. Those in power are also watching. I think there will be a revolution because of this online movement,” Robert says.



News: Main Page
News: Archives
Nagalim: Home

Powered By Greymatter