Therie calls DAN govt a failure The Morung Express
Therie calls DAN govt a failure The Morung Express
Dimapur, September 22 (MExN): Dissident NPF leader and resigned MLA, K Therie today said that the DAN Government headed by Neiphiu Rio is a failure and should not be allowed to continue to rule the state. K Therie, in a press statement issued by his press secretary, Keso Chakhesang said that usually committees are constituted and not formed as claimed by Dr. Shurhozelie.
Therie asserted that between the lines in the Common Minimum Programme, which was the NPF 2003 election manifesto, one will notice that for a political objective, like-minded leaders from various political parties have come together to form the NPF and the DAN.
“That very political objective is to secure a negotiated settlement through reconciliation and to implement this objective in the CMP, DAN has committed to appoint Political Affairs Committee (PAC) to work full time to usher in peace” said Therie.
However, soon after the DAN government was formed, in pursuit of the CMP, many of the leaders have supported to constitute the PAC comprising of all political parties. But, Rio, for reason best known to him, decided to set up the Consultative Committee for Peace (CCP) excluding the Congress. Therefore, Therie opined that “from the very beginning, the commitment of reconciliation was betrayed”.
Therie said that having no way out, a Sub-Consultative Committee was set up and they have undertaken the up-hill task of meeting all the factions and for almost two and a half years they submitted their report with the recommendation the official representatives of the people i.e., all the 60 elected MLAs, Governors, ex-Governors, ex-MPs, ex-MLAs, prominent Church leaders, and NGOs, etc. for a consultative meeting to develop a broad consensus scheme so as to propose it on behalf of the people to the undergrounds as well as to the GoI. However, for reasons best known to Rio, the recommendation has been kept in cold storage.
Therie affirmed that the DAN government has betrayed the CMP to which the people have given their mandate, when Dr. Shurhozelie has opened his mind and said that ‘wise men have tried to solve the Naga political problem including Lok Shri.
Therie even asserted that state Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has changed his words many times like saying that ‘the talks are in the right direction’.
“He (Rio) even said ‘soon, we may even get an Upper House’. After sometime, he said ‘there should be interim arrangement’; and later he said, ‘’solution should be step by step. The arbitrary decision to merely support and facilitate the on going peace process was a shift of policy from the commitment to secure a negotiated settlement through reconciliation,” said Therie. .
“There are thousands of bereaved families; the injured ones of them have also faced untold hardships. Thousands of them have lost economic opportunities and in the continued situation, the people have lost faith that they will have a prosperous future” said Therie.
In this connection, Therie said, “Therefore, a Govt. that has failed and more so that it does not know it has failed, should not be allowed to continue.” Besides, Therie replying directly to Thenucho, said that the Home Minister is still ignorant of what has prompted him and his former MLAs to resign.
“It is because of his failure to maintain law and order in the State and also the rampant corruption of the Government. One day, we shall ensure that their corruption is proved either by the CBI or by any other agency that can do justice to the people of Nagaland,” said Therie.
Team Therie’s rendezvous with Sonia Gandhi in Delhi‘Resigned legislators ready for Congress’ Al Ngullie The morung Express
Dimapur With the conviction to ‘strengthening the Congress to save Nagaland state,’ resigned legislators K Therie, Vatsu Meru and Khutovi are set to meet with the Congress high command in Delhi. The trio informed to secure an appointment with United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Union Home Minister “also,” but meeting with the UPA government is the “most important objective” according to K Therie.
Dissident NPF legislators K Therie, Vatsu Meru, N Yeangphong and Z Obed and independent Khutovi resigned from the Nagaland Legislative Assembly on September 18. Yeangphong and Obed are not accompanying Therie this time and are holding the fort until the trio returns from Delhi. The legislators informed to leave for Delhi by train this evening at the time of filing this news report. Former finance minister Therie said the three of them would be meeting both the UPA Home Ministry and the central Congress leadership and impress upon them the urgency for “change” in the strife-torn state.
“We will be meeting the Home Minister and the Congress leadership; we will try to meet with the UPA chairperson” Therie informed before he left for Delhi. However, the Pfutsero representative hastened to add that the “most important objective” was to demand from the Center imposition of Article 356 or “Article 371A.” (Article 356 relates to emergency provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in a state).
He said the Center be apprised of the political situation, “the importance, urgency and the exigency for change.” To the query if the entire trip to Delhi suggested the final nail to conforming the five legislators’ “thinking” to join the Congress, Therie replied: “Well, you know there are only two major political parties (in Nagaland).” He impressed that the step would be to ‘strengthen’ the national party to fight against the mire the NPF-led DAN government has led the people into. He refused to comment on the “decision” the five legislators are expected to make, though.
It is no secret that the five former legislators led by Therie, the “spokesman” of the lot, have been “thinking” to join his before-NPF party, the Congress. In fact hectic parleys have been going on between the state Congress leadership and Therie’s team. Highly reliable sources informed that the five former legislators have been “knowing each other” with the state’s Opposition leadership. In fact, the legislators met with Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee president Hoketo Sumi on September 21. The NPCC president is said to have expressed his inability to extend any official “favors” unless the matter is decided through a coordination meeting of the Congress. “Till the opportune time comes” the source added.
Resigned parliamentary secretary for CAWD N Yeangphong Konyak also confirmed of the meeting with the NPCC leadership. Konyak said that a decision to joining the Congress officially has not been made by the five, but “we are thinking.” He explained that the NPF and the Congress are the only major parties in Nagaland and naturally, the choice is obvious. Nevertheless, he asserted that only one strong political party is needed and the obvious decision would be to ‘strengthen’ the Congress. Still, “we have not decided but will strengthen the Congress” Konyak explained.
Yeangphong also reiterated the views the other four leaders have been airing over a good time since Therie’s failed “coup” a few months ago. He said that the Neiphiu Rio-led DAN government has failed to protect the people. Citing the law and order situation as well as a few instances of corruption, Yeangphong queried “who will protect the innocent people?” He maintained that the NPF party lacks discipline and only one strong, disciplined party would be able to do away with what the DAN had failed to rein in. Yeangphong also clarified that he was not “suspended” from the NPF but he only resigned from the NLA and NPF party. “I was not suspended” he said and affirmed to work toward ‘minimizing’ the ‘educational backwardness’ in his home constituency and Mon. The former MLA represents Tizit, Mon.
Morung Express News
Internal dissension rips apart ZKamei no longer ZU chief : Chairmen Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Imphal, September 23: Convenor of the All Zonal Chairmen of the Zeliangrong Union (ZU) K Sanachao has declared that Ningtangpou Kamei should no longer be entertained as the president of the Zeliangrong Union (ZU). While stating this on behalf of all the zonal chairmen of the ZU, K Sanachao said that a people's covention under the aegis of Zeliangrong Union, the apex body of Zeliangrong tribe of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland was held on September 20 at the Indoor Stadium, Tamenglong Hqs where more than 500 delegates from different parts of Zeliangrong villages attended the programme.
According to K Sanachao, in the convention, four resolutions were unanimously adopted which included constitution of a committee named "Chaguat Phuam," meant to work for the reconciliation among the different underground factions of the Zeliangrong tribe operating in Zeliangrong areas. Leaders of the Churches (ZBCC), women bodies and units of the ZU will be the members of this committee. The convention strongly condemned the arson at Zangdi village in Peren district, Nagaland which occurred in August this year.
It was also resolved to demand for immediate rectification of the NSCN-IM/GPRN's orders pertaining to Ntangki Forest and Zangdi village in Nagaland "which was promised earlier by the concerned authority in the interest of Zeliangrong people".
The convention also resolved that the Zeliangrong Union has no objection to conversion of Jiribam and Sadar Hills sub-division into full fledged revenue districts but cautioned that while doing so, any village of the Zeliangrong tribe should not be included in the said districts.
The convention seriously viewed the "misconduct (gross mistake) of president Ningtangpou Kamei in various issues and matters concerning the function and administration of the Zeliangrong Union, which were tantamount to breach of power and constitutional abuse".
The statement of the All Zonal Chairmen, ZU then stated that for all these reasons, Ningtangpou Kamei was removed from the post of the presidentship under the voice of the people and by the virtue of constitution to safeguard the sanctity and legacy of the Zeliangrong Union.
It was also decided to conduct a fresh presidential election within six months, for which, vice-president James Rangshung was given in-charge as acting president with immediate effect till the election is held, added the statement.
NSCN(K) attacks Rio, politicians- Nagaland Post
The so-called Naga political leaders are mostly imposters and traitors. It is a shame for any party or leader to talk about "Naga Political problem" or "Naga political solution" as the agenda of their election campaigns. The GPRN/NSCN warns the political parties and their leaders not to talk about Naga Political problem or political solution for the Nagas in the election campaigns, cheat or bluff the Nagas no more. Enough is enough.
When S.C. Jamir, the present Government of Goa was wielding power in Nagaland, he was accused of undermining and betraying the political rights of the Nagas by proclaiming himself as an Indian National. He was vehemently accused of selling the right of the Nagas to the Indian Union. But when he was thrown out of Nagaland politics, a new government was installed under Neiphiu Rio as Chief Minister. But Neiphiu Rio had unmistakably proved himself as the worst and most dangerous leader of the Nagas. Neiphu Rio, not to take of selling Naga rights to the Indian Union, but he has and is selling all the social, economic and political rights of the Nagas of Nagaland to the neighboring state. What a pity for Nagaland under Neiphiu Rio??
A.Z. Phizo though he joined the Naga organization lately, he proved to be firebrand leader of the Naga Freedom Movement. He first sold his political idea to the neighboring people, the so-called Manipur Nagas. But, there was no taker. They rather opted to live contentedly under Manipur rules. Then he approached the Khasis of Maghalaya, but they too did not respond. Then lastly he preached his political ambition for the Nagas to the people of Eastern Nagaland (after having made the people of erstwhile Naga Hills as his formidable supporters) and they enthusiastically accepted his political idea. In this way, the Naga mass movement for freedom from alien rule started. Now Neiphiu Rio has completely betrayed the legacies of his Angami predecessors like A.Z. Phizo, T. Sakhrie, Kevichüsa, Visar, Khriesanisa, J.B. Jasokie, etc and now shamelessly flirting with some other tribes of the neighbouring states and selling out the rights and opportunities to them. He (Neiphiu) is doing this not from his political objective, but to retain his chair. Now, this harmful policy of Neiphiu Rio is re-enforced by the leader of the so-called opposition Congress Imkong by supporting Neiphiu Rio's sell-out policies in his lust for power. So, now among the Nagas who is to be trusted and relied upon by the Nagas? The great question remains, who will salvage the Nagas and emancipate the nation from turmoil?
Secretary, MIP, GPRN/ NSCN (K)
Drugs wreck Nagaland Longrangty Longchar The Morung Express
Dimapur Drug use has been a social problem for the past many years in the Naga society. However, despite the number of measures adopted by the government and the Naga social societies, abuse of drugs is still very rampant in Nagaland.
A walk along the rail tracks in Lahorijan area bears witness to how banned drugs such as Spasmo Proxyvon (SP), Relipen and Brown Sugar etc are being sold openly.
Amidst the stink of human faeces, half-stoned non-local youths carrying black plastic bags full of the banned drugs, sell them to customers. Sari wearing women peep out of the fences around abandoned houses looking for customers.
A SHADY BUSINESS: Drug users and peddlers engage in selling banned drugs on September 23 at the rail tracks in Lahorijan, Karbi Anglong, Assam near Nagaland Border. (MExPix)
One or two women kept vigil, while others keep watch at the gate. The business has to be done hurriedly. The “sentry” complained to her friend to do the business as fast as possible. Their voices are laced with nervousness. After a few minutes, the women were gone. So were the other male peddlers who were selling so openly. Only the Naga youths squatted on the rail tracks; small pipes protruding out from their mouths, small aluminum and copper foils in their hands, and a match stick between their shivering fingers. They are taking brown sugar and no one sees them there getting stoned, and throwing away their lives.
It is a daily routine for most of them. A social activist working in the field of HIV/AIDS and Drugs, Neichü Angami said that according to a rampant survey conducted by the United Nations Organisations Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nagaland, there are about thirty to thirty five thousand drug users in Nagaland. The common type of drugs used by the addicts are SP, Relipen, Brown Sugar, and amphetamine (a kind of Ecstasy drugs) etc.
Among the school-going children, sniffing of adhesives like ‘dendrite’ is very common, she said. Drug-use in the society is not decreasing, more and more people are getting into it, said Neichü.
The alarming point, according to the activist, is that the age of initiation into drugs among the Naga youths is becoming lesser and lesser. She said that ten years back, the age of initiation into drug abuse was about 16-17 years of age, but now, it has gone down and even children of ten to eleven years are taking to drugs out of curiosity. Though the drug use pattern might be changing, the problem that this social evil is, remains the same.
“It is a social problem, family problem, and a spiritual problem,” said Neichü.
She opined that to prevent the youths from taking drugs, a good and comprehensive package needs to be initiated by the government and the society to check the factors that induces a person to take drugs; and for those addicts, a ‘humane approach’ and not a moral approach is needed to help them out. Neichü opined that drug use is not just a syndrome, but something that has a bigger issue beneath it - like having problems in relationship, self esteem etc. Whatever the case may be, drugs being sold along the rail tracks in Lahorijan is for real and unless the whole society comes together and decide to take a ‘humane approach’ instead of a ‘moral approach’, then half of more and more Naga youths are in a very grave position to take to drug abuse, and the consequences might be just what a police personnel manning the New Field Check Gate warned: “If the trend goes on, then half of the Naga youths will be extinct within the next ten years.”
'Tangkhul National Workers' endorse TNL's stance Nagarealm.com
Dimapur, SEPT21 [NNN] : Spewing out its wrath on the elements who have been "defending" Dr Shishak Tuisem after he was ex-communicated by the Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL), the "Tangkhul National Workers" of the NSCN-IM said that to react to any given situation it makes "more sense to be realistic than to be bombastic".
Isuing a statement through the Ministry of Information and Publicity, NSCNIM, the "Tangkhul National Workers" said that it might be more prudent to study the actual sequence of the issue than plunge headlong in defence of somebody in trouble. "Nobody can gainsay the fact that every tribe carries trait of imperfection. Every individual tribe has its own omissions and commissions. Surprisingly, there is an unwarranted restlessness to bail out Tuisem who has been excommunicated by Tangkhul Naga Long", it ex. The statement also said that it was a one sided defence without actually touching on the core of the issue that set off the spark to burn Dr Tuisem. " It is ridiculous to defend a person by virtue of his social standing and feigned ignorance about the other side of the story that comes in the most arrogant manner quite unbecoming of his professed high sounding title as Reverend, a servant of God but who refused to translate humbleness into practice. This should have been the trait of a true Reverend," further stated the "Tangkhul National Workers" of the NSCN-IM.
It then stated that this is the situation with Dr. Tuisem and the uncalled for criticism on TNL by some vested individuals and organizations. "But in the ultimate analysis of the situation it is to be admitted that it is the Tangkhuls who knows Dr Tuisem from close angle and therefore action taken against him for his temerity to challenge the whole Tangkhuls. For the same reason the Tangkhul National Workers have no inhibition to fully endorse the decision of the TNL in excommunicating Dr Tuisem for six years," said the statement. It also stated that Dr Tuisem cannot justify his utterance against the Tangkhul exploiting the Holy name of God.
It will be a travesty of justice to God. "In the backdrop of such unpalatable situation with Dr Tuisem having to face the social ostracism nothing has come to us as a bolt from the blue. His motive in the past has not been too pleasant to recollect either. The NSCN have encountered his bitter diatribe against the revolutionaries just for the heck of sending a wrong signal across the world. And he chose the occasion and timing to make the desired impact. It will, therefore, be foolhardy for the Tangkhuls not to interpret his inside game-plan in correct perspective and stamp the rot lest it cause havoc of much greater dimension," cautioned the statement.
The Tangkhuls or for that matters all the Nagas have strong attachment to customary values. And it is imprudent to undermine the customary authority. Dr Tuisem will be taking the greatest risk of his life if he considers himself above the Tangkhul customary law, it warned. "Therefore, in the fullness of our conscience the Tangkhul National Workers consider the TNL's action on Dr Tuisem justified," claimed the statement.
ULFA man’s diary may open Pandora’s box A Staff Reporter Assam Tribune
GUWAHATI, Sept 23 – The diary of Prabal Neog, the arrested commander of the 28 battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) may lead to unearthing of the outfit’s links with others, and the security agencies are now cross checking the phone numbers recorded in the diary. Prabal was arrested along with his wife in Tezpur on September 17 last and highly placed police sources said that he turned out to be a “tough nut to crack” during questioning by the security agencies. Sources said that during the process of checking the phone numbers recorded in the diary recovered from the arrested ULFA leader, the numbers of several political personalities of the North East were found , but it is not yet known whether the outfit had any links with them.
Police said that the diary of the arrested ULFA man also had details of operations of programmable time device switches, used frequently by the ULFA in recent years to trigger off explosions, which proved that Prabal was well versed with the sophisticated device used to trigger off explosions. Police sources said that the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) provided the PTD switches to the ULFA and a batch of militants belonging to the outfit were even taken to Pakistan to impart training on the use of the switches. According to reports available with the police, more than 20 militants of the ULFA received training on operation of PTD switches in the middle part of 1990s.
Sources said that of late, Prabal Neog was involved more in organizational matters of the ULFA, he was known to be one of the key operational person of the outfit. He was well versed with use of sophisticated weapons and he even knew how to make bombs. In fact, during questioning by the security agencies, Prabal admitted that he had masterminded the attacks on the Hindi speaking people in different parts of the State as per the directive of the ULFA commander in chief Paresh Baruah. Police said that he was spotted in Karbi Anglong before the recent spurt of attack on Hindi speaking people in the hill district and it is believed that he also masterminded those attacks.
Prabal spent most of his time between 2001 to 2005 in the camps of the ULFA in Myanmar and it is believed that he was responsible for overseeing the training of the new recruits. Sources said that he was made the acting commander of the 28 battalion of the ULFA, the strongest wing of the outfit, only last year and of late, he was given the responsibility of establishing “operational groups” in Karbi Anglong and for that the ULFA was planning to bring in trained cadres of the 28 battalion from the upper Assam districts.
Leadership firm on lasting peace in BTC: Derhasat From Simanta Bhagawati Assam Tribune
KOKRAJHAR, Sept 23 – The people of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area are now happy at the process of need-based development being carried on by the BTC through active cooperation from people belonging to all sections of society.
Speaking to a group of visiting journalists at his residence on Tuesday prominent BTC executive member Derhasat Basumatary said, “earlier people were critical of the development process if such works were not carried out in their areas; but now they have realised that giving priority to the more needy areas is the key to a faster overall development of the BTC”. Basumatary said, “our priority areas as leaders of the BTC is not to think in terms of development for the Bodos or any other ethnic or religious groups, but as a total overall development for the whole of BTC, adding that, this only would ensure total upliftment of all the different inhabiting groups and societies in BTC.”
A vastly popular leader among the Bodos and non-Bodos for his tremendous capacity for assimilation, unity, brotherhood and solution of any ethnic, religious or other such problems through compromise and give and take, Basumatary said “our priority is to ensure everlasting peace and harmony among all sections of people in the BTC.” “This is the only way we can achieve faster and comprehensive development for the whole of BTC”, Derhasat Basumatary added. Basumatary, after all those years in hideout and fight for the achievement of Bodoland goal as the general secretary of BLT must have realised that peace is a prerequisite for development while development and prosperity beget peace and harmony’.
“It’s only through overall development of the BTC area and uplift of the economic conditions of all the groups irrespective of caste, creed and religion that we would be able to achieve lasting peace and harmony in BTC which is our ultimate goal,” he stressed.
Taking a dig at yellow journalism being practised by some scribes of a section of vernacular dailies in Assam, Basumatary said the tendency of the scribes to link up the government with all the wrongs prevailing in society is dangerous and efforts should be made to do away with the trend.
Tribal history, undiluted - Misings to tell their story in own words MAITREYEE BORUAH The Telegraph
Guwahati, Sept. 23: History from the horse’s mouth — that’s how the Mising tribe will record its antecedents for posterity. No high-brow interpretations, no arm-chair analysis. The tribe will tell its own story, simply and succinctly.
It began with the Guwahati-based Vivekananda Kendra Institute of Culture deciding to bring out a book, Traditional Systems — Change and Continuity of Mising Tribe. Discarding the common practice of employing scholars to play voyeurs into the lives of the Mising community, the institute devised a way that would enable the tribe to write its own history.
And then began this extraordinary journey back in time for Mising scholars. Five hundred educated Mising youths are now busy gathering, sharing and filing facts about their culture, heritage and customs.
But the most interesting part of this fact-accumulation drive is that even illiterate and semi-literate villagers have been included in the mission to make the account as authentic as possible.
The Mising population, which is scattered over 11 districts of Assam and East Siang) of Arunachal Pradesh, has strong oral traditions to make up for the lack of written material. Dimbeshwar Pegu, a 55-year-old goanburha (village headman) from Samarajan village in Dhemaji, is one of these “illiterate scholars”.
“The research team is currently visiting Mising villages and is busy documenting its tradition, culture and living styles of the tribe with the help of elderly persons. Once the research is through, hopefully, by mid-October, all the gathered information will be written down in papers,” said an official of the institute. The institute, of course, has enlisted help from Vivekananda Kendra Institute in association with Mising Agom Kebang (Mising Literary Society) and Mising Dirbi Kebang (Mising Cultural Society). After the research is through, the institute will hold a seminar on Mising Tribe at Dhemaji in December 15-16, which is likely to be attended by scholars and villagers alike. Proletariat history will gain a new meaning.
Results out for members of gram panchayats, counting for others on,Reports of clashes as results come in The Imphal Free Press
IMPHAL, Sept 23: On the first day of the counting of votes for the panchayat elections-2007 conducted at the district headquarters of four valley districts, counting of votes for the members of gram panchayat in all the districts were completed except those of controversial seats.
A wild confrontation between the workers and supporters of two rival candidates at Achanbigei area late tonight left as many as three people injured. Reports said that the confrontation took place when the workers of a defeated candidate started assaulting the workers of the winner celebrating victory.
Reports of confrontation among the workers and supporters of defeated candidates and those of winners also came in from other parts of the four valley districts. But details could not be immediately ascertained till the time of filing this report.
The counting which began from 7 am today and continued till 7 pm will take place further tomorrow and authorities expect to complete the process by Tuesday. There were some reports of minor untoward incidents among the people gathered at the nearest points to witness the declaration of results but heavy security measures taken up inside the counting places prevented any large scale trouble at these places.
The counting of votes for panchayat members, pradhans and zilla parishads in Jiribam block of Imphal east were completed without any hurdles, a report from Jiribam said. Till 7 pm today, counting of votes for almost all the seats for members for four blocks in Imphal east had been completed but the official handing over of certificates to the elected members is yet to be completed, reports said.
The counting of votes for the pradhans and members of zilla parishads could not commence today for this district, counting for which is being held at the DC office at Porompat.
In the 19 constituencies of zilla parishads 82 candidates are in the fray. In the 56 gram panchayat seats 200 candidates are contesting while for 491 gram panchayats members 1039 are in the running.
Meanwhile, after the completion of counting for the members of gram panchayats in Imphal west the counting for the pradhans and zilla parishads began today itself. So far results of two seats of zilla parsihads and five seats of pradhans have been declared according to reports available at 7 pm tonight.
A total of 48 candidates are contesting in 15 constituencies of zilla parishads in Imphal west, 132 candidates are in the fray for 43 pradhans constituencies and 799 candidates for election to 221 members seats. For Thoubal district, the counting for the members of zilla parishads, pradhans and members of gram panchayats under Lilong and Kakching sub-divisions began today.
So far results of all the 89 members of gram panchayats for the Lilong sub-division have been declared. Results of seven pradhan constituencies were also declared while the counting for zilla parishads is in progress. For Kakching sub-division of the district counting of votes for the members was completed, results of two pradhans declared and counting for zilla parishads is yet to begin.
In this district, for 16 zilla parishads 76 candidates are contesting, 144 candidates are in the fray for 42 pradhans while 833 candidates are contesting for 470 seats of members of gram panchayats.
The reports of counting for elections in Bishnupur district were not immediately available.
Burma's Golden Revolution Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com)
September 24, 2004 - The Burmese military junta, habituated to years of repressive rule, is today in the eye of a storm. The Sanghas have taken on the Tatmadaw. In a dramatic form of peaceful protest, Buddhist monks with upturned begging bowls have literally flooded the streets of Burma turning them into a crimson sea. The generals in their wildest dreams could not have imagined that the shock increase in oil prices would let loose a movement so momentous.
What started as sporadic protests spearheaded by 88 generation students seem to be engulfing the Burmese polity. Hordes of people have joined the protests. Anyone outside the regime's penumbra is for the protests. May be many of them too. Students, monks, activists, politicians, and more have reacted. The pent up feelings of a populace under the heels of the army has found a vent. In the ultimate analysis the demand is for change. That's what the people of Burma desire.
Used to putting down dissent with a heavy hand the junta thought nothing of arresting some monks who were protesting in Pakhokku in central Burma. Its goons owing allegiance to the Junta such as Union Solidarity Development Association and Swan Arrshin allegedly beat up a few monks after arrest. Rumours spread like wildfire that the monk beaten on the head with a baton had died.
It was as if the spark was waiting to be ignited. Monks sworn to the path of Ahimsa went on the rampage. The monks deftly turned the tables on the junta. Officials who forcibly entered the monastery in Pakhokku including those from the Department of Religious Affairs were detained and four of their vehicles set ablaze. The junta had to eat humble pie and release the arrested monks in exchange of the detained officials.
The Buddhist Monks Alliance demanded an apology from the regime. With the junta not obliging the monks took to the streets more vehemently. The several thousand disciplined Buddhist monks marched on the streets of several cities including Rangoon and Mandalay , praying for peace and freedom from evil and untold suffering. In another move which the junta did not anticipate, it called for a religious boycott (Thabeikmhaut) of the junta and anyone on its side.
The snowballing events have now become inexorably interlaced with the movement for democracy. The rarest of rare sight of detained democracy icon and Noble Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the compound of her house by the marching monks on September 22 has lent a different dimension to the protests.
The fountainhead of the democracy movement in Burma came out to the compound and paid her obeisance to the monks bringing tears to her eyes and the monks. The emotional contact may weigh heavily on a junta struggling to control the growing monk's movement which has demanded freedom for Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, a political dialogue with the opposition and an end to economic hardship in beleaguered Burma.
Caught totally unawares at the turn of events, the junta is floundering. While there are rumours of a massive crackdown, any attempt at it will invite the wrath of the populace, a majority of whom are Buddhists.
For the first time the monks alliance has called on Burmese people to 'banish the common enemy, the evil despots from Burmese soil forever.' If this does not send a chill down the collective spines of the military brass then nothing will.
The monks have done what they had to do. To be precise, they have done more than is expected of men in robes. They have opened the flood gates. Now it is for the people of Burma to carry the movement forward seeking to send where the military belongs – the barracks.
The current movement is definitely not a religious affair but it is rooted to the political system. The ruling military generals should also note that the protesting monks, students and activists and their supporters are calling for a political dialogue and national reconciliation, not a change of regime. This should pave the way for a peaceful political and economic transition in the country, unless the ruling generals chose to do something else. News of military movements in the cities, especially in Rangoon, has been trickling in. Using force will put Burma on a retrograde mode for at least the next 20 years.
The country needs a political solution to be negotiated across the table. Killings will not solve the natural-resource rich country's dilemma. Without solving the political and economic malaise Burma will be doomed notwithstanding the dictatorship. At this juncture there is an option for the regime for a "safe-exit" leaving behind its dark and bloody years.
It is now for the international community, especially Burma's neighbours to realize that they are in a way responsible for the situation in Burma. They need to intervene in Burma immediately and pressure the regime to talk to the opposition and ethnic nationalities for a peaceful transition to democracy. The people of Burma have once again spoken out. The message is that they want peace, democracy and development that their counterparts in many South East Asian countries are enjoying. They have spoken out loud and clear.
It is still not too late for the United Nations, Russia China and India to act to stave off a disastrous situation. There is immediate need for the world body and these countries, which have influence on the generals, to act.
ULFA’s Military Bosses in the Line of Fire Wasbir Hussain Satp Member, National Security Advisory Board, India, and Associate Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi
The military bosses of Northeast India’s most potent separatist group, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), have clearly come in the line of fire of Security Forces (SFs) engaged in counter-insurgency operations. The ease with which the Assam Police, on September 17, 2007, captured Prabal Neog, the 43-year-old ‘commander’ of the ULFA’s dreaded ‘28th battalion’, fancifully called the ‘Kashmir Camp’, is a case in point. Neog was apprehended along with his wife and son, near Tezpur in the Sonitpur District, 180 kilometres north of Assam’s capital, Guwahati. This was, at once, a ‘prize catch’ and an easy one, and there lies the irony.
The entire security establishment agrees that the ‘28th battalion’ is the core strike force of the ULFA and is, by itself, a power-centre within the rebel group. This is largely because it is the only unit, among the ULFA’s four so-called ‘battalions’, that is not dependent on Bangladesh for refuge, to escape the counter-insurgency heat. The ‘28th battalion’ has remained active in the Assamese heartland of eastern Assam, in the Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivasagar Districts, and has staging areas in the dense jungles of Arunachal Pradesh, in addition to bases in Myanmar’s Sagaing Division, across the village of Mynakshu, in the Mon District of Nagaland.
The ‘commander’ of the ‘28th battallion’ is, consequently, the ULFA’s most powerful military leader actually directing operations in Assam. Prabal Neog (real name Benu Bora), has risen from the ranks, having joined the group way back in 1989, and received arms training in Assam and Myanmar. In recent months, it was Neog who was believed to have planned and executed the massacre of more than 100 Hindi-speaking migrants across eastern and southern Assam. It was Neog’s crack hit-squads that had targeted these poor migrants, who were drawn mostly from the Bihar State. As a unit that is regarded as the ‘life blood’ of the ULFA, its commanders are obviously expected to be close to the group’s military chief Paresh Baruah.
It is, indeed, surprising how such an important rebel commander – personally in charge of up to 600 men of the ‘28th battalion’ – fell so easily into the police dragnet. How is it that he was traveling in a car with his wife Purabi, a former ULFA militant, and son Rajdeep, with a sense of near impunity? This was not the first time that a ‘commander’ of the ‘28th battalion’ has been trapped by the SFs. A little over a year ago, on May 18, 2006, the then ‘28th battalion’ ‘commander’, Mrinal Hazarika alias Plaban Phukan and three other ULFA militants were nabbed by the Police from two different hotels in West Bengal’s Siliguri town. An active satellite phone, two regular mobiles bearing Guwahati numbers and a 9 mm pistol loaded with two rounds of live bullets were seized from them.
The ease with which the ‘commanders’ of this most potent ULFA fighting unit have fallen into the security dragnet has given rise to speculation over whether internecine feuds within the ‘28th battalion’ are behind these surprise detentions. Immediately after Neog’s arrest, reports were doing the rounds that a prominent company commander of the ‘28th battalion’, Jiten Dutta, was actually keen on assuming the top post. Questions are now being raised on whether someone from within the unit tipped off the SFs regarding Neog’s travel plans. Apparently, Neog had also lost faith with a section of the ULFA leadership over his stand against Bangladeshi infiltrators, contrary to the silence among most of the group’s leaders on this, Assam’s most talked-about subject. In the absence of confirmation from sources within ULFA, these inferences will remain mere conjectures.
Irrespective of what the internal scenario within the ULFA, the fact remains that the Army’s 2nd Mountain Division, based in Dibrugarh District and responsible for counter-insurgency operations in eastern Assam and up to 20 kilometres inside Arunachal Pradesh, has gone hammer and tongs against the ‘28th battalion.’ Since September 24, 2006—when a temporary truce between the authorities and the ULFA ended—until September 19, 2007, soldiers from the 2nd Mountain Division have killed 51 ULFA militants and captured 95 others. 31 rebels from the group have also surrendered. A senior Army officer told this writer:
The 177 ULFA militants that we have neutralized since September 24, 2006, includes one battalion commander (Rajiv Kalita of the ‘27th battalion’), four company commanders, ten action group commanders and seven experts in improvised explosive devices (IED).
What is important to note here is that more than 90 per cent of the militants who have been neutralized, according to Army sources, belong to the ‘28th battalion.’
The Army’s determined pursuit of the ‘28th battalion’ is demonstrated by the fact that, on Independence Day 2007, the 2nd Mountain Division created history by bagging a total of 89 awards, including one Kirti Chakra (Lt. Pankaj Kumar, 7/11 Gorkha Rifles) and three Shaurya Chakras. It is remarkable that, besides normal military means, the Army is also trying to get locals on its side. In eastern Assam, for instance, the Army has a budget of more than INR 20 million for certain social welfare programmes under what it calls Operation Sadbhavna (Goodwill) and Operation Jugajog (Contact).
What counter-insurgency strategists perhaps envisage is a weakening of the ULFA by hitting at the very core of its fighting capabilities to create conditions within which the Government can initiate peace talks with the rebel group from a position of strength. This is not a particularly new strategy or something that has not been tried time and again in the country’s theatres of insurgency. What appears to be new, however, is the focused manner with which the SFs, particularly the Army, are pushing ahead to choke off the cadres of the ‘28th battalion.’ In recent months, the Army has put enough pressure on the outfit in the Tirap and Changlang Districts of Arunachal Pradesh, a favoured rebel transit route on their way to Myanmar. Now, the rebels are being forced to take a circuitous route from Myanmar to enter Assam, through Tizit in Nagaland. Moreover, the medicine supply lines to ULFA camps are said to have been snapped by the Army, causing major problems for the rebels in the malaria-prone jungles.
Does this mean that this is the beginning of the end of ULFA’s strike potential? The honest answer must be a straight no. The ULFA has repeatedly demonstrated tremendous capacities to resurrect itself from such crises. The manner in which the group sprang back to life after the reverses it faced in the wake of the Bhutanese military blitzkrieg in December 2003 is a case in point. Though it is ‘advantage SFs’ in Assam, as of now, there is no room for complacency.
UNPO Interview with Marino Busdachin, Secretary General, Nagaland Post
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization by Frans Welman Naga International Support Center on 7 September 2007
Could you explain the objectives of UNPO in relations to what the United Nations covering regarding the Covenants article 1 concerning the right to self determination for all Peoples?
Okay, UNPO has been founded 15 years ago in order to raise the voice of the oppressed Peoples and Nations and the Unrepresented. Mostly to subsidize on an international level issues that are not covered by the United Nations Instead of having one chapter in the United Nations regarding self determination the United Nations never put into force the right of Peoples for their own best interests.
Is this because of themselves, although they ratified that Covenant and that article because the countries have no interest in the……
They not only have no interests, they are totally against the right to self determination.
Is that not an anachronism then? They ratified it, yet they are against it!
It is not the first example in the history where a constitution….. I can say for example a constitution written by Bucharin and adopted by Stalin during the most dark times under Stalin it was just a piece of paper. Unfortunately for the UN they are part of the Magna Carta of the UN and they are still just words on paper. The beginning of the activity is to defend the right of the nation on their sovereignty and obviously there is no chance for anyone in any state in any part of the world to exercise the right to self determination. When a state or an association of states is counterposing the right of their sovereignty… I can mention an example, there is a committee of states, twenty members of the UN which are evaluating awaiting admission of non-governmental organizations. Many non-governmental organizations have not been admitted as NGO on the ECOSOC of the UN because of the reason of the accusation by the member state to try and disrupt the sovereignty of a state, which obviously has nothing to do on the activities on humanitarian, or human rights or educational activity of NGO’s. This is the practice. Differently it seems to me that it is correct for peoples, nations, minorities around the world calling on the UN with respect to the principle of the Magna Carta of the United Nations and the principles of the constitutions of many states, but the reality is pretty bitter and different and today never like today the possibility to exercise the right to self determination has been so largely denied. After 9/11 you can simply say it does not exist anymore this possibility UNPO is always acting in representation of instances of its own members but it is not always recommending to have strategy and tactics that will consent to acting of the old and just request but to enlarge to widen the perspective, because if not the risk is that simply calling for the right to self determination is something amazing, something unrealistic. It is something which does not leave you with any possibility to dialogue, to discuss this with a member. We recommend a member always to be patient and reach tools in order to promote their just rights. But I should say, the times are really not favorable.
Considering the situation of patience the Naga Peoples are in, also a member of UNPO, in what way can the UNPO encourage them to have that patience and to enable them to come to some sort of settlement which is conducive to both parties?
I would like to recall something that has been said by the Dalai Lama regarding the Tibetans who are kindly hosting …
The founders of UNPO
One of the founders yes of the UNPO and the question is, in a world which is becoming quickly and aggressively more interdependent
Aggressively?
Aggressively because, I don’t want to become now about the global economy and so on, but it means that there is aggression in front of local populations in front of local economies in front of local interest. On this situation the question of independence is fading away, it is turned down as an element of discussion by the international community
Are you referring to the European Community where independent states give up some rights for the greater good of all?
Yes the EU is a very slow process. In order to be patient and comparing it to the Naga negotiations, the first treaty signed by the first five, six states forming the European Union was in 1954 and even today in the year 2007 the European Union is sharing something but they are totally independent and many a time counterpose many important things like in policies of defense foreign affairs, economy and so on. This is a very slow process, but the same process is happening very slowly in Latin America. There is some leading going on in South East Asia with ASEAN. It seems the world is going to interdependency. That means that I think that in not a very long term it will go from a single state that will determine the situation of autonomy, federalism, independence to a regional question.
Are you not too much talking about the economy then? Because in this region of Europe there are quite a few peoples expressing themselves differently from each other. You are an Italian, I am a Dutchman. We may think alike on certain issues, but we are form different cultures.
Yeah but today I am feeling much more European than Italian. Perhaps 30 years ago I felt myself more Italian that European
Is that not possible because there is peace rather than conflict, conflict is what is spurring this on?
No Europe has nothing to teach anything to anyone. There is nothing in that, Europe was the field of the most cruel war, the first and the second just one century and was the field of the most criminal dictatorship and so on. Europe was the field of Stalinism and Nazism. That means the last century was one of the most harsh and cruel time in humanity. But what is happening today would be seen as a middle path, a half way this association of states………………….
Usually when we are talking at UNPO what is possible today in a very difficult situation then we are referring sometimes to Edgar Moran the father of Europe; it’s when you have no chance to solve one problem in a small context, the only chance you have is to enlarge the content. I think the question of the negation of the Nagas and India is not only a micro-regional question. It represents a point of interest in the international community obviously it is not simple to reach the requirements on the international level. I think 6 years or 10 years of negotiations could seem like a long time, but you see what is happening in some peaceful process, sometimes it takes 26 years. Obviously looking for a peaceful solutions requires more time than having an agreement of cease fire and so on, But, I am always referring to India as one of the growing and upcoming economies, a growing and powerful political role, not only in Asia, but on the world level. We should expect that in five six years that India is one of the protagonist effective four in power like USA, European Union, China, Russia and sitting at the table where major question are decided so that it will even requires more responsibility, a different kind of political responsibility to India. I always say that that will help to improve the situation that the brackets are referring to as an internal situation question of India. I am confident that time is working for a more rich economical growth and for a more effective democracy in India as well as increasing the chance for the Nagas to following the path step by step that will lead to a peaceful settlement, an agreement in which the respect for the identity, autonomy and the self determination of Nagaland and the Naga people will be complemented as a constitutional element in India by law. It is difficult, but it could be a final objective a final target. It seems to me that proceeding step by step will help the partners to identify better themselves to become confident. I think the years passed were not years spent for nothing, but it will require more time, all the other possibilities are very well known and I don’t think that today, going back on a more harsh confrontation will help the peoples of Nagaland, for after so many years of difficult life, fighting and so on, the present war will even be more harsh without possible success. The world has changed a lot the lats 15 years and right or wrong and like any of our members have to face the new world and have to consider that what could be a problem of one of our members means that usually there are six or seven sharing the same problem but in totally different areas and in totally different situations. This is one of the points which makes the UNPO a tool, sometimes a powerful tool for our members in reaching an international dimension and giving them the chance to be the protagonists in the different parts of the world, not only in their own region. Today there are many problems oppressed peoples are facing, unrepresented peoples who have less rights than the others and are much closer to each other and are sharing a lot of these problems. This could become a powerful tool in order to reach their targets; usually it is democracy, it is the right to self determination. And, even the right to self determination should be considered in the most broad sense, Step by step I would like to refer to Kurds in Iraq; they are enjoying a more or less effective autonomy from 1991/92. They are part of a state but their level of autonomy is pretty close to independence. They never dropped their quest for independence but they are used to talking very plainly and simply, it is not for today. Perhaps it will be useful tomorrow, but today we are working on what we have, which means this kind of autonomy. It depends obviously on what the agreement will be, the point of the agreement that will be reached in the negotiations, but not necessarily it is a step back.
I have noticed that many ordinary Nagas feel encouraged by being part of the UNPO as it let’s say represents the international community so they see it as that they are not alo0ne in their quest. On the other hand considering that it takes long this cease fire without, for them, any tangible results and at the same time India, through its forces and other ways of dealing with the situation like the divide and rule continues, either by spreading money or by propping up adversaries so the ground situation for the Nagas is deteriorating. On the one hand their way of life is enhanced, because from too much pressure because they are still under occupation but on the other hand they feel many forces work against them, psychological warfare for instance, so asking them to have a long breath how can you prop their feelings up?
First to open the borders so to have free circulation of people’s ideas, capitals. That could be an intermediate point in the negotiations. I don’t know if it has been raised, but Nagaland is not a land that you can go visiting, for reasons of security and so on. It seems to me that in a democratic country rules regarding security can be changed. It is a pretty non violent request that Nagaland can be reachable for anyone in the world. That is the first step in my opinion.
So take it out of Isolation
And the second is that it could be a process with a third part mediator. I am referring to the example. It took so many years, regarding Northern Ireland. I am referring to the senator Mitchell Commission, in order to process and setting negotiations based on decommissioning
So third party mediation?
Yeah, but not necessarily it should be a state. Usually a third commission in the case of Senator Mitchell was a production of a major Ngo, a think tank foundation and then there was the support on the issue by president Clinton, but the idea started in a different circle. I am referring to George Soros I am referring to other foundations, I am referring to all other Non-Governmental Organizations. The entire process started in the eighties and then in order to get some result in the beginning of the year 2009? But, I think to open the world Nagaland, getting free circulation of people, ideas, capitals, having a process starting with decommissioning of weapons of armies and so on, having an international monitoring of
Decommissioning of weapons?
Decommissioning on the level of non-violence because the security is a concept that is including everything but decommissioning level on the confrontation of a situation, even in a state of cease fire of negotiations there are some accidents, mostly on the harsh confrontations of some micro situation. Having a long path on decommissioning, step by step, situation by situation, the level of the use of violence or any acts in the field could be another step. I am referring to those two issues because they are not part I think of the core negotiations, they are not part of the negotiations regarding the half independence status, full autonomy, the mutual federation of the asymmetric federation or any other possibility. It can be seen as good will, waiting for the time and sometimes that is necessary…
This goes for both parties?
Yeah waiting for the time for sometimes that time is needed for the situation to be ripe to get a mutually satisfactory result. This part can help the people, with the Nagas to be confident and can even give the Government of India something that can improve the situation. In my opinion those issues like many others that have nothing to do with the main issue of the negotiations between India and Nagaland could help to create the atmosphere, the mutual respect and an improved loyalty upon keeping the word given during the negotiations. That can set a better background…….
But doesn’t that mean that for instance the Indian Government should abolish the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which is a tremendous tool for them to …..
This could be a decision that should be taken by the Indian Parliament and executed by the Indian Government, but a process, in my opinion, of negotiating some particular steps which are not part of the package regarding the self determination, or autonomy or independence could open the way. I am referring to the context which is too strict, it does not give you any way out, we are trying to get some partial results which can improve the situation. That in turn can lead to a general improvement of the background of the negotiations. In my opinion any facilitator who can improve the level of the negotiations between the Nagas and the Indian Government will be helpful. Time is required because we need to be confident of changes in India, international and internal as even the Naga People are changing. We are in a world where changes are happening very quickly, but in my opinion there will be be a good option of setting a larger a broader negotiation including that would be a negotiation per installment of different issues, because there is always the risk is that, if the negotiations come to a dead end, there is nothing more to say and that means we mean to …
That point has been reached some times
Evidently, and if they stopped it is a part of the negotiations. I think that there will be, in my opinion, more argument that could be discussed between the two parties and in my opinion there good be room for a facilitator but only who dedicates only on a particular issue, so that it will enlarge, broaden, the support that some facilitator could have by the international community, by some states, by an association of states without their involvement in a question that following the international law is seen by India as an internal question and by the Nagas as a fight for freedom and self determination. But everything of every, more facilitation, can be helped by the international community, by the non-governmental community, by single states. It will preserve direct involvement and it will lead to a general improvement, partial, minimal sometimes, but any steps going in the right direction of a peaceful setting we need to welcome.
A critic would say it is all nice and well to talk from behind the desk and overseeing the situation you are quite right, on the other hand the dynamics in the country with the people concerned, let’s take for instanced the soldiers of the Naga Army. They do nothing all the time during cease fire, they have guns and they are not always that educated and see money floating around and they have no part in it. These are human beings that do things, so what I am trying to say is that even if you are full of goodwill it is not always possible for an organization to sit still and let things develop that go beyond your control.
It would be a potentially dangerous question mostly for the Naga People, the Naga Civilians, the Naga leaders
Naga civilians get in trouble with the Naga Army!
What I suggest, hmmm what I suggest!, what is my idea is when an army spends a lot of time with nothing to do it……
In peace time or relative peace time
…should be converted into a civilian form or state. This process should be initiated in my opinion by the Nagas but must be facilitated by the Indian Government. When I told you that Nagaland needs to be open I meant that it will help for a military structure or a military activity to a civil government activity. That, in my opinion, is happening in all the situations in the world and it is always most difficult, but an army which is not active will run the risk of becoming more attentive to their own interest instead of the interest of the people….
So crimes are committed and will lead to uprisings and irritations…..
…..I don’t want to go into details but anyone knows many examples like that in the world. I think that the process to start to converting military cadres and forces into civilian is absolutely necessary and responsibly the Indian Government should open the way and facilitate this process. I told you that open the borders to ideas, people, circulation of money and capital it will help the Nagas even to start. That would be another point. I am not aware of negotiations usually having different stages like they have public stuff or no stuff, but this is another form of decommissioning, but it is necessary for India. If the chance to Nagaland to be visited by citizens from all the world and could go there must be confidence in the process of which the Indian Government is part. I think that obviously there could be a security progress it could be progress of opening the Naga borders and so on…….
The people again, though they enjoy relative peace, tension is still felt so what you from here, from the Hague, on the international level say to encourage them to maintain composure so there will be a time eventually?
What I have to say is first the question of education, the Nagas could invest all their possibilities to the highest possible education to its young people. Secondly to dedicate more time to the creation of a society in which a little enterprise and other forms of economical improvement will be accessible and to be more known to the International NGO community, by the press and so on.
So they have to invest in becoming known so they exist for the world outside?
In information, in education so that it will trust, confidence to the young people, as always the young people are the future of a country and so they have less bitter memories of the past and more freshness and hope for the future. That will help in order to have a positive approach, even knowing the fact that time required for a peaceful settlement can be longer than expected.
But the process will gradually improve the situation?
In my opinion there are evident changes and chances for India for the Nagas to get more chances in the future, because India is becoming a protagonist and one of the leading countries of the world. The Nagas can be seen in a macro regional Asia not in a micro and then everything changes. If you enlarge your map, you can see that what can be very important in a small map, it is really less important and less dramatic in a larger map. There are many problems in the area, there is Burma, there are many others, but even there a little step now in which it seems it could be, is not a short time process, but we should be confident that situation can change in Burma, that the situation can improve in South East Asia. And, even China is changing, not in the direction of becoming a democratic country for sure, but into something of a strange hybrid, but the changes in the protagonists in the region, will reflect, find some reflection on the situation regarding Nagaland and even on the negotiations between Nagaland and India. The world is becoming smaller in some way and perhaps what is happening in Nagaland will be a point of major interest on the table much more than today for sure.
So to internationalize the case would be helpful for them
Yes but we require a total improvement of the information on the situation. You need to get access if not it is difficult. You cannot internationalize a situation which is, not now, in which you cannot get access.
Yes that is why I said it is not known and so it is the chicken and the egg
Yes, that is not helping, to keep that situation under partial control
It is also a policy of India not to open it up so it will not be known?
I don’t know if the Government discussed the issue in parliament. You know we are in a moment in which generally in the world the question of the war on terrorism is on the top, sometimes even having disrespect of its own rules of many states, not talking only in Asia. I am talking in Europe, I am talking in the USA, I am talking in the United Kingdom, I am talking in Italy, in other countries. The major democracies issue should be more attentive with respect to the rights of citizens, with respect to the constitutions. I think that some paranoid approach on the question of terrorism could be too much and the cost and the bill paid by the populations and by the individual rights are too high in order of the results to achieve. But this is not a question regarding India Nagaland, it is more or less an analogy which is regarding the entire world. I think that citizens need to pay more attention to their government and the governments need to be much more attentive in respect of their own rules. That is a general question. It is not an Asian or South East Asian question
That is quite a good one to end the interview with that the government should respect its own rules
That is the general question. I told you always security is involved, the question of security and army present the major risk that there are parts unknown even to the government of the country that it happened too much frequently in western countries recently and I think that major democracies should carefully pay much more attention to such stuff generally.
Any word for the Nagas to prop them up to wait out their time?
I have already discussed but soon I hope to have a meeting, the usual one at the beginning of the season.
I am talking now more on the ordinary people because the ordinary people will read this
Always on the run and having meeting with governments and conferences the question of the Nagas is one of the top questions of UNPO. Sometimes it is difficult to explain who the Nagas are, there is very little knowledge and awareness of the task staff, that is not facilitating. I think that if there would be a chance that I would like to discuss in order to get a kind of European parliament presentation on the question of the Nagas, because that can involve many European political forces to suppose, considering something. UNPO did something similar with some question in the European parliament in the middle and at the end of the nineties, but considering some experiences that we had for other members that it is pretty positive to have this kind of conference and presentation. There is very little knowledge on such a situation and it is not facilitating to talk with such an argument. I think that can be done and we can improve the knowledge because information is always paving the way, better information means better chances for the people.
So, may I take this as a suggestion to organize a conference on the Naga Peoples?
I think that it is useful to have a kind of conference regarding the Nagas, the process of the negotiations, the situation of different aspects in some part of the world and that it will facilitate in the Nagas to realize even what is the general idea of being here, what are the suggestions. It will help them. It will help them to feel that they are part of a world that is larger than their region or is larger than India….
…. Larger than India …
And it will consent even other people or members of parliament, others, to be more interested on the question of the Nagas. On the other side, India it will know obviously when there is more interest in the situation and there will be more interest in India in which the situation could be improving instead of deteriorating
Mr. Busdachin thank you very much
Frans on 09.24.07 @ 12:51 PM CST [link]