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Manipur : Uneasy calm in arson-hit hills

	July 18, 2005

The four Naga-dominated hill districts of Manipur got a respite from violence after an arson-marred weekend that saw protesters torching 24 government offices, but the community’s refusal to call off its highway blockade kept the atmosphere tense and the government on tenterhooks.



The series of events during the week under review - four offices in Senapati were set ablaze even as Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s Government took steps to placate the Naga community.



The trigger for the violence was the death of a Naga resident of Senapati in firing by Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel on Friday. The incident occurred when a group of Nagas were trying to enforce the indefinite highway blockade launched by a student organisation in protest against the Ibobi government’s decision to observe the anniversary of the 2001 June uprising as ‘state integrity day’.

That uprising was against Delhi’s bid to extend its ceasefire with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah) beyond Nagaland.

The Ibobi government placed two IRB personnel under suspension and withdrew all units of the force from the Senapati district headquarters after Naga protesters set fire to 20 buildings, including the deputy commissioner’s office in Ukhrul. Two persons were reportedly injured when police opened fire on a mob in Ukhrul.

The government’s action against the IRB, however, did not stop another group of protesters from torching four offices. There were no more incidents of arson thereafter, though a 48-hour general strike called by the Naga Students Association of Manipur did paralyse life across the hill districts.

Several Imphal-bound inter-state buses were stranded at Mao Gate, on the Manipur-Nagaland border, and Dimapur because of the general strike, an official source said



Army to clear blockade

The Army has been asked to clear the highway blockade in Manipur that has been obstructing traffic since the midnight of June 19. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a wing of the Army, has also been asked to clear the western axis of National Highway 53.

There is a rider to the order - force is to be used only if persuasion fails.

The defence establishment was consulted before the Union Home Ministry issued the order in the interest of security in the Northeast. The highway is to be cleared in the face of the ‘confrontationist’ attitude of the All Naga Students’ Association of Manipur (ANSAM).

The order will not be directly executed by the army, but by the Assam Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Defence sources said the Border Roads Organisation has been asked to make the western axis of NH-53 readily usable.



Manipur MLAs served quit notice

Manipur faces a possible constitutional crisis with the Naga students organisation behind the indefinite highway blockade asking all elected representatives of the community to resign from the Assembly.

This is the second time in a month that Naga legislators of Manipur - there are 11 of them, including two ministers, in both the ruling coalition and the Opposition - have been asked to choose between loyalty to the state and commitment to their community.

A source said the student organisation has written to all Naga legislators, explaining why their resignation from the Assembly was imperative. But one of the legislators said neither he nor any of his colleagues had received any such letter. ‘We only saw the appeal by the ANSAM in newspapers.’

Another Naga legislator tried to play down the development. ‘The Apunba Lup had made a similar demand during the agitation against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. But no MLA resigned,’ he said.

The 11 Naga legislators and two MPs of Manipur had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking the integration of all Naga-inhabited areas of the Northeast under one administrative unit.

Several Meitei organisations have been demanding the resignation of the ministers and MLAs who signed the memorandum on moral grounds. ‘All the Naga MLAs and the two MPs representing the community should be punished for trying to break up Manipur,’ the United People’s Front said.



BJP moves Delhi on Manipur

Terming the Manipur situation as grave, the BJP has demanded immediate intervention by the Centre to defuse the ‘crisis’ arising out of the indefinite economic blockade along two national highways by the All Naga Students Association of Manipur (ANSAM).

‘The situation in Manipur is very bad. The Centre should immediately intervene and do something concrete to defuse the problem in the state,’ said V. Satish, the BJP leader in charge of the Northeast. He is in Manipur to take stock of the prevailing situation.

He criticised the Centre for remaining ‘silent’ and the Okram Ibobi Singh government for failing to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, apex body of the community, boosted the morale of the Ibobi Singh government by openly extending support to the government’s decision to declare a state holiday on June 18. The Kuki organisation appealed to the ANSAM to call off the blockade in the interest of the people of Manipur. It said the government had a duty to protect and safeguard the territorial boundary of the state.