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North East - Naga peace talks : Govt reviews progress

	June 21, 2004

The UPA Government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that it is committed to continue the peace process to solve the Naga issue. The announcement came after a high level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil in New Delhi on June 19. Among others, National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit, Chief of Army Staff General N.C. Vij, RAW Chief C.D. Sahay and Intelligence Bureau Chief K P Singh attended the meeting.

The meeting reviewed the progress of the peace process in Nagaland with the NSCN(IM) in the backdrop of the charter of demands submitted by them to the Centre. The government said it was committed to continuing the Naga peace process, including the dialogue with the major insurgent outfit NSCN (I-M) with which it has been having a ceasefire since 1997.

A statement issued after the two-hour-long meeting said: “The current situation in the state after the implementation of the ceasefire was discussed as also the progress of negotiations held so far with the NSCN (I-M).” The meeting also discussed the charter of demands submitted by the the Naga group and it was, thereafter, decided that the negotiations should be continued further, it said.

Official sources said the meeting took into account the demand of the NSCN (I-M) for a Greater Nagaland to incorporate Naga dominated areas of the neighbouring states in the North-East, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.

The demand for Greater Nagaland had sparked-off angry protests in Manipur after which the previous NDA government withdrew an order extending ceasefire in Nagaland beyond the states borders.



Rebels’ release hits hurdle

The Nagaland government’s goodwill gesture to release 56 jailed activists of different militant groups has run into rough weather, four months after its initiation.

The militants, arrested under the National Security Act and lodged in different jails of the state, were to be released after a cabinet decision by the DAN government in February. The cabinet, subsequently, took the decision to release the rebels, but no executive order had been sent to the prison authorities to set them free.

“We have read in the newspapers about the decision, but have not received any official order”, said Director General (Prisons), N.N. Walling.

There are 30 National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) militants, 24 from the Khaplang group and two from the Federal Government of Nagaland (FGN) languishing in jails at present.

Walling said the authorities would release the prisoners as soon as they get the government order. However, a series of political changes and a controversial debate over the release of militants have allegedly put on hold the entire process for the past four months. Several senior officials declined to comment on the issue.



Cong asks Rio to step down

In another political development, the Congress party in Nagalanad has asked Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to step down from office following his “admitted” failure to control the law and order situation in the state.

“He would be doing the people of Nagaland the greatest service if he steps down from the post of chief minister,” a Congress release stated. It went on to suggest that “someone else who is more experienced, better equipped and more politically dedicated” should take over the leadership.

The party thus hinted at plans within the Congress to get back to power in the state following changes at the Centre.

Two days ago, Rio had admitted that there was a sharp rise in killings and deterioration in the law and order situation in the state and had blamed the change of guard at the Centre for the current plight.

The Congress, on the other hand, alleged that “inaction” of the state government, coupled with the “ineffectiveness” of the ceasefire, had made the the latter “obsolete”. Lt. Gen. R.V. Kulkarni, chief of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, has also been under fire for being allegedly biased in favour of the NSCN (I-M).

The Chief Minister’s confession also corroborates that “underground organisations are running a parallel government in the state with the full knowledge of the DAN Ministry”, the statement added.



Assam : Prospects of peace talks with Ulfa

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has claimed that the banned United Liberation Front of Asom is keen to hold talks for a permanent solution to the problem.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati on June 18, Gogoi said: “Whatever feedback we are getting is positive and encouraging.” He, however, refused to divulge further details in this regard.

The Chief Minister reiterated that his government was trying to bring the ultras to the negotiating table. “Let the contacts be established, we will try to thrash out differences on pre-conditions set by Ulfa for talks,” he said, adding that his government has been stressing the need to follow the yardstick of Naga talks in regard to the Ulfa and the NDFB also.

The Ulfa has set three pre-conditions for talks with the government. These are :

(a) Talks should be held in a “third country”, that too in the presence of a UN representative.

(b) Independent and sovereign status of Assam; and

(c) Withdrawal of Army from Assam

The conditions were turned down by the previous Vajpayee government.

Contrary to what he claimed earlier that his government was keen to resolve the problem through talks, the chief minister also advocated military operations in Burma to flush out militant camps. He said: “I have already discussed the matter with the Union Home Ministry which has appreciated the suggestion.”

Contradicting his own claim that the law and order situation in the state has improved to a large scale, Gogoi said that Ulfa militants have served extortion notices to a few business houses in Upper Assam districts but it was not in large scale as reported by the media.

Charging the Opposition political parties of defaming the state, Gogoi said that they are not sincere towards the development of the state as their frequent assertion in the media that the law and order situation of the state is not good was blocking investment from outside the state. Such propaganda was frightening the investors willing to invest in Assam, he said.

The Chief Minister said that “irresponsible behaviour” of the Asom Gana Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Party was spoiling the investment scenario of the state.

About the incident of kidnapping and subsequent escape of two Numaligarh Refinery Ltd executives from a city hotel, Gogoi said that it was a criminal act of surrendered Ulfa militants. He asserted that such incidents cannot be a yardstick to judge the law and order situation in the state.



Appeal by eminent Assamese

A group of eminent Assamese has called upon both the Centre and the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to open a dialogue, if necessary, in a “third country” for a solution to the decades-old insurgency problem.

Issuing a statement signed by them at a press conference last week, the internationally-acclaimed award-winning film-maker, Jahnu Barua welcomed the recent “positive remarks” of political leaders from Assam and the ULFA chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, on the possibility of a dialogue and the need for a political solution. Litterateur and Gnanpeeth Award winner, Indira Raisom Goswamu, journalist and editor, Sanjoy Hazarika, and the non-resident Assamese in the United States, Atul Sarma, were among the signatories. They urged both sides to talk with an open mind and determination to close what they described as a traumatic chapter. Insisting that urgent dialogue was a must for justice, dignity and peace, they said the violence of the past decades had disrupted development and caused the continuing isolation of people who remained poor and marginalised.

The appeal came after the Union Minister of State for Defence and Parliamentary Affairs, Bijoy Krishna Handique, announced at a public meeting at Guwahati, that the Centre was ready to hold peace talks with the ULFA in a foreign country, which is one of the three conditions imposed by the outfit.



Ulfa’s insurgent activities go on

Meanwhile, the banned extremist outfit is continuing with its subversive activities. According to reports, Ulfa’s extortion machinery is up and running after the Bhutan-induced stupor, and the tea industry is again the prime target.

The General-Officer-Commanding of the Army’s 4 Corps said the Ulfa was desperate for money to reorganise its units, some of which took a severe beating during the military operation by Bhutan.

“The militant group is desperate to resurrect itself in the region. We are in touch with the big tea companies and other likely targets of its extortion campaign,” Lt Gen. Anup S. Jamwal told the media at the army’s Dinjan base in Dibrugarh district.

The 4 Corps chief said several tea companies had received extortion notes from the Ulfa, which was going all out to fill its coffers and increase its cadre strength. He urged the people of Assam to share information with the army about the movements of militants.

Gen. Jamwal reviewed the situation with senior army commanders posted at the Dinjan base of the 2 Mountain Division and the commanding officers of various units deployed in Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

A week ago, chief minister Tarun Gogoi expressed concern over the Ulfa reviving its “friendship” with the NSCN (Isak-Muivah).

“We have information that the Ulfa is in touch with the NSCN (I-M), which is a source of concern for us. We have spoken to the Centre about it.”

There are unconfirmed reports that the Ulfa recently signed an arms deal worth Rs 10 crore with the Kachin Independent Army of Myanmar.

The Ulfa has been preying on tea companies since its formation in 1979. Intelligence agencies have reported that the group is trying to mop up Rs 50 lakh from at least 20 large estates spread across Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.

There was an uproar last year when corporate behemoth Hindustan Lever Ltd claimed to have received an Ulfa note demanding Rs 2 crore. The company, which owns tea gardens in Upper Assam, approached the Centre and, subsequently, the army for protection.

The Ulfa’s rocket-propelled grenades, however, pierced the four-tier security cover at the residential complex of a Lever unit in Tinsukia district on November 26.

The four-layer security system comprises Assam Tea Plantation Security Force personnel in the inner ring, an India Reserve Battalion unit in the second, the Central Reserve Police Force in the third and the BSF in the fourth. The army camp at Rupai, 10 km from the area, provides supplementary cover.