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North East : The new security draft |
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Even as the process of peace talks with various militant outfits is gaining momentum, the North Eastern Council (NEC), the apex regional body, has drawn up an “internal security plan” for the states to counter insurgency in a more effective manner.
The Director General of Assam Rifles who is the security adviser to the NEC, has approved the plan.
NEC Secretary P.L. Thanga said the security plan was drafted after the meeting in Guwahati last week. The Chief Ministers and Governors of the seven north-eastern states and a senior bureaucrat from Sikkim, which is the 8th member of the Council, had attended the meeting. The Chief Ministers were unanimous on the view that law and order problems had rendered all other issues “irrelevant.”
Thanga said the NEC would not be involved in direct operations, but facilitate the process. “Sharing information is crucial to the success of the new strategy. It will be implemented in the insurgency-wrecked states of the region and gradually in the relatively peaceful ones.” One of the key components of the strategy is to train the police in counter-insurgency training. The NEC has decided to set aside funds for the purpose and urged the department for development of the North East to provide additional assistance.
The NEC Secretary said development programmes could not be implemented properly if the law and order situation in the entire regional remained fluid. He said the North Eastern Police Academy could be involved in counter-insurgency operations in various states.
Meghalaya Chief Minister F.A. Khonglam has made a case for setting up a joint command for counter-insurgency operations in the North East. His Nagaland counterpart S.C. Jamir, however, has other ideas. A day before the meeting in Guwahati, Jamir said Khonglam’s insistence on a joint command was not feasible. “There is a better way of countering insurgency. “Sharing of intelligence at the Chief Minister level, which was the norm when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister should be revived.
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