Sunday, July 13, 2008

ULFA’s 28 Bn cadres move into designated camp


Guwahati, Jul 13 : Recent announcement of unilateral ceasefire by the A and C companies of the 28 battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) raised questions in the minds of the people on whether history will repeat itself as in the past also the charter of demands placed by the surrendered ULFA members before the Government remained in cold storage and the problem of militancy remained as before. Meanwhile, the ULFA members who are supporting the ceasefire, have started moving into the designated camp set up at Sadiya.

Police sources said that the leaders of A and C companies of the 28 battalion have submitted a list of 67 cadres who would move into the designated camp and they have started moving in from yesterday. Sources said that the maintenance of the camp would be looked into by the Government and the inmates of the camp would not be allowed to indulge in extortions or collect donations in the name of maintaining the camps. The security of those in ceasefire would be looked into by the police.Police said that according to the leaders of the 28 battalion, 52 other members of the A and C companies, including 40 new recruits, are in Myanmar and they are likely to come over whenever they get an opportunity.

Meanwhile, former ULFA publicity secretary Sunil Nath, who came over ground in 1992, expressed the view that it would be difficult to find permanent solution of the problem till the top leaders of the ULFA come forward for talks. He also pointed out that meaningful dialogue with those who came over ground in 1992 on the basis of the charter of demands would have weakened the leadership of the ULFA, but at that time, the Government did not take the opportunity.

A number of senior leaders of the ULFA came over ground in 1992 and the general secretary of the outfit Anup Chetia was arrested in Kolkata. A team of those surrendered leaders comprising Anup Chetia, Sunil Nath, Kalpajyoti Neog, Amarjyoti Handique and others also met the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and Home Minister SB Chavan and expressed their willingness to hold talks.

Recalling the events at that time, Nath said, “we also told the Prime Minister that we are ready for talks within the framework of the Constitution of India. We demanded that the Government should announce a cease-fire to create a congenial atmosphere for talks.” However, he admitted that at that time also, the ULFA commander in chief Paresh Baruah was not in favour of talks with the Government of India. After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Anup Chetia said that he would go to convince the other senior leaders for talks and was released. But he never came back.

In the meantime, the surrendered militants held a convention in Bokakhat in Golaghat district and submitted a charter of demands to the State Government. Nath said that one of the major demands placed by them before the Government was setting up of multipurpose projects for controlling floods and to generate power. The charter of demands also included demands for overall economic development of Assam. But the State Government held only two rounds of talks and then the charter of demands was put in cold storage.

Nath said that at that time, the ULFA was in total disarray but failure of the Government to hold meaningful dialogue on the charter of demands helped the ULFA to gain ground. He expressed the view that since then though a number of members of the ULFA came over ground, new people entered the outfit and it is unlikely that the problem would be solved till the top leaders come forward for talks.

Missing Manipur kids ‘join’ separatist group?


Imphal, Jul 13 : In a startling disclosure, a separatist group in Manipur has claimed that two children who went missing July 6 have voluntary joined their outfit.

‘The two boys are bent on joining us but we shall not stop them from returning to their families if they want,’ Bobby Mangang, commander of the little-known group, the Prepak Cobra Task Force, told a group of journalists who visited the rebel base this week.Yengkhom Naobi (13) and Angom Langamba (11), missing since July 6, appeared before journalists in Bishenpur district, close to state capital Imphal, and declared they have joined the group on their own. The children are students of Class III and IV.

Rita and Ibeyaima, the mothers of the two children, have appealed to the rebel group to release them even as civil society groups here Saturday joined hands to urge the militants not to set a bad precedent by keeping children and free them at the earliest.

The children were paraded before the media soon after their mothers had told the media that they were in the custody of the Task Force.

The police have meanwhile arrested two people suspected to have been involved in the disappearance of the two boys.

Security analysts in the region have expressed surprise over this incident.

‘This looks like the case of a militant group recruiting child soldiers. This is a new dimension to insurgency in the region and has confirmed the presence of child soldiers in militant outfits in the area,’ said Wasbir Hussain, director of the Guwahati-based Centre for Development and Peace Studies.

The mothers are distressed with the rebel commander saying the boys would be sent to their undisclosed general headquarters for training if they do not want to return home.

‘Come back, my son,’ Ibeyaima wailed before journalists.

NSCN (IM) inching towards accepting Indian constitution: Fernandes


Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Jul 13 : The dominant Naga separatist group has met senior government functionaries at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and is “inching towards accepting the Indian constitution”, according to a senior minister involved in the peace talks. “Top leaders of the NSCN-IM (National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah) recently met Home Minister Shivraj Patil and top officials of the PMO,” Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes, a key interlocutor with the Naga rebels, told IANS here.

“Yes, I have been meeting them regularly and have had several rounds of successful discussions. I can say with some degree of confidence (that) they are inching towards accepting the Indian cFernandes was in Bhiwadi, an industrial town about 80 km from New Delhi, to lay the foundation of an employees’ state insurance hospital.

Refusing to provide details of what transpired during his visit to Sweden in June to meet the Naga leadership, Fernandes said there was forward movement and discussions would take some time to achieve tangible results.

“They (NSCN-IM) have met important officials more recently. Lets give it some time.

“I must tell you that both the government and the Naga groups are discussing several technical issues, and the progress is quite satisfactory.”

In the last few rounds of talks, Indian government representatives have been trying to convince the NSCN-IM not to press for the unification of all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast and their demand for sovereignty, considering the complexities and sensitivities.

Fernandes has been in the forefront of talks with NSCN-IM leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah for years, having met them in several locations including Bangkok and Amsterdam.

The NSCN-IM and New Delhi entered into a ceasefire agreement in August 1997. The truce has been renewed regularly.

“We are negotiating and I don’t find any reason why the peace talks should not achieve success. Our government is serious about resolving the Naga issue,” Fernandes said.

The rebels and the government have held at least 60 rounds of peace talks in the past 11 years to end one of the longest running insurgencies in India. The campaign has claimed around 25,000 lives since 1947.

The NSCN (IM) has been demanding a ‘Greater Nagaland’ that would unite 1.2 million Nagas. But this is strongly opposed by neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.onstitution,” Fernandes said.