north east online - north east india news: Mar 2, 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Naga leaders meet Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI - Leaders of a frontline Naga separatist outfit Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after several rounds of talks with a government-appointed interlocutor, a separatist leader said.

The top leadership of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) is here for the peace talks which resumes after a gap of nearly a year.

The leaders are in a meeting with the Prime Minister at his residence. We hope the talks will be honest and sincere, V.S. Atem, convener of the steering committee of the NSCN-IM, told IANS.

Atem said the rebel group’s general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah was leading the delegation that arrived here Saturday night from self-imposed exile in the Netherlands.

The NSCN-IM has been invited by the government for peace talks. The rebel leaders, Atem said, have been speaking to the government’s new pointsman R.S. Pandey, a former petroleum secretary. They will also call on Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

“We are hopeful, very optimistic…but no compromise on our right to sovereignty. We have not given up and will never give up the demand for our independence,” Atem said.

The NSCN-IM is fighting for the expansion of the mountainous Nagaland state into a “Greater Nagaland” and carve out an independent state with a promise to maintain federal relations with India.

The NSCN-IM’s demand for a “Greater Nagaland” would unite over 1.2 million Nagas in northeast India. But the demand has been strongly opposed by the neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

The last round of peace talks between the government and the separatist group was held in March 2009 in Zurich, Switzerland and ended in a stalemate.

The NSCN-IM had entered into a ceasefire accord with the Indian government in August 1997. They have held 67 rounds of talks with the government so far.

Centre-Naga talks to resume today

The Naga talks will resume in Delhi on Tuesday amid hopes of an early solution to the long-drawn impasse in Nagaland.

The next round of the Centre-Naga talks will begin on Tuesday. The NSCN(I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah arrived in New Delhi on Saturday night. Muivah will hold talks with the Centre's new interlocutor R S Pandey.

The Naga leaders are expected to call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram by end of this week.

Union Home Secretary G K Pillai has said that Muivah had accepted the invitation from the Government of India communicated through R S Pandey, the new interlocutor, to resume the peace dialogue.

Muivah said in Delhi: "I assured my people we will stand our ground. We also respect India and the right of India and their interest, we respect but at the expense of our rights...sorry I cannot do that."

The Union Home Secretary said: "No, people can demand, so many things. It is not enough to demand. We have to make states which are viable, you cannot have states which are not viable, it will just collapse on its own."

The Naga group has been blaming the government for the delay in finding a solution to the six-decades-old Naga problem.

"It is pretty long time that we have been talking to government of India and it is high time that the government should take the matter seriously. In more than 10 years, they could not solve the problem so they are responsible for that," the NSCN-IM general secretary said.

Tsunami sweeps away entire towns on Chilean coast

TALCAHUANO, Chile -When the shaking stopped, Marioli Gatica and her extended family huddled in a circle on the floor of their seaside wooden home in this gritty port town, listening to the radio by a lantern's light.
They heard firefighters urging Talcahuano's citizens to stay calm and stay inside. They heard nothing of a tsunami — until it slammed into their house with an unearthly roar about an hour after Saturday's magnitude 8.8 quake.
Gatica's house exploded with water. She and her family were swept below the surface, swirling amid loose ship containers and other massive debris that smashed buildings into oblivion all around them.
"We were sitting there one moment and the next I looked up into the water and saw cables and furniture floating," Gatica said.
She clung to her 11-year-old daughter, Ninoska Elgueta, but the rush of water ripped the girl from her hands. Then the wave retreated as suddenly as it came.
Two of the giant containers crushed Gatica's home. A third landed seaward of where she floated, preventing the retreating tsunami from dragging her and other relatives away.
Soon Ninoska was back in her mother's arms — she had grabbed a tree branch to avoid being swept away and climbed down as soon as the sea receded.
Gatica's son, husband and 76-year-old father were OK as well, as were her sister and her family. The only relative missing was her 76-year-old mother, Nery Valdebenito, Gatica said as she waited in a hundreds-long line outside a school to report her losses.
"I think my mother is trapped beneath" the house, Gatica said.
As she spoke, firefighters with search dogs were examining the ruins of her home blocks away. Minutes later, the group leader drew his finger across his neck: No one alive under the house.
Such horrors abound along the devastated beach communities of Chile's south-central coast, which suffered the double tragedy Saturday of the earthquake and the tsunami it caused. Of the quake's 723 victims, most were in the wine-growing Maule region that includes Talcahuano, now a mud-caked, ravaged town of 180,000 just north of Concepcion.
Close to 80 percent of Talcahuano's residents are homeless, with 10,000 homes uninhabitable and hundreds more destroyed, said Mayor Gaston Saavedra.
"The port is destroyed. The streets, collapsed. City buildings, destroyed," Saavedra said.
In Concepcion, the biggest city near the epicenter, rescuers heard the knocking of victims trapped inside a toppled 70-unit apartment building Monday and were drilling through thick concrete to reach them, said fire Commander Juan Carlos Subercaseux. By late Monday, firefighters had pulled 25 survivors and nine bodies from the structure.
Chile's defense minister has said the navy made a mistake by not immediately activating a tsunami warning. He said port captains who did call warnings in several coastal towns saved hundreds of lives.
The waves came too quickly for a group of 40 retirees vacationing at a seaside campground in the village of Pelluhue. They had piled into a bus that was swept out to sea, along with trucks and houses, when the tsunami surged 200 meters (yards) into the summer resort town.
As of Monday, firefighters said, five of the retirees' bodies had been recovered. At least 30 remained missing.
Most residents in Pelluhue, where 300 homes were destroyed, were aware of the tsunami threat. Street signs point to the nearest tsunami evacuation route.
"We ran through the highest part of town, yelling, 'Get out of your homes!'" said Claudio Escalona, 43, who fled his home near the campground with his wife and daughters, ages 4 and 6. "About 20 minutes later came three waves, two of them huge, about 6 meters (18 feet) each, and a third even bigger. That one went into everything."
"You could hear the screams of children, women, everyone," Escalona said. "There were the screams, and then a tremendous silence."
In the village of Dichato, teenagers drinking on the beach were the first to shout the warning when they saw a horseshoe-shaped bay empty about an hour after the quake. They ran through the streets, screaming. Police joined them, using megaphones.
The water rose steadily, surging above the second floors of homes and lifting them off their foundations. Cars were stacked three high in the streets. Miles inland along a river valley, cows munched Monday next to marooned boats, refrigerators, sofas and other debris.
"The maritime radio said there wouldn't be a tsunami," said survivor Rogilio Reyes, who was tipped off by the teenagers.
Dichato Mayor Eduardo Aguilera said 49 people were missing and 800 homes were destroyed. Some people fled to high ground, only to return too early and get caught by the tsunami, he said. Fourteen bodies were found by Monday. The only aid: A fire department water truck.
The World Health Organization said it expected the death toll to rise as communications improve. For survivors, it said access to health services will be a major challenge and noted that indigenous people living in adobe homes were most at risk.
In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said Chile was seeking temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, damage assessment teams, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she was bringing 20 satellite phones as a first piece of a much larger U.S. aid package. Argentina said it was sending six aircraft loaded with a field hospital, 55 doctors and water treatment plants, and Brazil said it was sending a field hospital and rescue teams.
Security was a major concern in Concepcion and other hard-hit towns. Most markets in Concepcion were ransacked by looters and people desperate for food, water, toilet paper, gasoline and other essentials Sunday, prompting authorities to send troops and impose an overnight curfew in the city. The interior ministry extended the Concepcion curfew to run from 8 p.m. Monday to noon Tuesday.
When a small convoy of armored vehicles drove along a downtown street, bystanders applauded, shouting: "Finally! Finally!"
Throughout Talcahuano, stick-wielding residents barricaded streets with tires and rubble to protect their homes in the absence of law enforcement.
Downtown, eight suspected looters kneeled outside a pharmacy, their hands on their heads, as a police officer taunted them.
"Are you praying?" he shouted. "I don't hear you. Pray."

Prime Minister hints at no fuel price rollback

On Board Air India One, March 1 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday hinted that his Government may not initiate a rollback on fuel prices, and said that the economy has the capacity to absorb the hike without setting any inflationary pressure.

"Well any increase in prices does hurt some people, but we have to take a long-term route. We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all along populist fiscal policies," Dr. Singh said.

"Sooner or later these populist policies if persisted for the long time to come will lead to the erosion of the investment climate and will lead to erode the capacity to create new jobs. It will lead to the erosion of our ability to invest in our flagship programmes for the poor people," he added.

The Prime Minister reckons that the direct effect on the wholesale price index (WPI) will be no more than O.4 percent.

"There may be some escalations, but my hope is now that the rabi crop is coming into the market, prices which has caused the great degree of concern (wheat, sugar and pulses) will see some moderation," Dr. Singh said.

The Prime Minister's comments on the fuel price came a day after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he was open to discussing differences on the fuel price hike with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies- the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK)- who have appealed to the Prime Minister and to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to consider a reversal.

In an interview to a leading daily, Mukherjee said that the fuel price hike of Rs. 2.71 on petrol and Rs. 2.55 on diesel, announced in 2010-11 budget could be revisited, but did not say when.

"These (objections to the fuel price hike) are a political prospective. Our capability of reducing the cost of production is not relevant. Whatever the pricing ruling in the international market are, you will have to get it," Mukhejee said.

India imports 80 percent of its crude oil requirements, the prices of which had shot up to 147 dollars/barrel in June 2008, and have now stabilized at around 80 dollars/barrel.

Rising inflation, particularly food inflation, has sparked street protests and put political pressure on the Congress-led government to find a solution without hurting economic recovery.

Petrol prices rose about six percent and diesel prices by 7.75 percent after the government increased factory-gate taxes and import duties on the fuels as part of last week's General Budget for 2010-11.

The government has announced a hike in excise duty on petrol by one rupee. By Naveen Kapoor(ANI)

Ruling DAN urges opposition Congress to attend Naga consultative meet

Ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) on Monday reiterated its appeal to opposition Congress to participate in the proposed three-day "Naga Consultative Meet" so that a consensus opinion could be built on the vexed Naga political conflict.

As part of its commitment to act as active facilitator to on-going Naga peace process, Political Affair Committee (PAC) of DAN is organizing the second consultative meet scheduled for March 5 to 7 at Kohima and invited all political parties, tribal Hohos (councils), civil society organisations, Churches, students’ bodies and Naga underground groups.

But following the decision of the CLP not to attend the meet PAC chairman T M Lotha renewed "humble appeal" to the state Congress leaders to reconsider their stand in the "greater interest of the common Naga cause."

In a fresh appeal Lotha called upon the Congress leaders to attend the deliberation and share their views and suggestions so as to arrive at some consensus on the vexed Naga issue.

The participation of all Naga leaders, including that of Congress party, at the proposed meet was extremely important at this critical hour of Naga peace process, Lotha argued.

Assam minister bodyguard assaults auto-van driver

Two vehicles of Assam agriculture minister Pramila Rani Brahma collided at Hatigaon area on Monday and an auto-van driver was beaten up for not giving them the way in time.

Official sources said the two vehicles of the minister's convoy collided in front of a school when the auto-van failed to move away when signalled by the drivers.

After the collission, Brahma's bodyguard alighted from the minister's car and assulted the auto-van driver for not moving away in time and damaged his vehicle, eye witnesses said.

Following this, angry locals blocked the road and detained the bodyguard demanding that the minister apologise for her staff's violence.

The blockade was lifted after the police intervened and the auto-van driver was provided medical assistance.

Arunachal Pradesh part of India, says Mark Tully

Negating the claim of China over Arunachal Pradesh, renowned journalist and author Mark Tully on Monday said that Arunachal Pradesh was part of British-India and free-India.

"I see no reason why this part of India will be part of China," Tully, the former India correspondent of BBC from 1965 to 1994, who is on a visit to Arunachal Pradesh said today while interacting with the media persons here.

Tully said he is working on a book – India since economic liberalization – which will contain a chapter on North East, including Arunachal Pradesh.

The hey days of ULA in Assam, its tea industry besides Meghalaya and Manipur will certainly find mention, he said.

Responding to a volley of questions, he said people never opt for insurgency but become part of a compelling situation. The situation in the North East has not been dealt with effectively, particularly through political dialogue.

Nagas and Bodos want to live in peace and remain part of India’s democratic system, he said adding they also know that their demand for independence is unrealistic and will never be accepted.

Tully advocated more road and rail communication, including early opening of 560-km rail link between Agartala and Kolkata via Bangaldesh. "The more communication, the better it is for every one," he added.

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