The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Tuesday demanded central intervention to end the ongoing crisis in Manipur arising out of the state government's decision not to allow the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah to visit his birthplace in the state."Immediate central intervention is required and the state and centre should jointly deal with the situation in Manipur," CPI-M central committee member Bijon Dhar told reporters here.He said: "Peace talks between the centre and both factions of NSCN must continue. Any hasty step should not be taken to jeopardise the crucial peace process.""The Congress and its ally Trinamool Congress have been demanding President's Rule in West Bengal. Why are they silent with regard to Manipur," the Left leader asked.The CPI-M urged that all concerned should sit together to end the crisis which, according to the Left party, is severely affecting the common man.The land-locked northeastern state of Manipur is reeling under unprecedented crisis of all essentials, baby food, life saving drugs and transport fuel following an indefinite economic blockade enforced by various Naga tribal groups since May 6 to protest the Manipur government's decision not to allow Thuingaleng Muivah to visit his birth place in Somdal village in Ukhrul district.Mountainous Manipur depends on supplies from outside and trucks carrying essentials and other goods from the rest of India use the national highways passing through Nagaland. The Naga tribal groups put up blockades on both the highways, the lifelines of Manipur.The Manipur government has banned the entry of Muivah to his birthplace, saying it could lead to ethnic unrest in the state.The 75-year-old Muivah, a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur, was born in Somdal village, 100 km north of capital Imphal in Ukhrul district, and had last visited his birthplace in 1960.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Meghalaya targets NH to protest border killings
A series of shutdowns in Meghalaya to protest a violent border row with Assam is set to affect two more highways – NH40 and NH44 – in the Northeast.NH39 and NH53, both leading to Manipur capital Imphal, have been under siege for a month now.United Democratic Party (UDP), the Congress’ ruling ally in Meghalaya has called a bandh on Tuesday to protest the killing of Khasi and Garo tribal people at Langpih, a border village 100 km west of Assam capital Guwahati, on Friday. The Khasi Students Union (KSU) and the militant Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council have also called bandhs in synchronicity or thereafter.Four people died in police firing following a clash between a tribal group and Nepalese settlers in that village at the centre of a border row between Assam and Meghalaya since July 2008.The prime target of the bandhs are NH40 and NH44, the lifelines of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and southern Assam’s Barak Valley.NH40 branches off NH37 at Jorabat (15 km east of Guwahati) and ends at Jowai (headquarters of Meghalaya’s Jaintia Hills district) 216 km southwest. NH44 links Meghalaya capital Shillong and Sabroom 630 km away in Tripura (near India-Bangladesh border).NH44, in turn, is crucial for movement of essentials to Mizoram (NH54) and Manipur (NH53). The highway to Mizoram capital Aizawl starts at Silchar and the highway to Imphal begins at Badarpur, both in southern Assam.Naga organizations protesting the holding of elections in Manipur’s tribal councils had ‘imposed’ a blockade on NH53 since April. The imbroglio over Naga rebel leader Thuingaleng Muivah’s visit to ancestral village Somdal in Manipur’s Ukhrul district added to the blockade on this highway as well as NH39, Manipur’s lifeline via Nagaland.“We will go ahead with our 24-hour bandh from Tuesday. We cannot help if the bandh leads to cutting off a large chunk of the region,” said KSU president Samuel B Jyrwa.Adding to the ethnic tension in Meghalaya are ‘quit notices’ served on Nepalese residents. Though the KSU ‘withdrew’ its notice served on Nepalese living in Shillong, the Jaintia Youth Federation has stuck to its determination to expel Nepali-speaking people from the Jaintia Hills.Meghalaya Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh, meanwhile, has warned youth organizations against any ethnic cleansing drive. He has also appealed to agitating NGOs and political parties to take back their shutdown calls.
