Mizoram Political parties agree on declaring HPC(D) as unlawful

Aizawl, Apr 14 : A meeting of all political parties of Mizoram convened by state home minister R Lalzirliana today unanimously agreed that the state government took steps to expedite declaration of the Hmar People's Convention (Democrats) as an unlawful organisation.

An official statement said representatives of all major political parties in the state attended the meeting, which condemned the ambush of the Assembly Committee on Government Assurances team by HPC(D) cadres on March 28 last killing three policemen.

The meeting also discussed on the steps government had taken after the killing of the three policemen.

The state government had mulled outlawing the HPC(D) and declare the north eastern parts of the state adjoining Manipur, where the Hmar militants usually operated from across the state borders, as disturbed area.

Officials of the state home department said a bill to this regard was being drafted and the state governor might issue an ordinance as the state legislature was not in session.

Arunachal Anti-Army act cry grows shriller

By Ranju Dodum and Khelen Thokchom

AAPSU members at the news conference

Itanagar/Imphal, April 14 : The clamour against the extension of the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act has been mounting in Arunachal Pradesh with student unions and political parties raising the pitch.
The All Arunachal Pradesh Student's Union (AAPSU) has termed the Union home ministry's decision to impose the army act along districts bordering Assam as a "murder of democracy." It said, "The implementation of AFSPA is not justified," and has planned a rally on Wednesday with a march to the Raj Bhavan. The same day, the People's Party of Arunachal will also stage a rally.

Extending support to AAPSU, North East Students Union (Neso) coordinator Pritam Bhai Sonam said, "We have tasted AFSPA, and in 2007, one person was shot dead by the army at Gumto near the capital while he was searching for his mithun." The mithun is Arunachal's state animal.

While chief minister Nabam Tuki has already made his displeasure over the decision known to Union home minister Rajnath Singh, the Arunachal Pradesh Congress Seva Dal chief organiser Kipa Kaha accused the army of indulging in illegal activities. Kaha alleged that army personnel have been "caught indulging in multi-million rupee drug trade as well as extorting the public."

The state unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said implementing the AFSPA in the state would render its people "unsafe in the hands of the army."

While rival political parties have decried the Centre's move, the state BJP unit said it was taken due to failure of the state government to curb militant activity.

The act's implementation is limited to the 12 districts bordering Assam - West and East Kameng, Papum Pare, Lower Subansiri, West and East Siang, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, Namsai, Changlang, Longding and Tirap.

Yesterday, Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal himself, said he had "directed home ministry officials to review it and seek suggestions from the state government for alternative views".


Manipur support
Rights and student activists of Manipur, too, have extended support to the protest by the people of Arunachal Pradesh.

Two activists of the state, Babloo Loitongbam, the executive director of Human Rights Alert, and Neso secretary-general Sinam Prakash, will attend a series of discussions to protest the imposition of the act in Arunachal Pradesh, beginning on April 19.

The act has been in force in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh where various factions of the NSCN are active since 1991 after they were categorised disturbed areas. It was subsequently extended to a 20-km belt in districts that share borders with Assam.

"Prakash and I will take part in the deliberations on Arunachal Pradesh, beginning on April 19. This is to show our solidarity with the people of Arunachal Pradesh," Loitongbam said.

Manipur, which is already reeling under the impact of the act, has been most vocal in denouncing the act and is demanding its repeal.

Irom Sharmila, a human rights activist, has been fasting for nearly 15 years, demanding repeal of the act.

Her fast was triggered by the killing of 10 civilians by Assam Rifles troops at Malom in Imphal West in 2000, in retaliation to a militant attack.

"We show solidarity with the people of Arunachal Pradesh. Neso has been demanding all these years that the act should go. We strongly oppose the extension of the act in more areas of Arunachal Pradesh," Prakash said.

Arunachal AFSPA Decision Will Be Reviewed, Says Rijiju

Itanagar, Apr 14 : The Union minister of state for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju, on Sunday said he has instructed officials of his ministry to review the Centre's decision to impose the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in 12 districts of Arunachal Pradesh. He said the officials will also seek the state government's views on the matter.

"I have directed the home ministry to review the decision and seek suggestions from the state government," he said in a statement. "The Union home ministry took the decision because the ongoing operation against NDFB-S and other outfits may not succeed if militants find a safe heaven in Arunachal," he added. "We are a democratic government. If the state government is uncomfortable with this step, we will honour their concern. Law and order is a state subject and the Union home ministry can only deal with national security by working closely with the state government," he explained.

Stating that the Centre would adhere to the spirit of cooperative federalism, Rijiju said he is in touch with Arunachal home minister Tanga Byaling. "Some modalities need to be worked out and the views of the state government have been sought. The fact remains, however, that rebels are working in the border areas of Arunachal," he said.

"I would like to appeal to both the state government and the residents to be alert about the movement of militants from outside the state entering Arunachal," he added.

Mizoram Mulls AFSPA To Hmar Dominated Areas

Aizawl, Apr 13 : The Mizoram government is likely to issue an ordinance to declare the northeastern part of the state, bordering Manipur, as a 'disturbed area'. The region is dominated by people belonging to the Hmar community.

The move comes after the ambush of members and guards of a state assembly committee at Zokhawthiang, near the Mizoram-Manipur border, on March 28 in which two policemen and a driver of the police department were killed by suspected rebels of Hmar People's Convention (Democrats).

A senior state home department official said the bill to declare the area as 'disturbed' is being drafted.

"As the state assembly is not in session, the governor will issue an ordinance after the bill gets the approval of the council of ministers," the official said. He added that terming an area 'disturbed' does not necessarily imply the enforcement of the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

"The Mizoram government will declare the area as disturbed without involving the Centre," he said, adding that the concerned bill is being prepared by the state home department and the law and judicial department. He said the state government could reimburse 75% of the expenses involved in implementing the disturbed area ordinance.

Meanwhile, the Aizawl-based corruption watchdog, People's Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram (PRISM), issued a statement condemning the government's move. It said Mizoram underwent unspeakable suffering, including rape, violation of human rights, torture, atrocities and displacement, for 20 years when it was a 'disturbed area'.

"The atrocities and excesses of the Army during the 20-year-long insurgency left an indelible scar in the minds of the Mizo people," the statement said, adding that such suffering should not be repeated in the state.

The 'disturbed area' tag will provide sweeping powers to the Armed Forces, which, in turn, would result in human rights violations, the statement said.

Tatas Sign Welfare Pact with Mizoram

By Santanu Ghosh

Silchar, Apr 12 : A welfare trust of the industrial house of Tatas has signed an MoU with the Mizoram government in its rural development initiatives.

Official sources in Aizawl today said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) was initiated with Burziz Taraporevala, secretary of the Ratan Tata Trust, in the Mizoram capital on April 8.

Taraporevala said the Trust would provide Rs 18.8 crore over the next five years for rural development projects under the Mizoram government's flagship project, New Land Utilisation Policy (NLUP). He hoped the joint project, which aims at economic uplift of about 17,000 Mizo families, would bear fruit.

The joint project aims to uplift the living standard of the poor in the rural areas of the state by offering employment opportunities such as rearing of pigs by increasing the number of scientific pig sties, and increase in horticulture products, such as exportable fruits like orange, passion fruit and grapes and cultivation of flowers such as the anthurium.

The venture also aims to discourage farmers from practising the wasteful slash-and- burn jhum cultivation on hill terraces by providing them with an alternative, profitable agricultural practice.

Improvement of traditional Mizo handicraft items like knitted colourful puan (women's skirts) and jackets, and bamboo baskets and hats have also found primacy in the schemes to be executed by the NLUP grants.

The NLUP, an innovative rural project of the Mizoram government, was unfurled in 2010 at an initial cost of Rs 2,800 crore. The state government has already made some progress under the scheme and received accolades in the country and abroad.

One of the welfare wings of the Tata Trust, the North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA), will be involved in the joint collaboration with the Mizoram government. The venture aims to cover the entire state, which has a population of about 11 lakhs, in phases under the NULP programmes, the sources said. The NEIDA also has its footprints in other northeastern states like Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Delhi Has 'Silently Extended' Harsh AFSPA Act To My State: Arunachal CM

By Rupesh Dutta

New Delhi, Apr 13 : The union government has "silently extended" the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to "entire state of Arunachal Pradesh" without consulting the state government and appears keen to deal with the insurgency in border areas on its own, state Chief minister Nabam Tuki has said.

Tuki said the central government could have tightened security in areas of the state that border Nagaland and Assam instead of extending the "harsh act in the entire state."
"The movement of insurgents is in these areas and not the mainland of Arunachal Pradesh," Tuki told in an interview during a visit here.

Tuki, who heads a Congress government in the state, said that there was an increase in the number of insurgent camps in areas bordering Nagaland and Assam but there has not been any increase in insurgent activity in other parts of the state.

"Can the Centre know better than the state government?" he asked.

AFSPA has been in force in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh since 1991 after they were categorized as disturbed areas. It was subsequently extended to a 20-km belt in districts that share borders with Assam.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government, in an order last month, extended the controversial AFSPA to other areas of Arunchal Pradesh.

AFSPA grants special powers to the armed forces in areas declared "disturbed" including arrest without warrant of a person who has committed cognizable offence or is suspected to have done so. It allows them to enter and search any premises, to stop and search any vehicle reasonably suspected. It gives powers to personnel to fire upon those acting unlawfully for the maintenance of public order Tuki, 51, who is into his second term as chief minister, said that it was due to efforts of his government that insurgent outfits such as National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Issac-Muivah), United Liberation Front of Assam (Independent), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) could not extend their reach in the state.

"The central government has not been able to understand that it is because of my government's efforts that insurgency has not been able to reach the mainland Arunachal Pradesh from the bordering areas," he said.

Tuki said "if the central government was aware of it, they would have have consulted Arunachal government (before extending AFSPA),"
Tuki said he had got to know of the extension of AFSPA in his state through media reports.

"I met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to reconsider it. It is the common people who will be affected. The central government should see the atmosphere in my state and then take a decision."
Tuki, who attended the 64th plenary meeting of the North East Council here, said that extension of AFSPA in the state has made people apprehensive.

"It has led to a panic among people and they fear that the situation will became similar to that in Manipur, where there have been several controversies regarding the AFSPA," Tuki said.

Asked about reasons for increase of camps in the bordering areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Tuki said that there were several reasons and both the state and Centre need to understand them in a spirit of mutual understanding.

"Arunachal Pradesh has been an island of peace. Never ever any insurgent group has emerged from the state. But several major and minor militant groups have indeed tried to infiltrate seeing the peaceful atmosphere in the state, he said.

Tuki said the Centre should reconsider its decision on AFSPA
"If they don't, I will tell the home ministry about the consequent problems," he said.

"I will wait for some time to see how the Centre deals with my request. I have to look after problems of my own people. I cannot allow them to face problems because of the Act," he said.

Mizoram Mulls Ordinance To Impose ‘Disturbed Area’ Tag

Aizawl, Apr 10 : The Mizoram government is likely to issue an ordinance to declare the northeastern part of the state, bordering Manipur, as a 'disturbed area'. The region is dominated by people belonging to the Hmar community.

The move comes after the ambush of members and guards of a state assembly committee at Zokhawthiang, near the Mizoram-Manipur border, on March 28 in which two policemen and a driver of the police department were killed by suspected rebels of Hmar People's Convention (Democrats).

A senior state home department official said the bill to declare the area as 'disturbed' is being drafted.

"As the state assembly is not in session, the governor will issue an ordinance after the bill gets the approval of the council of ministers," the official said. He added that terming an area 'disturbed' does not necessarily imply the enforcement of the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.

"The Mizoram government will declare the area as disturbed without involving the Centre," he said, adding that the concerned bill is being prepared by the state home department and the law and judicial department. He said the state government could reimburse 75% of the expenses involved in implementing the disturbed area ordinance.

Meanwhile, the Aizawl-based corruption watchdog, People's Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram (PRISM), issued a statement condemning the government's move. It said Mizoram underwent unspeakable suffering, including rape, violation of human rights, torture, atrocities and displacement, for 20 years when it was a 'disturbed area'.

"The atrocities and excesses of the Army during the 20-year-long insurgency left an indelible scar in the minds of the Mizo people," the statement said, adding that such suffering should not be repeated in the state.

The 'disturbed area' tag will provide sweeping powers to the Armed Forces, which, in turn, would result in human rights violations, the statement said.

The Balancing Act in Manipur

By Sudeep Chakravarti


A file photo of Naga tribesmen during a festival at Kohima. Non-Naga communities fear that giving autonomy to Nagas in Manipur will be the first step to a Greater Nagaland that rebels have advertised for long. Photo: AFP

A peace deal with Naga rebels will require granting autonomy to Nagas in Manipur; this will need to be balanced by addressing the concerns of non-Naga inhabitants of the state


A peace deal with Naga rebels could make or break India’s peace-and-prosperity stakes in a region neighbouring Myanmar, the country’s stated overland gateway to hydrocarbon reserves and markets of South-East Asia, and a pivot to counter China.

Settling Naga rebels in Nagaland is only part of the story (See Naga peace process: New equations, Mint, 3 April 2015). A peace deal will also require settling Naga rebel leaders and cadres in their traditional homelands in adjacent Manipur, and granting administrative autonomy to Nagas there—articulated as Alternative Arrangement by United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body for Nagas in that state. This will need to be balanced by addressing the concerns of non-Naga inhabitants of Manipur, who constitute the majority.

Observers point to overtures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a sports university for Manipur as being deal sweeteners. Imphal valley, home to the state’s majority Meitei population, and the southern arc of hills, home to most of Manipur’s non-Naga tribal people, won’t be bought that cheaply.

Modi and his team need to ensure that the territorial integrity of Manipur is seen to be preserved. Non-Naga communities, especially the Meitei, fear that giving autonomy to Nagas in Manipur will be the first step to a Greater Nagaland that rebels have advertised for long. This concern will likely be assuaged by the natural tribal politics that will, for a time, keep Nagas in Manipur away from the ambit of Nagas in the present-day state of Nagaland, and also by constitutional mechanisms that prevent absolute powers to UNC’s Alternative Arrangement.

Peace will require other grand gestures. A surefire buy-in would be withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, or AFSPA, which offers the armed forces both impunity and immunity, and remains the most explosive emotional trigger in Manipur after territoriality. The law that heaps gratuitous insult and brutality on non-combatants in a quest for national security has gradually been removed from the municipal limits of the state capital Imphal. Without any loss of influence—several laws besides AFSPA permit search, seizure and combat against enemies of the state—the gesture could easily be extended. If security hawks are wary of such blanket removal, AFSPA could remain only in a strip along the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur. It’s a porous membrane, as it were, that thrives on the smuggling of weapons, narcotics, sandalwood and other products, a food chain that caters alike to rebels and the political elite.

Low-key visits by senior army officers in recent weeks to Manipur are being interpreted by some local observers as evaluation of the ground for give-and-take. At any rate, the current chief of army staff, Dalbir Singh, is uniquely placed. Having commanded a Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Nagaland, and later the Army’s 3 Corps based in Rangapahar, near Dimapur, and the Eastern Command in Kolkata, he brings experience of a vast area that includes Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Mizoram. He brings insights into nearby Myanmar and Bangladesh and the local and geopolitical impulses that, for all the recent bonhomie, impel these countries to harbour anti-India rebels.

Reconciliation would also be required between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), the largest Naga rebel group currently in talks with the government of India, and the Kuki community. Kukis hold this group responsible for triggering a territory-oriented blood-letting in the 1990s that killed and massively displaced Kuki communities in areas that the Nagas—in particular the Tangkhul tribe—claimed as their own. The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body for the community in that state, demands a formal apology. It seems like a small price for peace and reconciliation.

Balance is also likely to be driven by the needs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is making determined forays into northeastern India. Senior bureaucrats from Manipur tell me that the BJP would be wary of anything that permits the Congress and its entrenched and riotously controversial chief minister, Okram Ibobi Singh, renewed lease as protector of non-Naga communities when assembly elections come around in early 2017. The Congress has 42 seats in Manipur’s 60-seat assembly, mostly from Imphal valley. These plains account for 40 assembly seats: a BJP target.

Fancy footwork by the Modi government will, of course, not prevent undermining of a process of peace and reconciliation by fat cats in politics and the establishments of both the state and rebels that have grown plump in the economy of conflict. It’s a balancing act to top all balancing acts.

Sudeep Chakravarti’s latest book is Clear.Hold.Build: Hard Lessons of Business and Human Rights in India. His earlier books include Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country and Highway 39: Journeys through a Fractured Land. This column, which focuses on conflict situations in South Asia that directly affect business, runs on Fridays.