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PM's Manipur visit marked by counter-insurgency ops
by Gaurav Srivastav

     Imphal: With the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, set to make a significant visit to Manipur on Saturday with the twin objective of assessing the north-eastern state's developmental needs and reviewing the security situation in the wake of the controversy generated by the enforcement of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), security forces here have reportedly begun fresh counter-insurgency operations to restore and ensure peace and harmony. Dr. Singh's visit and the offensive against the militants coincides with the breakthrough in the dialogue between the Centre and the Apunba Lup, Which claims to be the representative body of all Manipuris wanting peace in the state and the removal of the AFSPA.

      While relative peace and stability prevails in Imphal and its immediate surroundings, which is likely to be converted into a fortress during the PM's visit, the interiors of Manipur do not convey the same feeling, for security forces have been forced to step up counter-insurgency operations in areas bordering Myanmar less than a month after New Delhi signed a security cooperation agreement with that country's military junta. Indian security forces have reportedly been asked to put all operations on hold till New Delhi is assured by Yangon that it will not allow militants, mainly those of the People's Liberation Army, to cross the border.

       During his visit, the PM is likely to preside over a meeting of the Unified Command that oversees all defence-related operations. The meeting will review operations carried out till date, and also assess what needs to be done in the short as well as the long term. There are almost 20-odd militant outfits operating in Manipur and its adjoining areas. Security sources claim that several militant camps have been busted since the operation in the border villages of the state's Churachandpur district got underway recently. Some militant groups have strong presence in the state's border districts. Four army brigades and several units of the police, Assam Rifles, BSF, CRPF, Manipur Rifles and India Reserve Battalion are presently engaged in the ongoing operation in the border as well as in other parts of the state.

NE militants operating from foreign soil by Gaurav Srivastava (Go To Top)

      Guwahati/Dimapur: The Indian government's consistent lament that militants from the country's northeastern states have been operating from foreign soil for years, despite denials from the respective governments accused of the same, is well founded and cannot be termed as exaggerated. That these groups have inflicted a considerable amount of damage to the psyche of the people of the northeast, as well as on their routine way of life, cannot ever be underestimated or ignored, for there is concrete evidence to suggest that these groups have been given a free rein to set up shop in neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh after being expunged from Indian soil.

      It may be recalled that of these countries, Bhutan is the only one to have taken a landmark step forward in launching an army operation against these Indian insurgents, successfully removing or exterminating close to 3,000 of them, including ULFA acolytes, from its soil. Now, Yangon has also shown a willingness to seal its borders with India to prevent insurgent infiltration or movement, leaving Bangladesh as the only unbending country providing a safe haven to northeastern extremists, be it the ULFA or the NDFB etc. An ANI television team took the initiative to explore the extent of the dangers posed by the continued existence of such militant training camps, most of them spread across vast dense forests and remote hill tracts on India's eastern borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar. This included interactions with some surrendered insurgent recruits, who were quite forthcoming when speaking about their way of life in some of these camps. One of these unnamed militants when asked about the strength of personnel in one of the ULFA militant camps, told ANI that there were about 400 being trained actively for operations on Indian soil. When he was asked how many ULFA camps were there in Myanmar, he said : "I have seen just one ULFA camp. I was geeting training there." He also acknowledged that there was some sort of contact between the ULFA and the NSCN(Khaplang), but said that ULFA leaders were more knowledgeable about this than he was. "We cooperate with other militant groups.

      All the organisations help each other. As for example, if one organisation plans an operation in Manipur, other outfits provide all possible help for that operation. The outfits cooperate with each other," he told ANI. The interactions revealed that most youth at such camps are misled with hopes of a liberated motherland and better future. It was also discovered that dogmatic leaders ensure that their cadres are replenished regularly to ensure there is no thought of leaving or plan of rejoining the Indian mainstream.

North-east geographical isolation can end: Experts (Go To Top)

      New Delhi: Experts attending a two-day conference on what ails the northeast have unanimously arrived at the conclusion that peace and development can help arrest its continued geographical isolation and cultural alienation from the rest of the country. Organized by the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the conference dwelled at length on the so-called neglect of the northeast, and what the Centre could do by way of amelioration. "By bracketing the eight northeastern states (with a population of 40 million), with its diverse tribes, customs and cultures, into what is called the 'Northeast', we tend ignore the distinct identity and sub-national aspiration of these ethnic groups", said Wasbir Hussain, a journalist and commentator-based in Guwahati. Touching upon the issues that affect the region, V.K Nayar, the former Governor of Manipur, said that there was a rooted malice in system of governance of states, both at the political level and administrative levels.

     Similarly, he felt that the region's economy should be based on its natural resources and the potential for tourism industry needs to be tapped. "You must realize that every one has got a stake in the un- development of the northeast; the insurgent groups, the people who don't want the northeast people to be happy, our neighour. And to counter that we must really open the communication networks and the key to that is Assam should be opened up," said Nayar. "What happens most of the time is that "lack of understanding of what moves the people of this region has resulted in even good decisions having floundered many a time," stated O.N. Srivastava. Srivastava felt that perceptions about northeast need to be changed. He felt that anti-establishment feeling which run deep within the people due to various reasons are not necessarily anti-nationals, and that peace with justice and peace with dignity is what is the need of the hour. Siddharth Varadarajan, Deputy Editor, The Hindu and prominent journalist Sanjoy Hazarika were among the other panelists.

Signals from India over Kashmir not encouraging: Musharraf (Go To Top)

      Islamabad: Pakistan is not encouraged by the signals coming from India over their joint pledge to try solving their half-century dispute over Kashmir, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told a foreign news agency in an exclusive interview. "The vibes that are now coming do not encourage a process of normalisation," Musharraf said. He added that India had failed to show flexibility. "Certainly the vibes should be much better than this, that we are moving, that we want to there ought to be a desire to move forward towards peace. "While from there we get vibes in the opposite direction, they do not encourage peace." Musharraf, stating he saw "light at the end of the tunnel," suggested October 25 that parts of Kashmir, currently divided between Pakistan and India and claimed by both, be demilitarised and either placed under United Nations mandate, joint control or given independence. His suggestions came after talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September in New York.

Sri Lanka judge, bodyguard shot dead in Colombo (Go To Top)

     Colombo: A gunman shot dead a Sri Lankan High Court judge and his police bodyguard as they returned to his official residence in a fashionable residential quarter here Friday, police said. According to The News, Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, known for his record sentencing, including a 200-year jail term for the island's main Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, was killed as he exited his car with his bodyguard, police said. Police said the gunman escaped and police cordoned off the Sarana Road area of Cinnamon Gardens in the diplomatic quarter of Colombo and launched a search. The motive for the killing was not immediately known.

Maoists shoot dead college lecturer, torch buses in Nepal (Go To Top)

     Kathmandu: Maoist rebels torched three buses and shot dead a college lecturer in separate incidents in western Nepal on Friday, police said. According to The News, the lecturer was killed in a drive-by shooting carried out by two gunmen on a motorcycle as he was leaving his home in the tourist town of Pokhara, a police spokesman said. The gunmen, whom police claim were Maoists, escaped after the shooting. In the southwestern town of Palpa, meanwhile, rebels stopped two buses belonging to the state-run transport service off-loaded passengers, doused the vehicles with petrol and set them alight. No one was hurt in the incident and the rebels allowed passengers to offload their luggage before torching the buses, he added.

SA well prepared for Test series with India: Smith (Go To Top)

     Kanpur: South African cricket captain Graeme Smith today said that his team was concentrating to perform well in the forthcoming Test series against India, despite the reputation of the hosts on the home soil. "We come here concentrating on what we can do. We do realise that the Indian team is a very powerful team especially in their own country. We are going to play well. We are not too worried about the series but we are concentrating on how well and how much can we do," Smith told reporters in Kanpur where first of the two Tests starts tomorrow. The Proteas are going through a transition phase following a prolonged sequence of defeats in the Test arena in recent times. Their recent ODI record has been far more disappointing having lost 1-5 to New Zealand and 0-5 to Sri Lanka in the last two tournaments. Smith, the young captain, will be the main batting stay for his young side, apart from all rounder Jacques Kallis, former captain Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini who are the three most experienced players in the line up and a lot will depend on them if they hoped to prevent the Indians from running away with the honours.

      On the other hand, there is good news for the Indian team with Indian captain Saurav Ganguly allowed to play against SA in the first test despite the threat of a two-match ban. About the SA team, Ganguly said that despite a young and inexperienced side, the visitors would be a competitive side to play against. "I would say that we performed well in test matches in the last two years whether in India or overseas. The South Africa has been good side and its is going to be very good test series. I think , you cannot take names in cricket. They may not be as experienced a side as before but then does not take away the quality of cricketers. They are going to be competitive side and we have to play well," he told reporters on the eve of the match.