Another group on Ibobi peacelist

Imphal, May 13 : The Okram Ibobi Singh government has added another militant outfit in the list of armed outfits willing to hold talks with the government, taking the number of such groups to 21.

The latest addition is the Azad faction of the Peoples United Liberation Front (PULF).

A source said the group sent a delegation of a civil society group to chief minister Ibobi Singh, who is also the home minister, to express its willingness to enter the peace process.

“The chief minister welcomed the move,” the source said.

The government is considering the proposal and is likely to send a response very soon.

The PULF — its members mostly drawn from the Muslim community of Manipur, known as Meitei Pangals — came into existence after over 100 Muslims were killed in a clash with Meiteis in 1993.

The united PULF was known to operate under the command of Basir Laskar, who was gunned down by Assam Rifle troops in 2006.

After Laskar’s death, the outfit broke into several factions.

Intelligence agencies in the state are trying to find out if the factions have any link with international jihadis. But so far there is no concrete evidence to suggest any link, the source said.

The PULF (Azad) confirmed that it was waiting for the government’s response.

Earlier, the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) responded positively to the call for negotiations and had a round of talks with Ibobi Singh.

The Manipur government has already made some headway with 19 other non-Naga tribal militant groups, which have conglomerated under two umbrella organisations — the Kuki National Organisation and the United Peoples Front.

They signed the ground rules in Delhi on August 22. 

The latest round of talks between the joint monitoring group, headed by additional chief secretary (home) D.S. Poonia, and the two umbrella organisations was held on May 8 in Imphal.

They discussed setting up designated camps, for which the Centre has provided Rs 50 lakh.

The camps will be ready in three months, an official source said.

Two rebels killed

Two militants were gunned down and three others, who were on their way to abduct a government official, were apprehended in separate incidents in Manipur over the past 24 hours.

Police said troops of the Assam Rifles gunned down two militants in an encounter at Lamlayang under Tengnoupal police station in Chandel district this morning. Two 9mm pistols and four live rounds were recovered from them. 

The identities of the militants and the group are yet to be established.

In another incident, police commandos arrested three cadres of the United National Liberation Front from Yaiskul in Imphal West yesterday.

A 9mm pistol, five live rounds and a motorcycle were recovered from the trio, identified as Naorem Nicholas alias Nanao, Leishangthem Romeo alias Romi and Sanasam Ibohanbi Singh.

The police said the three were coming to abduct a government official residing in the locality. The cadres were remanded in five days’ police custody by an Imphal court today.

"Paradise unxplored" or insurgency brewing

Guwahati, April 22: Three people died on average everyday in the Indian states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur in 2008 .

First quarter 2009 already threatens to challenge the 2008 figure.

Wreckage, devastation, black thick smoke crowning the fires that burn below, mangled and charred dead bodies, scores of limbless injured dripping blood and hundreds of weeping relatives, their faces stark with terror that stems from the fear insurgency has injected into them! .

That is the North East today, a cluster of seven states of this republic, which the tourism ministry in all its wisdom and nonchalence still prefers to brand "Paradise Unexplored" ! .

Welcome to one of the greatest ironies of Free India, 62 years after Independence as the country conducts its 16th Lok Sabha Elections ! Call it the world's greatest political circus or whatever you will, it is thumbs down in this far-flung corner of India, where poverty rules, development is fairly insignificant in modern-day terms and the earth is soaked red in the blood of people who die on it every day.

The only silver lining is Tripura, where militancy has declined, while Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Mizoram are relatively peaceful in so far as insurgency goes.

But then, the north eastern sky has always been dark for decades and even if shifting clouds do make away for a spot of silver now and then, you never actually know whether it will last.

In Assam, Nagaland and Manipur there are over 50 insurgency outfits, of which 34 are in Manipur alone.

In 2007, Manipur had recorded 388 deaths, caused by militancy, a figure that rose to 484 in 2008.The killed were of all kinds: security forces, civilians and militants too.

But what's interesting is, if you average it all.

In 2007, therefore Manipur on average, accounted for 1.06 insurgency-related deaths a day, while in 2008, it was 1.32 deaths a day ! Year-on-year therefore, Manipur's degree of devastation rose by 24.74%, which is something that those who canvass for votes every election season should perhaps chew on.

Overall, Manipur accounted for 47% of the total number of militant murders of the North East.

In Manipur, extortionists have forced many an estalishment to close down.

Every institution is open to extortion including places of worship, educational institutes, health centres, commercial establishments et al.

Kanan Devi Memorial School at Pangei in the Imphal East District was closed for an indefinite period.

Extortion demands forced the closure of two Government colleges in Imphal.

Two private hospitals were closed down due to extortion demands.

Several doctors at the state's premier healthcare establishment, the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) have fled.

In all three states, common ordinary people are afraid to venture out of their homes.

Even the home is not safe because you never know when the militants strike.

The deadly blast at Maligaon in Guwahati city on April 6 have left an entire group of students of a local primary school, funded by the Prime Minister's MP fund, so traumatised that they have not been able to attend classes since.

In the troubled North East, they have actually started believing "Ignorance is Bliss" if the cost of education has to be paid with the life of a child.

In Assam, everybody tells everybody else at home "Avoid crowded places", because that's exactly where the last 20 serial blasts have happened.