THE IM-Mithi spat is continuing. There appears no end to it as of now. The latest sitrup is response from IM to the ‘few    good things’ Mithi had to say   about them.

Expectedly, the NSCN (IM) has gone full blast, It refuted Mithi charge that NSCN (IM) “intended  to create a greater Nagaland and was trying to dislodge his  Arunachal Government by pumping in money”. NSCN ‘Ministry of Information and Publicity’(MIP) in a press release  said the accusations leveled by a seasoned and heavyweight politician like Mithi are ‘unfounded and baseless’ and should be condemned by the sensible and politically conscious people since there was no greater or smaller Nagalim. The release further countered Mithi’s statement that there was no Naga population in Arunachal Pradesh and said by such a statement, he “disowned” the Changlang and Tirap districts mainly dominated by the Nagas. “Since Changlang and Tirap districts are the ancestral land of the Nagas, Mithi’s Government compromising with the territorial integrity of the State does not arise at all. Mithi’s refusal to accept the Indo-Naga political conflict for the past more than 50 years is a denial of fundamental rights not only to the Nagas of Changlang and Tirap districts in particular but also Nagas in general,” it stated.

NAGAS DO LIVE IN ARUNACHAL: NSF

Taking strong exception to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Mukut Mithi’s statement that there was no Naga in Arunachal Pradesh, the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) said any attempt to segregate the Nagas would not be accepted and tolerated. Mr Mithi had recently said as there was no Naga in Arunachal Pradesh, there would not be a compromise in the State’s territorial integrity and the government would not spare an inch of its land to be included with Nagaland. Taking strong exception to Mr Mithi’s remark, NSF president Achumbemo Kikon said that the total Naga areas comprised 4,800 sq miles of which about 14,000 sq km in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh were inhabited by Naga tribes like Wancho, Nocte and Tangsa. “A statement of such a nature from a responsible person in the stature of Chief Minister was unfortunate and has exposed his immature and irresponsible attitude,” he said. Appealing to the neighbouring communities of the Nagas to acknowledge each other’s historical rights and be realistic in their approach rather that defending each other’s rights based on illusion, Mr Kikon suggested that the communities must realise that the Nagas were already emotionally integrated. Any attempt to prevent and stop the Nagas’ desire to live together under one administrative roof would be a futile exercise, he said. The NSF chief also asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to stop military operations in Tirap  and Changlang districts and withdraw the Arunachal Pradesh Control of Organised Crime (APCOC) Act from these districts, alleging that the Act had harassed the innocent Nagas. Gear up operations against ultras: Swami North East News Agency

UNION Minister of State of Home Swami Chinmayanand has instructed the Assam administration in the trouble-torn Cachar district to gear up operations against insurgents involved in the ethnic flare-up in the district.

The minister during his recent visit in the region participated in a high-level law and order review meeting held at Silchar. Swami Chinmayanand in that meeting  emphasised on checking the activities of insurgents in the district and called upon the administration to draw up proper schemes for permanent rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in the district. His suggestion was simple. Various development schemes in handloom sectors as well as poultry, piggery schemes should be linked to rehabilitation of the violence-affected people, he prescribed. Cachar Deputy Commissioner P. K. Das informed in the high-level meeting that 3000 violence-affected inmates were presently lodged in nine relief camps in the district including 305 Bengali speaking population who had fled neighbouring Manipur under threat from militants.

The Border Security Force (BSF) officials in the meeting stated that 68 kilometre of the total 128 kilometre of Indo-Bangla border in Cachar and Karimganj districts had been fenced by barbed wire to check infiltration across the border. Among others, the meeting was attended by Rajiv Agarwal, Secretary of the Home Ministry, M Mohanraj, Additional DGP of the State Police, R. D. Singh, IGP, CRPF.

It may be mentioned here that the ethnic violence in the Cachar and North Cachar districts caused concern when suspected Hmar militants from the neighbouring State mowed down over 25 Dimasa tribal people in late February. this was the first major casualties in interior Cachar areas bordering Manipur. The incident sparked retaliation by Dimasa tribals in  the neighbouring North Cachar hills districts where innocent Hmar villagers were killed. More than 70 persons from both Dimasa and Hmar tribes have been killed so far in the ongoing ethnic flare-up. Involvement of both Dimasa and Hmar militants made the situation more worse and  much to the discomfort of the State Government. The State Government has been maintainins that militants are coming from outside the State and adding fuel to the ethnic violence in the two districts of the State. The situation is so bad that the State Government was forced to  deploy the Army to tackle the worsening situation. The Union Minister expects that the IMDT Act to be repealed in the winter session of Parliament. It may be noted here that the Bill is now before a Standing Committee of Parliament for consideration following some proposals given by the Congress and some other political parties. Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram has come down heavily on the Church in the North-East, especially the Nagaland Church which, according to a release of the Ashram, was primarily responsible for the recent Hmar-Dimasa communal clash in North Cachar Hills and Cachar districts of Assam.

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