NE militants in neighbouring countries
Ibobi Singh finds Centre lax on the issue
“We don’t believe in fighting with ultras. My Govt will keep the doors open for unconditional talks with them,” says Manipur CM. 

 Like his counterpart in Tripura, now Chief Minister of Manipur Ibobi Singh despite being new to office, has blamed the Centre for softly dealing with the crisis developing out of the militants taking shelter in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar. He acknowledged the fact that even to this date, taking advantage of the porous border  with Myanmar, all sorts of  nefarious movements, the most important being the entry of narcotics and arms, was diverted towards Manipur.

 “These neighbouring countries are doing precious nothing. They say that they are friends of India but our wanted militants are moving freely inside their country. Delhi also prefers to take these nations on their face and puts no strong pressure. If nothing is done now, the situation may go out of hand in very near future”, said the Manipur Chief Minister.

 Calling the all Congress Chief Minister meet in Guwahati to be a positive development, Mr. Singh hailed the programmes that were discussed for the weaker and the needy people. He also felt that the efforts on part of the party high command to monitor growth and infuse transparency and accountability in governance was really praiseworthy and must be followed up. On the burning issue of insurgency plaguing his State and the better part of the North-Eastern region, the Manipur Chief Minister felt that the time was high to solve the militancy problem once and for all, otherwise it would be a big detriment to the growth of the region. “We do not believe in fighting with them. We must sit and discuss. My Government will try to maintain law and order but at the same time will keep the doors open for unconditional negotiations with the ultras. The dialogue should not be with any one favoured group but all the militant groups active in the State must come forward for conducive political negotiations,” said Mr. Singh. Mr. Singh hailed the decision of Mr. Jamir, the Chief Minister of neighbouring Nagaland in announcing that he was ready to remove all arrest warrants and roadblocks to invite NSCN (IM) leaders to come back to the country and the State for holding peace talks. Mr. Singh felt that it was a bold move on the part of Mr. Jamir. Mr. Singh further added that to his knowledge, most of the militants today want to shed their violence and arms and can easily surrender with a wish to return to the mainstream. “We must create a conducive atmosphere for their rehabilitation and safety. If they want peace, we must also be ready to shed hostilities then,” said Mr. Singh. On the question of various  tribes like the Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis, etc., and the various differences and hostilities that crop up between them, Ibobi Singh felt that every tribal of Manipur was ready to live and  die for Manipur and was also in perfect peace, living in harmony with each other.

 “It was only a few with vested interests who want differences in the names of various tribes. The people of the hill and the valley may have some differences in their culture and lifestyles but in heart they are all bound in the spirit of oneness that Manipur reflects. My party stands for oneness and secularism. I am even pained to see the incidents in Gujarat. It has also happened for political gains. It is most unfortunate,” opined Mr. Singh.

 Despite being the head of a Congress-led coalition, Mr. Singh felt the need to maintain cordial and healthy relation with the Centre for upliftment of the State. In the near future he hoped to have a concrete discussion with the authorities concerned in the Union Home Ministry to jointly take strong and measured steps towards dealing with insurgency in the region. “I have even given an invitation to Mr. Arun Shourie to come and visit Manipur to take stock of the situation,” said the Chief Minister. Like Ibobi Singh, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar also advocated strong line against the neighbours, who are providing shelter to the ultras active in the North-East.

 However, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, during a recent trip to Assam, held Pakistani intelligence agency ISI responsible for arranging safe shelters for the ultras in the neighbouring countries. Mr. Bhattacharjee expressed hope that as the entire world was putting tremendous pressure on Pakistan to stop extending any help to any militant outfits, soon Pakistan would stop helping the ultras.
                         
| Headlines | From Other Publications  | Guest Column |
| News Briefs   | National |
| NEE Main Page  | Nena  Home Page |