Baruah and China, GNLA and Pakistan, Tripura and Greece

Four people were injured in an explosion in Manipur yesterday.  Also yesterday, Government forces shot dead three ULFA militants in Arunachal Pradesh.  Two government offices and four government buses were set alight in Arunachal Pradesh last Friday.

There’s been vague whisperings about the Central Government considering forming a ‘supra-state’ Naga body before the end of the year.  As the Naga imposed blockade in Manipur continues, two weeks after the Kuki-led blockade was called off, the Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF) has threatened agitation if their land is included in the to-be created Sadar Hills District.

The Times of Assam says ULFA pushed for talks and dropped its core demand for sovereignty only to get its leaders out of jail.  They claim the rift between the two factions is pure fiction and that the two continue to coordinate closely.
 

11 people have indicted in Bangladesh on arms smuggling charges.  They include Paresh Baruah and other high profile individuals including former ministers and senior bureaucrats.  Apparently the Indian Government has concrete evidence that Mr Baruah is in China.

Someone has a sense of humour: Manipur has been named “best improved state in governance among small states of India”.

There are fresh accusations of links between Pakistan’s ISI and northeast groups: this time it's the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA). 

What do Greece and Tripura have in common?  No, it’s not souvlaki.  Tripura is reportedly enjoying a “severe fiscal crisis” and seeking a bail out of the order of US$3b. 

A week of progress: new CM for AP and an end to the blockade in Manipur

The Kuki Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC)-initiated blockade was finally lifted this week following written assurance from the Manipur state government that Sadar Hills district would be created.  The United Naga Council counter-blockade remains in place.  The LA Times has a pessimistic but interesting article on the blockades.  One claim I found particularly interesting, which is mentioned only in passing, is that those seeking local government positions in Manipur need to pay bribes in the region of $10,000.

Nabam Tuki was sworn in as the new Chief Minister for Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday.  Tuki, the leader of the agitation against previous CM Jarbom Gamlin, was nominated by Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi.  He is from the Nishi ethnic group.

The hardline Paresh Baruah-led ULFA faction warned civilians to stay away from security and political party “installations” which it vowed to strike this week.  It also reportedly launched an extortion drive to raise much needed funds.  External pressure on the group continues with fresh raids on ULFA camps in Bangladesh  reported yesterday. 

In Darjeeling-area politics, it was reported this week that the title Gorka Territorial Administration (GTA) will be changed to Gorkhaland and Adivasi Territorial Administration after an agreement between the Gorka Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and Adivasi Vikas Parishad (AVP).  It seems that the GJM's tactic is to offer reserved Adivasi seats in turn for the inclusion of the Terai and Dooars in the GTA (or GATA).  Confusingly, it was subsequently reported that such an agreement was not in fact reached, but rather that it was only proposed by the GJM.  Regardless, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appears to be taking credit for being behind the agreement's brokerage.

Banerjee also said this week that her party, Trinamool, aspires to national influence and will begin its expansion in northeastern states. 

Four police and one civilian were killed in a shootout between police and suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants in Western Meghalaya on Monday.  The state government has vowed to step up operations against the outfit, while the central government this week sought its views on classifying the GNLA as an outlawed rebel outfit.

CNN-IBN reports that the Indian army intends to station an additional 100,000 men in Arunachal Pradesh.  This follows recent reports (see this post) that India intends to increase its missile deployment along the Chinese border in that state.

This week's South Asia Intelligence Review has an article on the Maoist infiltration of the northeast, describing Arunachal as a "hotbed" of Maoist activity.  Times Now reported this week that the central government has intelligence that there is increased Maoist activity in the Arunachal-Assam border area.  

In other border-related news this week, tension persists on the Assam-Nagaland border, The Asian Age has an article on the many hardships of living on the India-Bangla border - despite the recent border agreement between the two countries - and it was reported that the Border Security Force (BSF) is likely to replace the Assam Rifles on the India-Burma border.  A similar report was made about twelve months ago.

Business as usual: violence, blockades and words

There were reports this week that Paresh Baruah may have been injured in Burmese army assaults on northeast Indian insurgent camps in Burmese territory.  Indian intelligence sources have however said there is nothing to substantiate the claim.  A second Burmese army assault commenced last Sunday.  In other United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) news, leaders of the pro-talk faction and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) met this week and issued a joint statement on the friendship between Nagas and the people of Assam.  And Rediff provided a different perspective on ULFA's illusive leaders by interviewing the families of Anup Chetia and Paresh Baruah.

Last Saturday there were reports of trucks set on fire on national highway 39 and rumours of drivers murdered on highway 53 as the blockade in Manipur continues to wreak havoc.  Also in Manipur, four people were injured in a grenade attack on a home in Imphal East.

Irom Sharmila continues to enjoy her recent run in the international media: the New York Times published a profile last Saturday. There's also been a stir over a report on Sharmila's love life.  A silent rally was held in Imphal this week to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (the object of Sharmila's protest).

Members of the Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB), a central government paramilitary force, allegedly committed a gang rape near the Bhutan-Assam border.  The 7th India-Bhutan meeting on border management was held this week. The parties said they would step up coordination against remaining Indian rebel activity in Bhutan.

Finally, ten National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants surrendered in Tezpur (Assam).

Sadar Hills District, bandhs, talks and Naga memories

The possible creation of a new Sadar Hills District in Manipur's Senapati District has dominated news from the northeast this week.  Manipur's Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi, announced on Tuesday that a committee would be formed to consider the creation of the new district in response to a bandh, or blockade, enforced by the 'Sadar Hills District Demand Committee'.  The bandh has been in place on a number of national highways since 31 July.  The United Naga Council (UNC) has instituted a counter-bandh since 21 August.  Both bodies yesterday said they would exempt life-saving drugs from the blockades.  The Chief Minister yesterday assured constituents a solution would be expedited and that any decision would be based on 'administrative convenience'.

Bandhs are also the subject of debate among the Bodo community.  The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) this week backed the United Democratic People's Front's (UDPF) call for a 48-hour bandh on 26-27 August.  Meanwhile students in the "Bodo belt" this week reportedly decried the bandh culture prevalent in the northeast and requested that educational institutions be exempted.

In United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)-related news this week, the non-talks faction reportedly received an arms consignment from China, free of charge, and is storing the new cache in Burma.  A group of ex-ULFA militants said that the current peace talks are an insult to those who gave their life for Assam's sovereignty and that the pro-talks faction should immediately clarify its stance on sovereignty.

Meanwhile in Mizoram, a procession in favour of the resumption of peace talks between the Mizoram Government and the Hmar People's Convention - Democrats (HPC-D) was held yesterday.  The HPC-D is based in Manipur and seeks Hmar self-government in parts of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam. 

The August issue of the Himal Southasian magazine has two excellent Naga-related features.  In the first, Naga elders remember the time of the 'groupings' in the late 1950s.  The second is a photo feature on the capital of Nagaland, Kohima.

Finally, the Indian Government Home Ministry this week released a list of militant outfits, counting 79 in the northeast.

***This is the first in a new weekly digest format of Seven Sisters.  Feedback welcome!