Northeast update (December 12, 2011)

1) GNLA and Champion Sangma: Linky

Champion R Sangma, a top leader of Indian separatist Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), has been arrested in Bangladesh, an Indian newspaper reported yesterday. The Hindustan Times quoted a Meghalaya top police officer as saying, "We are confirmed by the central intelligence agencies that Champion has been arrested from Mymensingh district (Bangladesh) by Rab commandos." The rebel leader would be handed over to India soon, said the officer, asking not to be named. Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), however, denied the arrest. “We did not make the arrest of Indian separatist named Champion R Sangma from Mymensingh,” Rab intelligence wing chief Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan told The Daily Star yesterday.

Here is this tidbit of information: linky

Intelligence officials here said that Champion was arrested yesterday night from a house of a tribal Bangladesh politician in Mymensingh district by the RAB commandos. In fact, in July this year, there were reports that Bangladesh authorities had launched a massive manhunt to nab him.

Conrad Sangma say-eth: Linky

Meanwhile, Sangma cautioned the government of being too enthusiastic about Champion’s arrest if at all it was true. “He (Champion) was always away from Garo Hills, according to intelligence reports. Most of the other cadres worked without his guidance, so his arrests would not make so much of an impact on the GNLA,” he added.

Sentinel adds: Linky

The C-in-C of the GNLA Sohan D Shira is learnt to have lost contact with Champion Sangma in the past 24 hours.

Here is some more drama: Linky

“Money has been sought for the release of the chief of GNLA, Champion R Sangma, who is believed to be in detention in Bangladesh”, a police source today claimed. This has been established in the course of the interrogation of GNLA aide Jackiush A Sangma, who was nabbed in an arms deal in the city recently and is now in police custody. Reportedly, on November 24, GNLA aide Jackiush A Sangma and an arms dealer from Dimapur, Nagaland Pungam Hangal along with four others landed in police net while trying to make an arms deal in Shillong. Cash amounting to Rs 11.49 lakh along with 400 live ammunitions were seized from their possession.

Police sources, on condition of anonymity, divulged that in the course of grilling Jakiush received a call on his cell phone from Bangladesh. Though he turned panicky in presence of the police interrogators, he was directed to take the call with the speaker phone. And they listened to the voice across the border which turned out to be that of the mistress of Champion, Simche from Rongara area, asking Jackiush to transfer money to Bangladesh immediately for Champion’s bail.

During the conversation Jackiush asked her about her whereabouts, but she just told him to transfer the money immediately and hung up. Jackuish has stated that Simche frequently visits Bangladesh and had returned a day before Champion’s arrest.

More mystery: Linky

Sources have informed that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is doing the paper work for extradition of Champion to India from Bangladesh. The entire process is expected to take about one week after the finalization of which, the Bangladesh is expected to hand over Champion to MHA. It may be recalled that Meghalaya Times has been the sole English daily to confirm arrest of Champion in Bangladesh. Later, even the GNLA C-in-C Sohan D Shira confirmed his arrest.

Remarkable if the following is true: Linky and repeated here Linky

Obsession with social networking can be a giveaway, more so if you are the chief of a rebel outfit. Facebook addiction is believed to have done former police officer turned rebel leader Champion Sangma in. Chairman of the Meghalaya-based Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Sangma is reportedly in Mymensingh Central Jail in Bangladesh, where he was arrested on November 24. There is no official confirmation of his incarceration. According to intelligence officials in Meghalaya, Sangma was almost always logged on to Facebook, updating his profile, writing on walls or tagging people. He had also posted his pictures, besides those of his cadre, from undisclosed locations.

“He was using the social networking site to upload everything, and it was a matter of time before his URL was found indicating the area from where he was operating,” a senior intelligence officer said. Indian officials subsequently tipped off their Bangladesh counterparts to help them zero in on Sangma, who formed the GNLA in 2009 after deserting the Meghalaya Police where he was a deputy superintendent. The intelligence officer said Sangma was produced in a court in Mymensingh town two days after his arrest and was sent to jail for being a ‘terrorist’. Sangma, surprisingly, did not try to conceal his identity as the GNLA chief. “The GNLA leader was apparently homesick and missed the people belonging to his (Garo) tribe. This could have led him to be in touch with friends through Facebook,” the officer said.

Odhikaar cites a July 7 report to say: Linky

Champion R Sangma, Chairman of Garo National Liberation Army, an organisation for self determination in Meghalaya in India, was arrested recently from Modhupur of Tangail district in Bangladesh. This was also reported in the media in Meghalaya and Assam. It was reported in some newspapers, including Garo Hills and Meghalaya News that the leader of the GNLA, Champion R Sangma has been detained in Bangladesh.

Here is some pontification: Linky

It may be mentioned here that in 2009 when ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa had been arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to India, the Bangladeshi authorities then too had denied any information or arrest of ULFA Chief. Given the above fact, the denial of information on Champion is nothing surprising. However, this has given rise to two theories; one could be that Bangladesh will set him free once the demanded amount is paid. The second theory suggests that Champion’s case is being kept under tight veil due to his political connection, both in India and in Bangladesh.

We will know what BD gets in return from India for this barter in case Champion Sangma is indeed in their catch. Its a big catch though. Meanwhile, Linky

All eyes have turned on self-styled commander-in-chief of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Sohan D. Shira, following the reported arrest of the outfit’s chairman, Champion Sangma, in Bangladesh. Police, too, have stepped up the hunt for the rebel leader to neutralise the GNLA once and for all. It was Shira and Sangma who got together to form GNLA towards the end of 2009. Sources said Shira was the brain behind many attacks on police personnel and civilians besides the outfit’s kidnapping and extortion.
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Prior to formation of the GNLA and after deserting the ANVC, Shira had planned to join another militant group — the Liberation of Achik Elite Force (LAEF) led by commander-in-chief Peter Marak, who was a former police commando. However, Marak was killed in an alleged fake encounter and subsequently, Sohan surrendered, before disappearing again and resurfacing as the GNLA commander- in-chief.

On and on the thinking process goes: Linky

The Centre is studying the pros and cons of banning the Garo National Liberation Army after the state government submitted a report to the Union home ministry in this regard. “We recently received the report from the Meghalaya government which suggests the need to ban the GNLA,” Shambhu Singh, joint secretary, ministry of home affairs, (Northeast) said over phone from Delhi. He said there was a process to be followed before declaring any organisation unlawful and ultimately it is upto the Union cabinet to decide. He added that the Centre would go by what the state government says. The official said the ban might only add to the outfit’s importance but he added that if the organisation’s activities continued to be violent, there was no other option than to ban the outfit.

ANVC-GNLA: Linky

The GNLA cadres are intimidating the ANVC members in Williamnagar on the order of their self-styled commander-in-chief Sohan D. Shira. The spokesman for the Achik National Volunteers Council, Torik Marak, alleged that Shira had issued orders to his GNLA men to attack the ANVC cadres at Williamnagar in East Garo Hills. “The ANVC cadres are also getting threat calls and if our cadres come under the attack from the GNLA, it will surely derail the peace process,” Marak said. The ANVC is under ceasefire since 2004 and its leaders wanted the government to take note of the frequent threats to the outfit’s cadres in Garo hills. The GNLA and the ANVC have been at loggerheads over supremacy in Garo hills.

Elsewhere, Linky

The Centre has asked the state government to firm up its mind on the demand of the Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC), currently under ceasefire, to have a Garoland Autonomous Council (GAC) on the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council. The recent signing of a settlement with the United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) has also prompted the Centre to speed up finalising settlements with other militants groups in the Northeast. While ANVC spokesperson Torik Marak said as many as three reminders were sent to the state government by the Centre, a Union home ministry official said several reminders were sent to the Meghalaya government for its comments on the demand of the ANVC, which had entered into a tripartite agreement with both the Centre and the state in 2004.
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The ANVC, formed in 1995, had launched an armed struggle to achieve the creation of a homeland exclusively for the Garos within the framework of the Constitution. The concept of “Garoland” christened by the ANVC extends to geographical areas of Goalpara and Kamrup districts of Assam which are pre-dominantly inhabited by the Garos, besides the three districts of Garo hills and the areas which are contiguous to Garo hills in West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts of Meghalaya.
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A state government official said the delay on the part of the government in deciding on demand of the ANVC was because of the apprehension that there would be clash of powers between the existing GHADC and the proposed GAC. Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma last month said the state government wanted clarity on certain issues as demanded by the ANVC before submitting its views to the Centre.

2) Along this direction, more on the UPDS ceasefire and disbanding: Linky

The United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) will formally lay down arms on December 14 and will be disbanded the next day. These dates were finalised by Dispur today and conveyed to Kabri Anglong deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar through a letter from Raj Bhavan. Kumar then invited the UPDS leaders to his house for a discussion. The arms-surrender ceremony will take place at 11am on Wednesday on the Karbi Anglong Sports Association ground at Diphu. Next day, the outfit will be disbanded in another ceremony at the same venue. The UPDS had signed a peace accord with the Centre on November 25, laying the foundation for a political overhaul in the hill district, including the creation of a more potent Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council and a comprehensive administrative reorganisation.

UPDS calls for polls by state commission Linky

Dispur and United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) are on a collision course with the latter demanding that the forthcoming election to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council be conducted by the State Election Commission, Assam, instead of the hill areas department. A joint delegation of the UPDS and the People’s Alliance for Peace Agreement — a conglomeration of several political parties and non-government organisations of Karbi Anglong district — called on Assam governor J.B. Patnaik today and submitted a memorandum stating their demands.

This is what the final wrangling was for: Linky

UPDS, a militant group from the Karbi Anglong district of Assam, has given up its demand of a separate state under Article 3 of Constitution or “state within the state of Assam under Article 244A because of the absence of a policy at the Centre”, a senior leader of the UPDS told this correspondent. The UPDS, however, has been able to extract more autonomy from Delhi and Dispur. This is balm for the UPA, disturbed as it is by the Telangana movement and other demands like that of Bodoland in Assam.

Following the settlement, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) will now be Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council (KAATC). The new council will have 44 elected and six nominated members and 62 departments with legislative, executive and direct financial powers, a UPDS leader said. The MoS will be signed by Home Ministry joint secretary Shambhu Singh in presence of UPDS chairman Longsodar Senar and general secretary Horensing Bey. There will be a 13-member political wing of the UPDS in addition to four members of its army in the Capital.

Despite absence of an understanding with the KLNLF, the UPDS has gone ahead with the interim accord. We are hoping that the reactions would be good, said a delegation member. The accord was finalised in 2009 and another discussion with the Centre took place on 23 December last year when the KLNLF was asked to accept the present conditions. The latter did not accept the negotiated settlement.

Meanwhile UPDS-KPLT nexus: Linky

A section of UPDS cadres was allegedly aiding Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) to carry out unlawful activities in Karbi Anglong district. Though the UPDS signed a peace accord with the Centre, security agencies claimed to have stumbled on evidence of a collusion between some UPDS cadres and the KPLT. “Though the UPDS is in ceasefire since 2002 and has also signed the peace accord on November 25, some of its cadres are colluding with the KPLT which is responsible for most of the recent violent attacks in Karbi Anglong,” an official source told The Telegraph today. He said interrogation of self-styled foreign secretary of KPLT Maniram Rongpi, who was a member of UPDS, had shed light on a secret understanding between a section of UPDS cadres and the Karbi outfit. The KPLT is a breakaway faction of the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF). It was formed on January 8, 2011 after the KLNLF entered into a ceasefire with the government last year.

3) The DHD(J) saga: Linky

The Nepal government has ordered an inquiry into how Niranjan Hojai, a militant leader of Assam, could acquire a citizenship certificate of the country. The commander-in-chief of the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) had procured a Nepali citizenship certificate from Sunsari district in the neighbouring country using fake name, Nirmal Rai, in 2007. An official source told The Telegraph that on the request of New Delhi, the Nepal government has asked the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal police to conduct an inquiry into how the citizenship certificate was procured. According to the source, the CIB has also been asked to investigate whether the certificate is genuine or forged. “If it is genuine, the CIB will investigate how a citizenship certificate was issued to an Indian citizen, who was also a most wanted fugitive, and will fix responsibilities on those who issued the document,” he said. “Even if it is forged, the investigating agency will try to find the source from where he got the fake certificate,” he added.

Both India and Nepal have taken this matter seriously since Hojai used this citizen certificate to get a Nepali passport in the name of Nirmal Rai in 2008 and travelled to countries like China, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and South Africa for procurement of arms. Based on that passport, the DHD-J leader was issued a Chinese visa with a validity of three months (December 8, 2008 to March 8, 2009). The investigators got the details of his foreign visits from the visa attachments on his passport.

Hojai, who had disguised himself as a businessman, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency from Nepal in July last year. The source said the CIB has also sought help from the banks in Nepal to trace the bank accounts linked to Hojai and his wife Sarita Giri Rai. Nepal police recently arrested Hojai’s wife Sarita, hailing from Sindhupalchowk district in Nepal, and seized $200,000 remitted to her account at New Baneshwor branch of Everest Bank from an account in a Citibank branch in Singapore, which allegedly belongs to Hojai. India has requested the Singapore government to investigate the Citibank account, which was allegedly used by Hojai for funding militant activities. Security agencies also claim that Hojai had also set up a private company in Singapore. The source said Hojai married Sarita — in her thirties — around two years ago, and the couple have a daughter. Nepal police had also charged Sarita with money laundering and terror financing. According to the source, Hojai had bought her a luxurious house at Jorpati in eastern Kathmandu and several high-end cars worth crores of rupees from illegally acquired proceeds and terror funds.

Meanwhile, Hojai detained for fracas, cuffs on aides Linky
4) Pro-talks ULFA faction: Linky

The pro-talks leader said although the group had a pre-condition of not taking part in the any anti-insurgency operations like Sulfa before declaring a ceasefire a few years back, it had to change its stand after the Paresh Barua-led group threatened to carry out attacks on them. The pro-talks leader said they had also provided information about the location of Ulfa camps in Myanmar and the general routes frequently used by the cadres to travel to these camps through Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. It has been a success story for the security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Upper Assam in recent times with Ulfa failing to carry out any major strikes

5) Anti-infra groups and interests: Linky

Indigenous communities of Chandel district in Manipur and Sagaing division of Myanmar stood up for a common cause here today — to prevent formation of a reservoir the size of Delhi on the Chindwin river in Myanmar. The protest organised by Kuki tribals straddling the international border was small but the timing has caused consternation among strategists in Delhi. The protests come close on heels of the forced withdrawal of the Chinese from building a project in northern Myanmar — a loss of Rs 3 billion besides a loss of face for Beijing. The military government at Naypyitaw together with the government of India is building a hydroelectric dam near Tamanthi on the Chindwin in northwest Myanmar’s Sagaing division.

Slash dam heights: Expert panel - Decision at meeting in Delhi on Lohit hydroelectric projects Linky
Neighbors fight as Tuki allays Assam’s dam fears - Arunachal CM lists project benefits, refutes rumours about links with NSCN LInky
More neighbors fight as Khaleda plea over Tipaimukh project - BNP leader writes to Manmohan Singh Linky, however Delhi calms Dhaka on Tipaimukh Linky
Meghalaya rail connectivity hits influx wall Linky
6) UAPA and terrorist groups ban: Linky

The Centre is mulling withdrawal of the ban on two rebel outfits of Tripura — the All Tripura Tiger Force and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) — in view of the decline in insurgent activities in the state. The withdrawal of the ban on some other insurgent outfits of the Northeast is also being considered. Disclosing this, sources here said the Centre had recently constituted a tribunal headed by sitting Delhi High Court judge Bipin Sanghi to go into the issue and make suggestions. The tribunal had subsequently sent questionnaires to state governments and security agencies seeking their views on the issue, a source said. A state government official here said, “We have not yet decided on the matter but discussions are on. Very soon we are going to file our replies to the tribunal.”

7) India-BD border fencing: Linky

The Centre today agreed to a suggestion made by the Meghalaya government to undertake single-row fencing along the Zero Line in those areas along the Indo-Bangla border where people are objecting to the 150-yard buffer. The agreement was reached at a meeting held at the secretariat here between Union home ministry and state government officials. According to an official who attended the meeting, the fencing would be undertaken in those areas where people were not happy with the decision to set up the fence 150 yards inside Zero Line. The decision was also taken to ensure that no further land was lost along the border.

And Erosion threatens border fence, something that happens with remarkable regularity: Linky

Abdul Salam Akon, a young man of the same village, said the erosion cut off the mainland as Kaljani moved like a serpent, falling into Bangladesh. As a result, the villagers of Gour Jhapusabari had to come to travel through Bangladesh to reach India. “If measures are not taken to divert the Kaljani to its main channel, then the area adjacent to Bangladesh might one day be claimed by that country,” Akon said. Villagers said since 2006, more than 400 bighas of fertile land of this revenue village were eroded and nearly 600 villagers displaced, who took shelter in nearby villages like Ramraikuti, Satrasal and Kherbari.

Land-swap deal triggers paranoia - Peasants want to sell off farms Linky

Fenced out in 1987 and paranoid after the Indo-Bangladesh land-swap deal, a group of farmers near the Dhubri border wants the government to buy their land before it is handed over to the neighbouring country. The hand-over is not imminent, since the area is neither disputed, nor under adverse possession of Bangladesh, but residents of Biskhowa in Golokgunj — 134km from Boroibari, where 571 bighas are to be handed over to Bangladesh if the land-swap deal is ratified by both Parliaments — are wary.

After the fence cut off their farms in 1987, the farmers struggled to raise their crops, having to heed border gate timings. Produce dwindled, as did their profits, but they survived. Now, with the Indo-Bangla land-swap deal, they fear that someday another turn of events would snatch their land and sustenance and turn them into paupers.

Upgrading the border outposts: Linky

The BSF has started upgrading border outposts along the Indio-Bangla border converting the current makeshift bamboo and timber structures to concrete ones. In earlier phases of modernisation, the BSF had upgraded its arsenal to add more teeth to its anti-infiltration drive along the border.

8) HPC-D:

The 35-member team of Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) headed jointly by David and Oliver Hmar today announced a unilateral ceasefire (in UB Photos picture above) in the “interest of peace”. David told reporters that the military wing of the outfit would cease all operations till the Centre and state government came forward for a political dialogue. A Dima Hasao police source said decision of the outfit to go for ceasefire was after constant pressure from security forces.

More on HPC-D: Linky

The Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic) announced early this week that its founder chairman Lalhmingthanga Sanate was removed from his post on September 29, for his overt proximity with a Kuki rebel outfit. Sanate lost his post following a feud in the group two months ago. But when Sanate, 47, was sacked, no reason was cited as to why the founder was ousted. The HPC (D) has announced in a press note that Sanate was removed as he signed a deed of agreement with a Kuki rebel group, the Kuki National Organisation, which apart from making inroads into Dima Hasao district, is also active in Mizoram and Manipur. Describing this agreement as an act of going against the group’s interests and aspirations, the press note declared that the HPC (D) leadership has ultimately termed it null and void.

9) Is Mizoram really calm? Linky

The most peaceful state in the Northeast, Mizoram, was allegedly used as a meeting point by Maoists and leaders of the Manipur-based militant outfit People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the PLA’s anti-national activities, discovered that a meeting was held between the outfit’s leaders and Maoists at Champhai in Mizoram on July 15, 2010. According to the agency, similar meetings between the outfit and Maoist leaders were also held in Calcutta, Guwahati and Rourkela.

An official source said the militants might have selected Mizoram because of its history of being a peaceful state for more than two decades. Insurgency in Mizoram had come to an end after the Mizoram Peace Accord was signed in 1986, and since then, the state has remained by and large peaceful. The NIA said a group of PLA leaders had also imparted arms training to Maoists at Saranda forest in Jharkhand from September 11 to November 20 last year. The PLA had allegedly trained Maoists in basic military tactics, guerrilla warfare, ambushing and wireless communication skills and a couple of more such training sessions were scheduled for next year. According to the investigating agency, the self-styled chief of PLA’s external affairs wing, N. Dilip Singh, who was arrested from Paharganj in Delhi on October 1, was one of the main trainers.

10) Continuing on the Jarbom Gamlin-Tako Dabi-Nabam Tuki spectacle: Linky

Arunachal Pradesh finally got its council of ministers this afternoon, 15 days after the newly-appointed chief minister Nabam Tuki succeeded Jarbom Gamlin. Tuki replaced Gamlin on November 1 after four months of sustained campaigning against the latter’s leadership and had camped in Delhi for over 12 days to get his 12-member team finalised.

The members of the Tuki cabinet, sworn-in by Arunachal governor Gen. (retd) J.J. Singh at the packed Raj Bhavan in Itanagar this afternoon, has four ministers from the Gamlin camp, an indication that the Congress high command just stopped short of giving the Tuki camp a free hand. They are Setong Sena, Pema Khandu, Atum Welly and Jarbom Gamlin’s brother Jarkar Gamlin, who makes his ministerial debut along with Kamlung Mossang and Tapang Taloh, the deputy speaker in the last government.

The high command has also ensured some sort of continuity as seven of the ministers — Welly, Sena, Khandu along with Chowna Mein, Tanga Byaling, Bosiram Siram and Tuki — had also featured in the Gamlin cabinet. Those who got the axe are Jarbom Gamlin, Kolikho Pul, Tako Dabi, Takar Marde — who was home minister — and Honchung Ngadang. They have been replaced by Rajesh Tacho, Mossang, Newlai Tingkhatra, Taloh — who belong to the Tuki camp — and Jarkar.

Congress insiders said though the high command did not go solely by the list submitted by Tuki, it was also not overbearing, as is evident from the reaction of the chief minister on the composition of his team. “We will work as Team Arunachal. The portfolios will be allocated very soon,” he told The Telegraph from Itanagar. The insiders also said Tuki had reservations over inclusion of Welly, who is a relative of Gamlin and was recently in the news over a controversy surrounding his son and daughter’s appointment as government employees. Arunachal Pradesh PCC general secretary T.C. Tok said it was a “good” team. “Everyone has to move together for all-round development of the state. All misunderstandings have been sorted out,” Tok said.

11) KLO: LInky

The Kuki Liberation Organisation, which operates in Dima Hasao district and has an armed wing, the Kuki Liberation Army, has declared a ceasefire. KLO president K. Thangkiew declared the unilateral ceasefire against police and security forces in Dima Hasao district in Haflong last night and said it was now up to Delhi and Dispur to accept it in “a full-fledged manner”.

India-BD bhai bhai, season for unilateral concessions?

1. Teesta agreement:

The 60-year-old Teesta dispute between India and Bangladesh could become a thing of the past with Delhi likely to agree to a 50-50 water-sharing deal, an official source in Dhaka has said.
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The two sides have agreed to a 50-50 water-sharing deal that has been a longstanding demand of Bangladesh, the source said, but there could a rider in the pact favouring India. Delhi may want to draw more water at certain times of the year, he hinted. Bansal is expected to sign the deal for a 15-year term and leave before Singh’s arrival, he added.
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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is said to be under tremendous pressure to extract a fair deal from India because the dispute has become an emotional issue in her country.

How about a fair deal to West Bengal?

According to media reports in Bangladesh, International Farakka Committee chairman Atiqur R.K. Eusufzai, a leading water activist, favoured setting aside at least 25 per cent of the water for the river and splitting the rest — 60 per cent for Bangladesh and 40 per cent for India. Delhi is unlikely to agree to such terms, but a 50 per cent share will vastly help dilute apprehensions in Dhaka.

2. Extradition treaty: Linky

Official sources in Dhaka said India was keen on inking the treaty during Hasina’s tenure and were ready with a draft, which has to be given to Bangladeshi officials for inputs and feedback. “India is keen that the treaty is signed during this regime as Indo-Bangla ties have never been better. We are at the most positive stage of our relationship and the treaty will heighten this sense of mutual confidence. Also, one has to take into account that Bangladesh is a highly polarised country and for us the time and situation is just right to go ahead with the deal,” said a senior official closely associated with the developments. The sources said the deal would most likely be inked during Hasina’s next trip to India and before Bangladesh goes to polls in 2013.

How naive of people to think that Sh. Hasina will be able to sign a deal before the Polls and will commit hara-kiri?

Delhi’s concerns are understandable. A sizeable section of the public and the opposition, led by Khaleda Zia’s BNP, have been criticising Hasina for selling out to India. There are also doubts whether the Awami League will return to power in the 2013 elections. However, it is not just India which will benefit if the treaty is signed. India is holding some 200 Bangladeshi criminals and Dhaka has given the Indian home minister a list of 100 wanted men.

Bangladesh is also keen to lay its hands on 19 absconding persons accused of involvement in the August 2004 grenade attack on Hasina. While Dhaka has already sent Interpol notices on all of them, those in India — Haris Chowdhury, Mohammad Hanif, Ratul Babu, Anisul Morsalin and his brother Muttakin — could be handed over if an extradition treaty is inked. Also on the radar are two killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who are believed to be hiding in India.

3. Elsewhere, slowing down coal project: Linky

Bangladesh and India's move for a $1.5 billion joint venture coal-fired power plant in Khulna has somewhat slowed down due to various hitches, and a feasibility study has scaled up cost of civil construction at the project site due to poor soil condition.

4. However, BD wants power from the Indian grid: Linky

According to officials, Bangladesh will formally place a proposal in the Bimstec technical committee meeting to import 500 MW of additional electricity from India and also another proposal to import electricity from Myanmar. “We'll try to convince India to export 250 MW power from its under-construction Palatana power plant and another 250 MW from other plants in West Bengal,” said an official at the power ministry who is a member of the Bangladesh working group for the meeting.

Officials said Bangladesh's present target is to import a total of about 1000 MW of electricity from neighbouring India. They further said another proposal for establishing inter-regional power grid connectivity among the member countries, particularly among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan, will be placed in the meeting from Bangladesh side.

And more news on the power grid: Linky

Bimstec member states plan to finalise a memorandum of understanding today on exchange of electricity among them, said Power Secretary Abul Kalam Azad yesterday. The secretary was talking to reporters after the inauguration of a two-day Third Task Force Meeting on Trans Power Exchange of the Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka.

The process of exchanging power through the national grids among the Bimstec members is still at the initial stage though it was thought a lot earlier, Azad added. “We are hopeful this initiative will provide energy security in the region as it will enable the member states to share their surplus gas and electricity with each other.” Once it is finalised, the member countries will sign the MoU in the next ministerial meeting, said the power secretary.

5. On border settlement: Linky

Of the 4,156 km borderline, 320 km border with the Indian state of Mizoram had been drawn earlier. Land surveyors of both the countries have been working on the rest of the borderline, and so far finalised 1,083 maps for 3829.5 km of the borderline except 6.5 km strips along Panchagarh, Moulvibazar and Feni. The remaining 6.5 km boundary line will be drawn in a month, said Abdul Mannan, director general of Directorate of Land Record and Survey (DLRS).
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A total of 628 maps have been drawn for 2,262 km border with West Bengal, 93 maps for 264 km border with Assam, 20 maps for 320 km border with Mizoram, 269 maps for 874 km border with Tripura, and 139 maps for 436 km border with Meghalaya.
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The prime ministers of the two nations will decide on 111 Indian enclaves (17,160 acres of land) with a population of 37,000 and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (7,110 acres of land) with a population of 14,000 during Manmohan Singh's Bangladesh visit on September 6-7. The two countries have disputes over land at about 25 points in West Bengal, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. Bangladesh adversely possesses 1,880.81 acres of India's land at seven points while India adversely possesses 1,165.49 acres of Bangladesh land at 18 points.

6. On Transit fees: Linky

A government panel on transit may suggest charging India, Nepal and Bhutan minimum transit fees between 2.5 cents and 7 cents a tonne for every kilometre of travel depending on the mode of transport. The committee, led by Tariff Commission Chairman Mujibur Rahman, is likely to submit its report to the government soon.
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Wishing anonymity, a commerce ministry official said the protocols may not be signed during the Indian prime minister's visit. They could be inked after the fixing of transit fees. The finance minister said the charges have to be fixed after discussions with India, Nepal and Bhutan. The government formed the committee on transit in November last year after the signing of the joint communiqué. The committee submitted a report to the government in April without recommending route-wise transit charges or details of Bangladesh's benefits from transit. The government asked the committee to submit a more detailed report. Apart from India, two major development partners -- the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank -- have been pressing Bangladesh for the last two decades to give transit to the three countries.

Wishing anonymity, a foreign ministry official said deals on transit will be signed with India in line with the joint communiqué inked in January 2010. The communiqué reads, “It was agreed that Bangladesh will allow use of Mongla and Chittagong seaports for movement of goods to and from India through road and rail. Bangladesh also conveyed their intention to give Nepal and Bhutan access to Mongla and Chittagong ports.”

7. Sea boundary demarcation: Linky

The United Nations will hear Bangladesh's claim on the continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal on August 25, months after Dhaka sought international arbitration following disputes with neighbouring India and Myanmar. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni will present Bangladesh's case in the hearing scheduled at the UN headquarters in New York, official sources said in Dhaka. Bangladesh's claim on the Bay of Bengal continental shelf extends up to 400-460 nautical miles (850 km) from the coast. Dhaka says it should have total rights over the undersea natural resources within this area.

The continental shelf is an undersea extension of a continent which can stretch for many miles out to the sea. Many nations have asserted mineral and land rights to their associated continental shelves since these are rich in natural resources. Bangladesh submitted its arbitration on February 25 to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a UN body that deals with the continental shelf.
...
Bangladesh's claim is that the dispute should be resolved on “equity principle” meaning that the countries adjacent to the Bay of Bengal would get proportional areas in the zone. India and Myanmar favours "equidistance" system to get bigger maritime areas. Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.

8. And finally, the gullibility of the Indian neta-class. Gogoi pins hopes on Dhaka visit Linky

Gogoi is of the view that Assam can gain a lot from improved connectivity — air, land and waterways — between the state and the neighbouring country as this would give a big boost to the Look East Policy in the real sense of the term. “More importantly, he is also looking for connectivity of the minds. More person-to-person interactions will help understand each others point of view, improve neighbourly relations,” one of them said.

A question that is often missed is: how stable are person-to-person interactions to sea changes in popular identification of The Other? Have nt we seen enough of this Indira Gandhi-Bandaranaike, Sheikh Mujib-Indira Gandhi-type special bonds? What have they come to today? We already have precedents on unilateral concessioning that has come back to bite us: Linky

I have written extensively on the 1974 Maritime Boundary Agreement between India and Sri Lanka and the background to the ceding of the Island of Kachchatheevu. I do not propose to dwell on those details here. However I would like to highlight one point. New Delhi’s decision that Kachchatheevu is a disputed territory was a political decision taken by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The personal chemistry between Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indira Gandhi came into play in a big way and the island was ceded to Sri Lanka. As stated earlier, if the principle of median line was strictly enforced Kachchatheevu should have been an integral part of India. In order to gift Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka the precedent of the 1921 fisheries agreement was followed (where Kachchatheevu came within the fisheries jurisdiction of Ceylon). Let us await Supreme Court’s decision in this subject.

The personal equation between Indira Gandhi and Sirimavo Bandaranaike which played a decisive role in the conclusion of the 1974 Agreement has been aptly summed up by Prof. Partha Ghosh of Jawaharlal Nehru University. To quote Prof. Ghosh, “Kachchativu was the most typical case of a personal equation, playing the role of diplomacy. When the negotiations had virtually failed, and the Indian official delegation was virtually pressurizing Indira Gandhi not to give up India’s claim on the islet, Sirimavo Bandaranaike made a personal appeal to Indira Gandhi to come to her rescue, as it would otherwise spell political disaster for her. Indira Gandhi appreciated Mrs Sirimavo Bandaraniake’s predicament and manipulated the situation in such a way that it became a fait accompli even before the Indian delegation could react. Sirimavo Bandaranaike remembered this gesture as late as 1990 with immense gratitude”.

9. As a postscript, Why India's largest textile exports hub is dying? Linky
10. And as a post-postscript on what BD-Burma relations are like: Linky

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Mijarul Quayes will be paying a visit to Myanmar to meet his counterpart on August 24 for two days to discuss bilateral and regional issues. The last meeting at the foreign secretary level took place in Dhaka on December 28, 2009. The trip is welcomed. It is reported that the issues to be discussed, among others, may include:
* Multi-modal transport connectivity;
* Border security to prevent criminal activities and illegal immigration;
* Facilitation of trade;
* Repatriation of remaining Rohingya refugees;
* Cooperation in other areas including energy and agriculture.
...
Since the present government came to power, there has been an attempt to inject momentum and dynamism into bilateral relations. On May 16, 2009, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni visited Myanmar and held official talks with her counterpart U Nyan Winz. They reportedly discussed a host of issues, including repatriation of the remaining Myanmar refugees, relaxation of visa requirements for citizens of either country, facilitation of banking services, increased border trade, export of surplus power to Bangladesh, road link between the two countries up to China, direct air link, and sharing bandwidth with fiber-optic cable.

Bangladesh update (August 18, 2011)

1) On Anup Chetia: Linky

Sources said the Ulfa general secretary was expected to withdraw his petition, filed in the high court in 2003, seeking asylum in Bangladesh. Once he withdraws his petition, he will be handed over to the Indian authorities. It had been reported earlier that Chetia could not be handed over to India until his asylum case had been disposed of. The Bangladesh government has to approach the high court to seek permission to release him.
...
The sources said Dhaka was considering handing Chetia over to India as soon as the legal formalities were over but it was also expecting an assurance that India would extradite the two remaining killers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who are allegedly hiding in India.

No idea who these two are, since the last known collation of data showed that they were all elsewhere, see Linky
Another unknown nugget:

Chetia, a Muttock from Upper Assam, belongs to the same ethnic group as Paresh Barua. They are first cousins and Chetia is believed to have been Barua’s mentor in the early days.

2) Rail Bhavan ki Diplomazy: Linky

Bangladesh wants the Dhaka-Calcutta train service to be extended to other Indian cities, including Delhi and Ajmer. “We want India and Bangladesh to agree to at least two more cities which will be connected by rail. Right now, it’s just a Calcutta-Dhaka service, we want it to be a service which connects Bangladesh with India, not just the two Bengals,” Bangladesh high commissioner Tariq Karim said.
...
With the Dhaka-Calcutta service already in place, India is now working to link Bangladesh with neighbouring Tripura.

If you missed more of that news, here it is:

India will construct an 18-km-long railway line at a cost of Rs 267 crore to connect Agartala with Akhaura via Gangasagar in Bangladesh, a top railway official said today. B N Rajsekhar, additional member of the Indian Railway Board, said here that the project, second after the Kolkata-Dhaka line, would be completed in two and a half years. A six-member delegation, led by Rajsekhar, yesterday saw the alignment of the railway line and gave a final nod to it. Rajsekhar said the project was held up for a long time and got a fresh lease of life only after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited New Delhi last year. "Two months ago the Planning Commission had asked the Railway Board to finalise the alignment of the railway," he said

In any case, we have more:

The train plan is part of a larger sub-regional pact Dhaka wants to sign for better road and rail connectivity, power grid and water-sharing with India, Nepal and Bhutan. It has been flagged as “the key issue” in Prime Minister Singh’s planned talks with Sheikh Hasina early next month, besides exchange of border enclaves and trade concessions. Mamata is scheduled to accompany Singh on the trip.
...
India has also drawn up plans to take its railway network to Bhutan and Nepal. This follows China linking Tibet’s Lhasa with Beijing by train. It has also started work on a rail link to Khasa, on the Nepal-Tibet border. India, too, acknowledges the strategic and trade significance of networking its neighbours with its 64,000 km rail network. “Just like Europe, the time has come to integrate South Asia as one railway hub.

Also: Linky

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma will accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Bangladesh next month, officials said in Shillong on Thursday. The decision came after Mr. Sangma received the personal invitation letter from the Prime Minister on Wednesday, they said.

3) More on integration: Linky

Bangladesh yesterday pitched for a sub-regional cooperation in hydro power sector involving India, Bhutan and Nepal, and equitable share of Teesta River water.
...
Asked if Bangladesh hopes to get half the share of Teesta waters, Rizvi declined to mention the quantum but said, “We are for equitable sharing and the benefit of the people living in catchment areas of the river.” Since the larger portion of the catchment area of Teesta is in Bangladesh, Dhaka has argued its case on the water-sharing citing the needs of the people in the area. Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is expected to come to Dhaka ahead of Manmohan Singh's visit next month, but the dates for Bansal's trip are yet to be finalised, said Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Tariq Ahmed Karim.
...
He said Bangladesh has suggested India more boarding and boarding-off points for the Maitree Express train running between Dhaka and Kolkata, so that it truly becomes an “India-Bangladesh friendship” train instead of just a link.

4) Will West Bengal go the Tamil Nadu way, a little belatedly?

The Left Front today discussed the government’s proposal to rename West Bengal and decided to request the administration at tomorrow’s all-party meeting to choose between Bangla and Paschimbanga. “Three names have been suggested by the government — Bangla, Paschimbanga and Bangabhumi. As far as the Left Front is concerned, we prefer either Paschimbanga or Bangla,’’ Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee said. The all-party meeting will also consider the bifurcation of West Midnapore, Jalpaiguri, South and North 24-Parganas, Burdwan and Murshidabad, sources said.

5) HUJI-B's acting boss held: Linky

Banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) "acting chief" Hafez Moulana Yahiya, an accused in the August 21 grenade attack case, was arrested along with two accomplices in Kishoreganj yesterday. The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claims Yahiya, 46, was serving as the acting chief of Huji since its earlier chief Moulana Sheikh Farid was arrested on July 26. According to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), he is also charge-sheeted accused in the Ramna Batamul blast case and Kotalipara bomb planting case.
...
Sources say Yahiya was one of the masterminds of the August 21 grenade attack that killed 24 Awami League leaders and activists and injured over 300 including Sheikh Hasina. Describing the operation, Commander Sohail said the elite force had a tip-off that the trio were heading towards Kishoreganj on a bus that left Sylhet late Wednesday night. Accordingly, they intercepted several buses at Durjoy intersection in Bhairab and arrested them around 2:15am. Some training manuals of the banned outfit and books on jihad were also recovered. Earlier in December in 2005, police arrested Yahiya in Chittagong as a suspected leader of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). He later disappeared after he came out of jail on bail.

Yahiya, who hailed from Chhalimpur village in Sitakunda upazila in Chittagong, had fought in Afghanistan and also in Myanmar for the Arakan Muslims. He studied at Kazi Bazar Kowmi Madrasa in Sylhet for seven years and for one year at Hathajari Madrasa. In 1986, he joined Lalkhan Bazar Madrasa as a teacher and took part in the Afghan war in 1988. After the Afghan war, he returned to Bangladesh in 1992.
...
Sohail said they have so far arrested 76 top-ranked leaders and activists of Huji including former Huji chiefs Mufti Abdul Hannan and Sheikh Farid and top Huji leader Moulana Sabbir. Replying to a query, Sohail added 20,000 to 25,000 leaders and activists of the Huji are active.

Updates (December 12, 2010)

1) NDFB key catch: Linky

Security forces have apprehended the self-styled deputy commander-in-chief of the anti-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) George Boro alias John alias B. Jwangkhang, a key accused in the October 30, 2008 serial blasts, from Mizoram. The most wanted NDFB leader, who hails from Guduligaon in Baksa district, has been named in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in connection with the serial blasts. A cash reward had been announced for information leading to his arrest.
...
Though an official source in Mizoram said he was nabbed by AR from Indo-Bangladesh border on Wednesday night, another source close to NDFB claimed that Boro was picked up from a hotel in Aizawl by AR troops at around 7.30 pm yesterday. Following the arrest of Ranjan Daimary in May this year, George Boro along with two other leaders of the outfit — Rajen Goyari alias Rifikhang and Arun Borgoyary alias Dinthilang — were trying to regroup the anti-talks faction of the NDFB.
...
The “arrest” is being seen as part of the initiative to get things moving on the talks front. “In such a situation the arrest was necessary as that would bring him to jail where he can discuss the nittygritty with his leader Ranjan Daimary as had happened with the Ulfa leadership who have held discussions among themselves and also with government officials within the jail on how to take talks move forward,” the source said. George’s arrest is the latest in line of senior militant leaders getting nabbed from along the Indo-Bangla border starting with Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa last year and Daimary this year.

2) Breakway faction of GNLA: Linky

Four militants of the breakaway faction of the Garo National Liberation Army, including its leader, were killed during an encounter with police in East Garo Hills district today. Five militants were arrested while at least one managed to escape with a bullet injury.
...
However, while Jokin Momin, the leader of the group, was being arrested along with five others, another group of at least four suspected militants of the breakaway faction arrived at the spot in an auto-rickshaw and started firing indiscriminately. Momin, who was with the GNLA during its formation, had also conducted operations against the police in the past. A few weeks ago, he and a few other cadres deserted the GNLA after they were unhappy with the style of functioning of the outfit’s chairman, Champion Sangma, and the commander-in-chief, Sohan D. Shira. Police sources said the breakaway group of the outfit was in the process of giving a name to the group after procuring arms from an Assam-based militant group.

3) DHD pro-talks faction: Linky

The pro-talks faction of the DHD met the Centre’s interlocutor for peace talks, P.C. Haldar, in New Delhi today on the demand to upgrade their district into “a mini state within a state”. Nunisa today said over the phone that his team would reiterate its demand for the amalgamation of the Dimasa-inhabited areas in the Assam districts of Cachar, Nagaon and Karbi Anglong and also in some portions of Dimapur
...
The army and the police, engaged in a combing drive in the district to trace the nine persons who were abducted from three places since Saturday, are yet to make any breakthrough. Significantly those kidnapped were the relatives of the Dima National Democratic Front (DNDF) chief Bihari Dimasa and its army commander Lailung Dimasa. Sources in Dima Hasao said such the abductions were masterminded by the outfits opposed to DNDF in a retaliatory move. DNDF chief Bihari Dimasa left the DHD (Jewel) group in a huff, protesting against the ceasefire agreement between the Jewel Gorlosa group and the state government.

4) ULFA talks: Linky

Leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), who are in favour of talks with the government, are trying to get in touch with the members of the outfit camping in Myanmar to persuade them to join the proposed peace process. A few pro-talk members of the ULFA also reportedly went to Myanmar with the knowledge of the government, highly placed security sources said. Sources told The Assam Tribune that the phase wise release of the senior leaders of the ULFA on bail created a major impact among the rank and file of the outfit and if the peace process starts as expected, a majority of the members of the outfit are expected to join the process. Sources said that apart from Jiban Moran and Bijoy Chinese, the other senior leaders of the ULFA, who are yet to express desire to join the peace process, include Antu Chowdang, Drishti Rajkhowa and Nayan Medhi. Antu was in Bangladesh till recently but his whereabout is not known now.
...
However, as per intelligence inputs, the cadres of the ULFA in Myanmar are in a confused state of mind as they are still not sure whether to follow the pro talk members or the commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, who is still maintaining a hard line on the issue of talks with the Government. The leaders having the responsibility of looking after the camps are also not keen on sending cadres to Assam as several of them surrendered after they were sent back to the state with specific tasks.

5) BD closer to Tripura: Linky

The Bangladesh visa office, started here in 1973 within two years of the country’s emergence as a sovereign nation, is all set to be upgraded to a deputy high commission. The issue had cropped up during the two-day visit of Bangladesh external affairs minister Dipu Moni on November 10-11 and she had promised to look into the matter but a decision in principle has already been taken.

Sentinel adds: Linky

Mondal said Bangladesh also expected to increase its volume of export to Tripura to Rs 300 crore during the current financial year. He said that in 2007-08, Bangladesh had exported goods worth Rs 84.15 crore to Tripura and imported commodities worth Rs 1.51 crore from the State. Northeastern states like Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam export commodities like limestone, tea, machine parts, fruit and coal to Bangladesh and import cement, stone chips, bricks, Hilsa fish, dry fish, edible oils, readymade garments and furniture from the country.

All the while, there is the Tin Bigha footbridge issue: Linky

Political parties cutting across their affiliations have opposed the construction of an elevated footbridge over the Tin Bigha corridor for which the Centre has given the go-ahead. The corridor connects the Bangladeshi enclave of Angrapota-Dahagram with the mainland.
...
He said the people of the area would not tolerate the Bangladeshis using the Tin Bigha corridor, while the Indians used the footbridge. “We are also going to oppose the proposal of keeping the corridor open for 24 hours,” he said. At present, the corridor remains open from 6am to 6pm.

Meanwhile, BKZ builds her own bridges: Linky

Opposition leader Khaleda Zia is going on a six-day tour to China from December 18. "BNP chairperson will be visiting at Chinese Communist party central committee's invitation," Khaleda's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan told bdnews24.com on Friday. "She will be staying there as a state guest." She will be meeting Communist Party central committee members on December 19, 20 and 21. "They will discuss issues of common bilateral and regional interests," Maruf Khan said. Khaleda is scheduled to return December 23. Her last tour to China was in 2006 as the prime minister.

6) The travails of the NRC update: Linky

Dispur has made more than a “few changes” in the application form one has to fill up and submit to get enlisted in the National Register of Citizens in a bid to make the process “simple and convenient”. Along with the changes in the form (see chart), the Bhumidhar Barman-headed cabinet sub-committee, which was set up to make the process simple, has included ration card as a document of proof but with a rider that it has to be for the period upto March 24, 1971.
...
Sources today said the “simplified” forms had been circulated to AAMSU and All Assam Students Union (AASU) a couple of days ago for their response by December 13. Though the cabinet sub-committee is understood to have met the concerns of all sections, especially AASU and AAMSU, the AASU might take some time to respond given its stand that “change in the form will only help illegal Bangladeshis to get enlisted in the NRC”. “Dropping the place of birth could be a ticklish issue because the objective of updating the NRC was to ensure that only Indians got included. Certain quarters may see the simplification of the process as dilution of the process,” a source said.

More on the travails: Linky

Dispur appears to have got into a damage-control mode after the furore over dropping of the column on place of birth in the simplified National Register of Citizens (NRC) application form with chief minister Tarun Gogoi today saying that no final decision had been taken. The AASU and the BJP have flayed the government for tinkering with the form on the ground that it would only help illegal Bangladeshis get enlisted in the NRC which is being updated. Even the Mujammil Haq group of AAMSU has criticised the government saying it should retain the place of birth clause.

7) It is not only Nepal that acquiesced: Linky

"As of now, our position is not to attend the ceremony," Sri Lankan Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters. "We are not the only country that took up that position, there are lots of countries that are not attending the event," he said.

WSJ adds: Linky

One diplomat from Sri Lanka initially told The Wall Street Journal that its embassy in Oslo was sure to send someone "if nobody had a cold," but later said that no one would attend, saying: "We are a small country and China is now our friend."

8) AFSPA in Manipur: Linky

He said his government would recommend withdrawal of the act to the Centre once the state forces could deal with the situation. “The state government does not want to keep this act even for a second. It is because of this it defied strong instructions from the Centre and withdrew the act from the Imphal Municipal limit in 2004. But the situation in the rest of the state is not conducive to withdrawal of the act entirely,” Ibobi Singh said while addressing a Congress conference at Thangmeiband Assembly constituency here.

9) Meanwhile in Nepal: Linky

Continuing their policy of obstructing Indian investors, Nepal’s former Maoist guerrillas on Saturday trained their guns on yet another Indo-Nepal joint venture, threatening to bring it to a halt. The Government of Nepal had awarded the licence to Green Ventures Pvt Ltd, founded by IIT alumnus KR Krishnan, along with his Nepali partner, to survey the 120-MW Likhu 4 hydropower project that is sprawled over two districts in eastern Nepal, Okhaldhunga and Ramechhap.

The government is expected to ink a fresh agreement with Green Ventures, giving it the go-ahead to develop the project. However, on the eve of the new contract, the Ramechhap wing of the Maoists, who are now the largest party in parliament, issued six demands on Saturday, warning they would stop the project if these were not fulfilled. A statement signed by “Kushal”, who called himself the secretary of the Maoists’ district committee, said the project went against the right of locals to their own natural resources. The former rebels are demanding that residents be given five per cent of the shares free and another 20 per cent be reserved for local participation. The districts should also be paid royalty and the power generated would first have to be given to the two districts at the cheapest tariff. Only the surplus power can be sold outside. The rebels are also demanding jobs for locals as well as infrastructure development in the areas of health, education, transport, drinking water supply and irrigation. The fresh threat comes after the Maoists last month produced a hit list of hydropower companies, of which over a dozen were Indian companies and JVs.

Other updates (November 12, 2010)

1) Nepalese maoists and their nexus with their Indian counterparts: Linky

Nepal Army will raise its objections and concern at a key defence meeting on Thursday at the allegation by the former Maoist guerrillas that it concocted a report about the ex-rebels training Indian Maoists in their camps as part of a “conspiracy” to pave the way for Indian military intervention in Nepal. “It is a baseless allegation levelled not only against the army but the Prime Minister as well,” said Brigadier General Ramindra Chhetri, spokesperson of the Nepal Army. “Our representative Brig-General Purna Chandra Thapa has been asked to convey our serious objections and concern at the meeting of the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee that sits today.”

The army reaction came after Nepal’s Maoists, stung by an allegation by India that the PLA had given arms training to nearly 300 Indian Maoists in Nepali territory this year, began a counter-propaganda war, calling it a conspiracy between India, the current caretaker government of Nepal and the Nepal Army. Maoist member of parliament and former PLA deputy chief Barsha Man Pun Ananta, who, India claims is one of the top Nepal Maoist leaders who signed a pact to provide the training to their Indian comrades, has now dragged the army and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal into the escalating row.

If you had missed it, this is what had happened: Linky

According to a media report of November 6, 2010 the Indian embassy in Kathmandu wrote to Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala and Home Minister Bhim Rawal, as well as to the Foreign and Home Secretaries of Nepal, claiming that two Nepalese Maoist leaders, Barshaman Pun Ananta and Haribol Gajurel, both commanders of the People’s Liberation Army of the Nepalese Maoists, signed a secret agreement with three leaders of the CPI (Maoist). According to the agreement the Nepalese Maoists would impart political and military training to the Indian rebels. Further, according to these reports, 300 Indian rebels have already been trained inside Nepal and the Nepalese Maoists have agreed to send some more trainers to the bordering Indian state of Bihar to conduct training camps for a larger number of Indian rebels.

On the other hand, the Nepalese Maoists have refuted these claims and alleged that it was Indian propaganda to hamper, if not derail, the ongoing peace process in Nepal. Whatever the claims, and their veracity, these reports are not new. There have been several such reports in the past, and the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) too had attested to the existence, at least at that point in time, of such linkages. Sample the following:

Annual Report, 2003-2004: “The symbiotic relationship between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and naxal groups like the MCCI and CPI – ML (PW) continues to prosper.” Further: “The MCCI is reported to have provided logistic support including arms, shelter and manpower to the [U]CPN (Maoist) … [and] [U]CPN (Maoist) cadre has reportedly received military training in MCCI camps.”
Annual Report, 2004-2005: “The symbiotic relationship… continues to grow with the MCCI and CPI - ML (PW) extending their military training camp facilities to [U]CPN (Maoist) cadres and availing arms training by senior cadres of the latter.”
Annual Report, 2005-2006: “Available reports indicate continued fraternal and logistic links between the [Unified] Communist Part of Nepal (Maoist) and Indian Naxalite groups.”

However, at some other points in time, the MHA claimed that there were no strategic linkages between the two outfits. For instance, speaking in Hyderabad on July 4, 2006, the then Union Home Secretary, V.K. Duggal said, “There is no physical link between Maoists in Nepal and India. However, there is an ideological link.” Nevertheless, there have been numerous reports on the nexus between the Nepalese and Indian Maoists. The earliest documented information on the linkages between them dates back to 1995, a year before the Unified CPN-M launched its ‘people’s war’, when a CPI – ML (PW) leader by name ‘Suresh’ issued a signed-joint statement, in English, with Prachanda, the UCPN (M) supremo, condemning Indian hegemonism, etc.

It has also been reported that the two top leaders of the UCPN (M), Prachanda and Babuarm Bhattarai, had visited North Telengana, in Andhra Pradesh, ahead of launching their own people’s war in Nepal, to study and learn first-hand how the then CPI-ML (PW) was spreading the movement there, which it showcased to the world as its ‘flagship’ guerrilla zone. Also, though there is no documented evidence, it is said that Prachanda had played a pivotal role in the merger of the CPI-ML (PW) and the MCCI that resulted in the founding of the CPI (Maoist). As one Naxalite-watcher noted: “Over the years, this association has evolved into a strategic alliance with a steady exchange of men and material, extension of training facilities and safe havens and facilitation and procurement of arms and explosives.”

Elsewhere, the Nepal Sansad ambles towards passing the Budget, with legalese dominating the show as of now. The first Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) from France have arrived. If folks recall, the Indian bid was usurped after last minute stalling by the maoists. A British firm has bidded to build the Mongla port which will be the transit destination for Bhutanese and Nepali goods via Indian territory to Bangladesh. And with the Bihar elections done and dusted, Nepal is back to square one. The same can be said about Burma now that the elections are done, but Suu Kyi release rumours seem like a big plant.
2) NDFB mayhem Linky

Ranjan Daimary, the supremo of the anti-talks faction of the NDFB who is now in jail, has lost control over the outfit and a few second-rung leaders are now calling the shots and directing operations, Assam police said today. The recent attacks by the outfit were done under the leadership of some of its top members like B. Jwngkang, alias John, the ‘deputy commander’ of the Boroland Army, ‘army commander’ Songbijit and leaders like Sagrid, Bidai, Jwmwi and Sotbangsa. They are moving around in the state in the absence Ranjan Daimary, the chairman of NDFB who is now in jail, he said.

Meanwhile, P Chidambaram is visiting the state and the huntdown of the anti-talks faction will begin, one hopes. Before the massacre, intel reports pointed to one such incident in the pipeline.
3) Elsewhere, some ambling towards posturing Linky

On Wednesday, the Indian Army formally raised the first battalion of the Arunachal Pradesh Scouts, a well-trained Army unit that will be operative only in Arunachal Pradesh. The functions and operations of the Arunachal Pradesh Scouts will be similar to that of the Ladakh Scouts, the frontier unit of the Indian Army that was crucial to the making of the Kargil War success story. The raising day of the Arunachal Pradesh Scouts was inaugurated by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu at the parade ground of the Assam Regimental Centre in Shillong. In his address to the soldiers, he said, "We should take pride that for the first time in the history of the Indian Army, a battalion has been named after the State of Arunachal Pradesh... Since this new battalion is born out of the Assam Regiment, you continue to be a part of the living symbol of martial strength and traditions of the Northeast... You will have the difficult task of making your own history and creating unparalleled traditions. I have no doubt that you will embark upon the arduous task of creating one of the strongest, cohesive, disciplined and operationally proficient battalions of the Indian Army." Khandu requested the recruits to give their best as his State and the rest of the country would look up to them with full faith as the sentinels of the country.

And trust but verify works, I guess. Linky

China has denied reports of bid to divert the river Brahmaputra and assured India that Zangmu hydropower station would not have adverse impact on downstream areas. Beijing has shared information with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna this April about the construction activities at Zangmu hydropower station. It was stated that Zangmu is a small project with its main function being generation of power and not water supply, Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent H Pala said in a Rajya Sabha reply. China also mentioned that the power station would not regulate the volume of water and would not have an adverse impact on the downstream areas, Pala said.
...
However, he added that the Government of India is keeping a constant watch on all developments. Replying to a Rajya Sabha question, Pala said that Government is aware of reports regarding construction of 55 reservoirs on Tibetan rivers in China including Brahmaputra. The Chinese side has categorically denied that it is constructing a dam on the Brahmaputra river for the purpose of water diversion, Pala informed.

Updates (October 28, 2010)

1) Does this signal an end to the BSF woes, possibly not? Linky

In line with a major policy decision taken a few months back, Bangladesh and India both have begun construction of structures within 150 yards of the zero line along the international border at designated areas. While this is a deviation from the Indo-Bangladesh Boundary Agreement 1974, on the parts of both countries, it is essentially addressing the needs of both too. The agreement restricts any construction within 150 yards of the zero line. Bangladesh allowed India to erect fences at a dozen places having important establishments including religious installations that could not be dismantled due to the sensitive nature of those. Terrains at some of those places are also difficult for erecting fences beyond the 150 yard zone. India recently began construction of the fences. India also allowed Bangladesh to construct structures within 150 yards of the zero line at 11 points of the country.

The arrangement came following a proposal from India early last year. India had been seeking to erect such fences within 150 yards of the zero line at 46 places since the last BNP regime. Talking to The Daily Star, Director General of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam said yesterday, "As we have agreed to the Indian proposal, India is also reciprocating by allowing Bangladesh to construct a bridge in Laxmipur, expansion of a wall in Hili, construction of approach roads in Moulvibazar and Bhomra, and several other initiatives. Our mutual agreement has created a very positive environment. Both countries are now willing to resolve long standing minor issues," he said, "This will help boost border trade on both sides."

Following last year's Indian proposal, BDR inspected various border points the same year, and submitted clearance to the Bangladesh home ministry about 12 out of the 46 points. India and Bangladesh conducted combined surveys of these areas as well, the BDR DG said. "We are continuing such surveys to see if accepting the Indian proposal will affect Bangladesh adversely in anyway," he added. As per the understanding, India will erect single channel fences at those 12 areas instead of barbed wired double channel ones like it erected beyond the 150 yard zone within its own territory. He made it clear that both countries are constructing the structures within their own boundaries.

Back in the early 1990s when India began erecting fences within permissible border areas on grounds of preventing smuggling and illegal migration among other reasons, it faced some problems. It identified the 46 points at the total 4,156 kilometres (km) long border, where it could not erect fences beyond 150 yards from the zero line. For now, Bangladesh has accepted the Indian proposal for erecting the fences within the 150 yard zone at 12 of the points. Bangladesh will decide about the remaining 34 places only after a joint verification in Assam and Meghalaya, said Bangladesh official sources.

Bangladesh foreign ministry sources said India told them that the fences will be erected over a period of time, and no timeframe has been fixed for completion of the joint survey. India however requested to expedite the verification process, they said. The officials, quoting Indian sources, said only 248 km of the allowed 571 km of such fencing along the border between Bangladesh and the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya has been completed. Work is in progress for 123 km more, while for the remaining length (200 km) there are objections either from Meghalaya or Bangladesh, they added.

India has so far fenced 3,300 km of the border beyond the 150 yard zone within its own territory in line with the boundary agreement. According to BDR sources, the Indian authorities started erecting fences within 50 yards of the zero line at Azampur frontier under Akhaura of Brahmanbaria on Saturday. They said the neighbouring country already placed alignment designs for the 12 places. An official of the Bangladesh home ministry said, on condition of anonymity, that the government agreed to allow India to erect the fences within the 150 yard zone because of difficult terrains beyond that point. Citing examples, he said there is a religious establishment within five yards of the zero line at Hili border, and there is a wall at the boundary pillar in Benapole.

2) Faruk Khan's visit to India Linky

The minister said Bangladesh and India came up with some major developments such as establishment of border haats [commodity markets], agreement on movement of trucks between the countries, import of 3 lakh metric tonnes of par-boiled rice and 2 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from India and ensuring cotton-import quota for Bangladesh.

On Saturday, Bangladesh and India signed an MoU for establishing two border haats along the Meghalaya border. These haats will be opened by mid-February next year. Some 20 types of goods -- mainly agri and agro-based -- will be displayed for sale where currencies of the both countries will be accepted. Another major development of the visit, as the commerce minister claimed, was allowing transit for trucks from Nepal to Bangladesh up to Land Customs stations. India committed to do it during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in January this year.

India has also agreed to consider Bangladesh's demand of excluding 61 items, including garments, from its sensitive list of 480 items, said Faruk Khan, adding that Bangladesh will get to import 11 lakh bales of cotton from India this year out of its total import demand of 55 lakh bales. The commerce minister termed the cotton deal the biggest success of his visit. So far this year, Bangladesh did not get 1.35 lakh bales of cotton from India despite opening of LCs. Bangladesh imports 30-35 percent of its cotton requirement from India.

India has also made other pledges including accreditation of certification of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), reduction of items in its sensitive list, withdrawal of tagging "Made in Bangladesh" label on each jute bag exported to the country, he said. During the visit the business communities of the countries signed four memorandums of understanding (MoU) including setting up of a joint venture packaging industry in Bangladesh by Indian SRS Group and Nitol Group of Bangladesh. The Indian company will invest $50 million in this venture.
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Khan said the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, probably in January next, would help settle issues like allowing duty and quota-free export of apparel products to India. Referring to the non-tariff barrier in export of jute bags from Bangladesh to India, Khan said he discussed it with Indian Textile Secretary Rita Menon who assured him of necessary change in the law. Khan said allowing more garment items and jute bags from Bangladesh will reduce the huge trade imbalance between the two neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, Bangladesh would be able to export duty-free 1.7 million pieces of textile products in the last quarter of this year while a fresh duty-free quota of 8 million pieces would take effect from January 2011, he added.

3) Transit rights and other matters Linky

Bangladesh will hold talks with Nepal and Bhutan soon on allowing them to use Chittagong and Mongla ports, and sign Memorandums of Understanding as per the joint communiqué signed by the prime ministers of Bangladesh and India. Dhaka will also have talks with Delhi on the matter as both Nepal and Bhutan will need Indian land corridor for using the two ports. "We will visit Nepal and Bhutan soon, may be at the end of this month or early next month, to discuss the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports by the two countries. After reaching a decision with them, we will discuss it with India," the adviser told The Daily Star later.
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He mentioned that the shipping ministry is overseeing setting up of land customs offices at some border points. Procedure of operation has been settled for trucks from Nepal and Bhutan which will cross 200 metres from zero point, he added. The meeting emphasised building power transmission lines immediately for import of 250 MW electricity from India. It also discussed taking up more projects with the $1 billion Indian credit.
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Asked about sharing of the Teesta water, the adviser said it will take time to estimate the quantity of water the two countries now get.

4) News adds on the MOUs Linky

Four more MOUs were signed between Bangladesh and India during the commerce minister's visit to India. Of them three were signed with the Tata group. "Tata wants to study the feasibility of assembling Tata pickups in Bangladesh and production of retail parts of Tata vehicles used in Bangladesh. It also wants to open driving schools." Indian SRS Group and Bangladeshi Uttara Packing have also signed an MOU on setting up a joint packaging factory in Bangladesh. Both the countries have decided that trucks of both countries can enter 200 meters inside their borders.

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Elsewhere
5) ULFA talks: Linky

A local court today granted bail to ULFA political adviser and senior leader Bhimkanta Buragohain who served seven years in Tezpur jail. Additional Judge of Sonitpur district and sessions court Hemadevi Phukan Bhuyan granted Buragohain, popularly known as Mama, bail on the submission of surety of Rs 25,000 each for two bail petitions moved by his nephews Anup Phukan and Kula Mohan Barua.

Telegraph adds: Linky

Buragohain will now be taken to Guwahati Central Jail. He is likely to be released in a day or two after his one of relatives submits a bail bond. The court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) here had already granted bail to the Ulfa leader regarding one pending case and is awaiting submission of a bail bond. “I feel good as I am free now. I have not been able to meet my people for a long time. I have met a few of my relatives today on the court premises and felt really good,” Burgohain, while talking to The Telegraph today over phone from Tezpur, said. “I am happy that the process of releasing the jailed leaders of the outfit has started. However, our chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and other key leaders like Chitraban Hazarika and Sasha Choudhury are still inside the jail. I hope they are also released soon as the ongoing peace process can gain momentum only after the release of all the jailed leaders,” he said.

6) India-Burma trade: Linky

While India is almost prepared for the Indo-Myanmar border trade, the Myanmarese government has many works to finish for the same, an official said today. PK Neihsial, Superintendent of Central Land Custom based at Champhai, informed DoNER Secretary Jayati Chandra, who visited the proposed border trade area at Zokhawthar, said the border trade was yet to be commissioned. “While Mizoram almost prepared for the border trade, the Myanmarese government has not executed works as expected. Among others, the road from Tiau (border point) to Tiddim is yet to be made an all-season road,” the official informed the DoNER Secretary.

According to the customs official, border trade was taking place unofficially on one or two items of the 40 trade items listed for the border trade. He said fertilizers, bicycles, vehicle spare parts and medicines were at the top of the list of the items which Myanmar wanted to import from India. Neihsial also said all the departments concerned were ready to occupy their offices at the Land Custom building once the border trade took off.

7) The GJM travails: Linky

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has decided to seek the opinion of all its leaders across the country before accepting the proposed set-up for the hills, an indication that the outfit is walking a tightrope and wants to avoid a Sixth Schedule-like fiasco that also brought out Subash Ghisingh’s nemesis. Sources confirmed that Morcha president Bimal Gurung would invite its unit leaders from across the country for deliberations on the interim set-up and Gorkhaland. “The meeting will be held very soon,” a source said. The date could probably be October 30, another source said.

The Morcha has formed units in the seven northeastern states besides Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It has a unit in Calcutta, too. The Nepali-speaking people from across the country had supported the Morcha agitation for Gorkhaland as they saw in it a solution to the identity issue of the Gorkhas. The new state, it was said, would give the Gorkhas the identity they had been craving for by differentiating between the Nepali-speaking Indians and the citizens of Nepal. Although the party has been insisting that the proposed arrangement is only temporary and the statehood movement will continue, Gurung and his think tank are wary because the initial agitation was for a new state and not a new administrative set-up. Under the circumstances, the Morcha wants a consensus to be reached before the interim set-up deal is inked. Observers said the Morcha did not want a repeat of the Sixth Schedule fiasco, another reason why a consensus is needed.

In the past, the Centre, the state and the Subash Ghisingh-led GNLF had signed a Memorandum of Settlement for conferring the Sixth Schedule status on the three hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling. The status could not be conferred because of a spontaneous opposition in the hills. The delay in amending the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — the process starting almost one-and-a-half years from when the settlement was inked in 2006 — to include the Darjeeling hills proved to be Ghisingh’s nemesis. “Gurung is aware how Ghisingh, who was then considered the undisputed leader of the hills but had to go because of the mass opposition. The Morcha leadership does not want a repeat and will try to convince its unit leaders that the interim set-up is only for two years and that the party has not set aside the Gorkhaland issue,” said an observer.

The party is likely to firm up its decision on the interim set-up only after receiving feedbacks from its unit leaders. In fact, the Morcha yesterday asked its leaders from the Dooars and Terai to submit their opinions complete with their address and phone numbers. “A similar exercise will be conducted when members of other units are invited for discussion,” the source added. The prospect of settling the interim issue within the next political-level talks seems real as Gurung seems to have worked out a strategy to solve the territorial dispute. He has hinted that the solution is in the formation of a joint verification committee that will survey the Dooars and Terai and submit a report by 2011. “(After that) the government has to agree to include the Nepali-dominated areas in the administrative arrangement that will be in force till 2012,” he said yesterday.

8) On Anthony Shimray: Linky

Immediately after his arrest, the NSCN-IM’s special envoy, V.S. Atem, had written an angry protest letter to the Centre. But sources said the outfit soon realised the harm done to the talks and its chairman Isak Chishi Swu wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — and Muivah to the home ministry — explicitly “withdrawing” that letter.

Terrorist groups update (October 22, 2010)

1) Niranjan Hojai chargesheet by the NIA Linky

DHD-J commander-in-chief Niranjan Hojai wore a Rolex worth Rs 1 lakh, never mind the fact that the people he “fights for” make do with less than Rs 15,000 a year. One lakh rupees, in fact, is the per capita income of seven persons in the district. The luxury watch is just one of the exorbitant items that tumbled out of the militant leaders’ vanity kits when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) began probing a case of defalcation of funds in North Cachar Hills (now Dima Hasao).

The seizure list attached to the NIA chargesheet, which was submitted to the special judge of the agency last Tuesday, revealed shocking details about the extravagant lifestyle of these militant leaders, who waged a war against the state for “the people of the district”. While Hojai sported a Rolex wristwatch, policemen seized gold chains and rings from other accused persons. The list also contains sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and electronic gadgets. While the gadgets seized include high-end laptops from Sony, Lenovo, Compaq and N82 and E90 handsets of Nokia, the vehicles are mostly Scorpio and Bolero.

The extravagance makes for an ugly contrast to the condition of the district, considered one of the most backward in the state, with a population of 1,86,189 (according to the 2001 census). The district lacks even basic civic amenities like schools, hospitals and roads. While there are only 676 lower primary schools and 175 Middle English schools to cater to more than 55,000 children below 14 years of age, the number of arts and science colleges in the district is an abysmal four.

More: Linky

he NIA chargesheet, in connection with the defalcation of funds available with the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, has revealed that the accused created false and fabricated documents to transfer huge sums of money. The funds were channelised through hawala operators in Guwahati and Calcutta. The chargesheet, which yesterday named 16 people, including DHD (J) top brass Jewel Gorlosa and Niranjan Hojai, was filed based on case no. 02/09 of NIA which was registered on June 5, 2009.

Meanwhile, SATP reports:

The legal cell ‘chief’ of the Black Widow (BW), Maurong Dimasa (35), was shot at and injured by unidentified assailants in a Dimasa-dominated village under Haflong Police Station in North Cachar Hill District on October 18, reports Telegraph. Dimasa and two of his colleagues were attacked by unidentified assailants at Topodisa, 3 kilometres from Haflong town. The assailants managed to escape.

2) ULFA talks Linky

The process for holding formal talks with Ulfa is yet to reach a stage where a timeframe could be set, notwithstanding Dispur’s assertion that the parleys would begin soon. Sources privy to the discussions being held between P.C. Haldar, the Centre’s interlocutor for talks, and the outfit’s leadership, said there were several issues which were yet to be sorted out before formal talks could begin. Right now the “talks” are only in the media although the process appeared to be moving in the right direction, the sources claimed. “We cannot contradict what chief minister Tarun Gogoi has said about talks starting in December but neither can we say with any conviction that it would,” a source said. “There are certain issues which need sorting out...with some luck talks might start soon,” he said.

According to the sources, the Centre was keen that the talks get off the ground at an early date so that the code of conduct for next year’s Assembly election does not come as a roadblock. “The urgency has been conveyed to Ulfa leaders,” the source said. It has also been pointed out to them that things may change after the elections.

The source, however, pointed out that Ulfa would have to come out with a statement/letter stating their intention to hold talks before formal parleys can begin. “They (Ulfa leaders) are saying a lot of things, but they have to make it categorical,” he said, adding that efforts were on to get such an announcement out before/during the next Parliament session that begins early next month. According to him, the draft of such an announcement was under preparation. “One was prepared, but that is being reworked,” the source said. He said the Centre was also keen to have a statement given out by operational commanders that they, too, were in favour of holding talks and not the civil wing of the outfit alone.

According to the source, Ulfa leaders were insisting that general secretary Anup Chetia, who is now in prison in Bangladesh, be brought for a discussion among themselves. The Centre has conveyed to them that a diplomatic demand for handing over Chetia has been made on Bangladesh. At the same time, though, it has also been conveyed to the leaders that even if he were to come to India, Chetia would certainly have to spend some time in jail which would further delay the outfit’s central committee meeting. The jailed leaders have been saying that the meeting could be held only after all were released from jail. “It was keeping in mind such issues that the Centre had offered to shift the jailed leaders to special jails so they could freely discuss matters among themselves, but the leadership had not agreed to it,” the source said. Haldar today met Ulfa leaders in the Central Jail here.

Bail issue: Linky

Two separate courts today rejected the bail plea of Ulfa deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua alias Jiten Kalita while the same courts granted bail to the outfit’s cultural secretary, Pranati Deka. The bail pleas of both the jailed senior leaders of the outfit came up for hearing today in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Kamrup, and at the designated Tada court. There were three cases pending against Barua in the TADA court — 32/01, 43/01 and 350/91. The court has rejected his bail plea in all the three cases. The Tada court, however, granted bail to Pranati Deka against a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh.

On the other hand, the CJM court here granted bail to Deka but rejected the bail plea of Barua as he was shown as an absconder while the special operation unit (SOU) of the Assam police chargesheeted him in case number 3974/95. “This is an initial stage of moving the bail petition and the Tada court has rejected the bail plea of Barua at this stage,” Barua’s counsel Pranab Das said. “On the other hand, the CJM court rejected Barua’s bail as he was shown as absconder in the chargesheet filed by the SOU of the Assam Police. Since the Tada court has not given any specific reason for rejecting the bail, we are going to move fresh bail petition after a few days,” he said. Last week, senior Ulfa leader and the outfit’s ideologue, Bhimkanta Buragohain, was granted bail by the district and session judge at Tezpur. Buragohain, who was granted bail against two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each, is likely to secure his release on October 26 when his relatives submit the bail bonds.

Sentinel adds this: Linky

Before the first round of talks with the outfit, the government is likely to release ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and deputy ‘commander-in-chief’ Raju Baruah from jail. It will have to also decide whether operations against the ULFA will continue while holding talks with the outfit, the sources said. Haldar, who arrived in the city on Wednesday, today discussed with top jailed ULFA leaders the legal hurdles to setting them free and modalities of the proposed peace talks.
...
Intelligence sources, on the other hand, today claimed that they had “located” Paresh Baruah. Quoting NSCN (I-M) leader Anthony Shimray, who was arrested recently, they said, “Now Paresh Baruah is in the Yunnan province of China.” According to the sources, Shimray said during interrogation that Baruah was in the Philippines till last year, and that the top ULFA leader was involved in illegal arms trade. Meanwhile, the rift between the pro-talk ULFA camp and the Paresh Baruah-led group seems to have widened in recent times. While the jailed ULFA leaders, if their statements are any indication, are willing to hold talks with the government, Paresh Baruah has not budged from his stand that any peace talks must include the issue of “sovereignty”.

3) ANVC ceasefire Linky

In a bid to prevent cadres from deserting the Achik National Volunteers’ Council, the joint monitoring group that monitors the ceasefire agreement between the government and the outfit today decided to implement the standard operation procedure, which will facilitate the introduction of database identity card. The decision is significant especially when some ANVC cadres had, in the past, fled from their respective designated camps in Garo hills to join other outfits.
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The Union government had earlier expressed concern over the ANVC cadres deserting their camps and joining other militant groups like the Liberation of Achik Elite Force and the Garo National Liberation Army. Former ANVC leader Sohan D. Shira, who had surrendered in 2007 and stayed in designated camps, is now the self-styled commander-in-chief of the GNLA, led by former deputy superintendent of police, Champion R. Sangma.

4) UNLF Linky

Political parties today threw their weight behind Sana Yaima’s family and supported the demand that the Centre inform them about the UNLF leader’s whereabouts. “We believe Sana Yaima is in the custody of the Indian authorities. The government of India should inform the people of Manipur and Sana Yaima’s family the whereabouts of the militant leader and what had happened to him,” Nimai Chand Luwang, the president of the Manipur Peoples’ Party (MPP), the largest Opposition party in the Assembly, said today.
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Before leaving Imphal for Delhi, home secretary G.K. Pillai today repeated that New Delhi did not have any information about his arrest. “I would contact my counterparts in Bangladesh to find out if the man has been arrested,” the home secretary told reporters at the airport. Pillai, who was here on a four-day visit to attend two development seminars in Imphal East and Ukhrul, had denied any knowledge of Yaima’s arrest. He termed media reports of Yaima’s arrest in Bangladesh and now in India “not correct”.

The Ibobi Singh government has so far been maintaining silence over the issue. Following reports in the media and claim by UNLF’s vice-chairman Kh. Pambei that Sana Yaima, alias R.K. Meghen, was arrested from Dhaka on September 29 and brought to India, Yaima’s wife R.K. Ongbi Ibemnungshi had petitioned the Union home ministry, National Human Rights Commission and the UN High Commission for Human Rights seeking information on the whereabouts of her husband. After petitions to the home secretary and national rights commission drew a blank, R.K. Chinglen, the second son of the militant leader, told the media yesterday that if the Centre failed to inform the family about the whereabouts of his father, the family would seek legal course. Yaima has not been home at Yaiskul Janmasthan in Imphal city for the past 35 years or so. His father, R.K. Madhuryyajit, was a British army officer and was World War II veteran. He also founded SSB in Manipur and Nagaland after retirement.

5) KMSS and dams Linky

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) today set a seven-day deadline for the Tarun Gogoi government to ensure a halt to the construction of big dams affecting the state or face a mass movement akin to the Assam Agitation from November 1. The organisation, which has been opposing the construction of large dams in the region, did not spare Arunachal Pradesh either. It threatened to launch an economic blockade against the neighbouring state if it did not give up its pro-dam policy. KMSS general secretary Akhil Gogoi this evening came up with a point-by-point counter to the letter written by Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu to the PMO on the “strategic and national need” for the dams. Khandu’s lobbying, Gogoi said, led to the postponement of the PMO-convened inter-ministerial meeting on the construction of big dams in the region.

Sentinel adds: Linky

Rejecting the allegation made by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) that a pro-mega dam lobby is active in New Delhi, State Power and Industries Minister Pradyut Bordoloi has said that the State Government has urged the Centre to look into the concerns raised by the public and the expert committee on the possible downstream effects of the mega dams under construction. Bordoloi today said that the State Government was giving due importance to the opinion of the expert committee on the issue of mega dams, and not to what organizations like the KMSS and AASU were saying. Ruling out the possibility of any pro-dam lobby active in New Delhi, the minister said that the State Government would never take any step that would be detrimental to the interests of the State. Bordoloi accused the AGP of maintaining “double standard”. “Earlier the AGP used to support the construction of dams, but now they have started opposing it. This is nothing but double standard. The reality is that the AGP is just trying to make it a political issue,” Bora said.

Tribune adds: Linky

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) will jointly hold an interactive meet of the members of the expert group that studied the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project (LSHEP) and the common people on the mega dam issue at Gerukamukh on October 24. The expert group had submitted its report on June 28 last to the State Government and the NHPC authorities. The expert group was constituted with the experts from Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University and IIT Guwahati, following a decision at a tripartite meeting held by the State Government with the representatives of the NHPC and the AASU on December 8, 2006. In its final report, the group suggested that the construction activities of the LSHEP should be brought to an end. It has also forbidden construction of any mega dam in the seismically sensitive foothill areas of the Himalayas.

6) AIUDF and elections Linky

All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal, who is on a three-day tour of the three Barak valley districts, today more than indicated that the party’s main agenda was to join the government after the Assembly elections next year. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party workers’ meet held at Gandhi Bhawan in Silchar, Ajmal said, “You cannot push for change unless you have power in your hands.” While revealing that the AIUDF was open to supporting the government that would be formed after the elections, Ajmal threw enough hints that the party would extend support to any formation.

The AIUDF has, at least for now, decided to contest the polls on its own steam. “We will contest the elections alone. We are open to all non-Congress and non-BJP secular parties,” Ajmal said. He, however, contradicted himself by revealing a “soft corner” for the Congress when asked if he would join a Congress-led government. “It’s a question of ideological difference — the Congress has failed to deliver the roads and drains here. This is a testimony that the long Congress rule has given the people nothing. Apart from ideological differences, we have no issues with Gogoi sahib or the Congress. Having said that, we cannot do anything unless we have power in our hands and so the party looks forward to joining the government formed after election,” he said.

With the AGP having severed ties with the BJP, Ajmal said an alliance with the AGP could not be ruled out. “(Prafulla Kumar) Mahanta had called me a few days back and asked ‘We need to sit and talk.’ We are open to any non-Congress, non-BJP secular alliance.” Earlier in the day, the AIUDF got a boost after nearly 500 BJP and Congress members joining the party at a daylong workshop of the party’s Cachar district unit, the Mahila Morcha and the Yuba Morcha. Ajmal encouraged them to work with confidence and dedication to make an impact in the process of the formation of the next government. The party general secretary, K.M. Baharul Islam, said the Assembly polls would be “the voice of the oppressed, suppressed and the downtrodden.” Islam said his party was committed to the empowerment of not only the marginalised religious minorities but also of the linguistic minorities and tribes that have been sidelined by the Congress.

Sentinel adds: Linky

But the final blow came on Thursday when ‘Aamir-e-Shariyat’ of Northeast Nadwatut Tamir Moulana Tayeebur Rahman outrightly rejected Ajmal’s plea to reconsider his decision to scrap ties with the AIUDF. The Moulana in his usual modest tone asked the AIUDF boss not to make any statement involving the Nadwa or blaming the Congress for the Nadwa’s decision to scrap ties with Ajmal’s party. Ajmal who dropped into the Moulana’s Rangauti residence in Hailakandi on Thursday noon and in their 45 minutes reconsider his decision. But no was the final answer from the cleric who had considerable influence on the Muslims in a greater part of the valley. Coming out of the Moulana’s residence, Ajmal tried to pose a brave gesture and even claimed that the meeting was fruitful. But the insiders said the opposite.

Moulana Tayeebur Rahman was the chief advisor of the AIUDF when the party came into being in 2005 following the scrapping of IMDT in the Supreme Court. The Moulana’s campaigning yielded three seats for the AIUDF in Barak Valley. But the relation started to sour when Ajmal decided to contest the Lok Sabha election from Silchar without even caring for discussing his decision with the Moulana who was opposed to Ajmal’s candidature in Silchar apprehending that this would ultimately pave the way for the BJP. The Moulana started to withdraw his physical presence in the AIUDF meeting or rally. The final jolt to their relation came when one Jamiat central leader claimed that Mufti Khainul Islam of the Jamiat was the original Amir-e-Shariyat. That had angered the Nadwa camp and they took it as an insult to the Moulana. Ajmal was the state president of the Jamiat, but preferred to remain as a mute spectator.

Subsequently, the Majlis-e-Shura, the governing body of the Nadwa had recently decided not to side with any political party from now onwards. On the other hand, the Moulana announced his detachment with active politics. Ajmal on Wednesday claimed that there was no hitch in AIUDF’s relation with the Nadwa and all the controversy over Aamir-e-Shariyat was a conspiracy of the Congress. The Moulana today reportedly asked Ajmal not to make any statement blaming the Congress that would unnecessary complicate the issue. The Moulana further said, the Nadwa members could support any political party of their choice expect BJP.

7) NDFB Linky

In a bid to consolidate its position in Assam’s north bank districts of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, the anti-talks faction of the NDFB has tied up with the little-known Liberation Democratic Council of Mising Land (LDCML). The outfit has even started providing arms training to its cadres in makeshift camps in the hills along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The development has set alarm bells ringing among security establishments at a time the state is preparing for Assembly elections. Security forces have obtained evidence of cadres of NDFB and LDCML operating jointly in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli subdivision in Jorhat district where the Mising community has a sizeable population. “Both organisations have started extorting money from businessmen, contractors and even panchayat representatives in various parts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli. We have evidence that the NDFB has on occasion used LDCML cadres to carry out operations,” a police official said.

Security forces and intelligence agencies came to know about the pact between the two outfits after the October 3 encounter along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in which four NDFB militants were killed. A sheaf of documents, which included a diary, recovered from the site by Dhemaji police later revealed that the two organisations operate closely in the area, as well as their training process, modus operandi, cadre profile and the like. “From the documents recovered, it can be stated that LDCML was formed in October last year with an eye on a ‘free Mising land.’ A month later, Ram Patir, the self-styled commander-in-chief of LDCML, sent the first batch of 12 youths from different parts of Dhemaji district, mainly Gogamukh, for training in an NDFB camp on the Assam-Arunachal border in Sonitpur district,” the official said. “We managed to gather from the documents that a recently surrendered NDFB cadre, Jafunsar Boro, who was also present in the October 3 encounter, said that there were seven NDFB cadres in the camp at the time, along with two LDCML members,” he added. According to available information, there may be 30 to 35 cadres under the leadership of Patir, who hails from Misamora village under Jonai police station in Dhemaji district.

NDFB-Rajbongsi sitting: The NDFB (Progressive) and Koch Rajbongsi United Forum today held a joint session at Amala Bhawan in Kokrajhar, adds our correspondent. While the NDFB seeks the support of the Koch Rajbongsi organisations on the separate Bodoland state demand, the Koch Rajbongsis want the NDFB (P) to support them in the community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. They also discussed peaceful co-existence. The meeting was attended by Govindo Basumatary, NDFB general secretary, speaker B. Benga, publicity secretary S. Sanjarang, AKRSU president Biswajit Ray, Niren Ray and Kesab Rajbongsi of Koch Rajbongsi United Forum, among others.

8) Tangkhul Nagas in Manipur Linky

Tangkhul civil society organisations today submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through Union home secretary G.K. Pillai to remind the Centre about the Manipur Nagas’ demand for an alternative administrative arrangement for them. “We support and reaffirm the Naga Peoples Convention’s declaration made on July 1, 2010, seeking an alternative arrangement from the government of India in consultation with the Naga people at the earliest possible time,” the memorandum said. Singh was also urged to expedite the process for an alternative arrangement for the Nagas of Manipur.
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Before the meeting, the people of Ukhrul took out a rally in the town in support of the demand for an alternative arrangement. “Pillai should have visited Ukhrul to discuss about the Nagas’ demand for an alternative arrangement rather than attending a development seminar,” S. Milan, spokesman for the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Nagas in Manipur, said. Spearheaded by the council, the Naga organisations in Manipur had raised the demand for an alternative administrative arrangement after the Okram Ibobi Singh government conducted elections to six autonomous district councils in five hill districts and prevented NSCN (I-M) general secretary Th. Muivah from entering Manipur in May this year. Efforts by Ibobi Singh to hold talks with the council leaders have not borne fruit. A delegation of the council met representative of Manipur government Rakesh Ranjan, resident commissioner, Delhi, during tripartite talks on their demand in Delhi on September 21.

9) maoists: Linky

Chief minister Arjun Munda today sought waiving of Rs 500 crore the state owes the Centre towards deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Jharkhand for anti-Naxalite operations since 2007. Munda, who met Union home minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi today, said the state should not be charged for CRPF deployment as the Naxalite issue was a national one.
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Munda, who met the home minister for the first time today after assuming charge as chief minister, also urged the Centre to reimburse the Rs 105 crore it had to pay the Railway Board towards Government Railway Police (GRP) expenditure. This cost is shared by the state and railways on a 50:50 basis. Maintaining that he was committed to eliminating Naxalites, the chief minister also sought a one-time grant of Rs 300 crore for strengthening the Special Task Force on the lines of the Grey Hounds in Andhra Pradesh. “The critical component of training, both basic and specialised, need to be addressed urgently,” he said. Munda added that the home minister was positive and assured all central assistance.

Munda also requested the home minister to allow construction of PCC roads in forest areas as a special dispensation for rebel strongholds. “Improvised explosive devices planted on kuccha roads have been a major cause of casualties,” he said. The chief minister’s wish list included the demand for sanctioning 257 companies of central paramilitary forces for the panchayat elections, being held in the state after a gap of 33 years. “The state has requisitioned 257 companies, but only 100 have been sanctioned. In view of the number of booths, all in rural and Naxalite-affected areas, 100 companies of CRPF are inadequate,” the chief minister maintained.

He wanted two helicopters to be made available to the state as soon as possible in view of the panchayat elections and anti-Naxalite operations. He also sought inclusion of six more districts of Santhal Pargana — Dumka, Deoghar, Sahebganj, Godda, Jamtara and Pakur — in the security related expenditure scheme because of the presence of Maoist groups in these districts. Chidambaram was requested to urge the telecommunication ministry to link 840 villages, not covered with mobile connectivity, in view of the panchayat elections.