Manipur News

IMPHAL, April 8: The underground UNLF, in a press release today said it has finally resolved the case of fraud played by Diana and family using the party`™s name.

Following the bomb warning the party served to Lourembam Jiten of Sagolband Tera Yengkhom Leirak, notified to the public through newspapers on March 21, Jiten, his wife, Pramo Devi and daughter Diana contacted the UNLF and confessed their crimes, the release said.

According to their statement, in June 2013, Lourembam Diana, 23, with the consent of her parents, was admitted to SK College nambol for studies, the release said.

There she met R.K. Bonium, 24, son of R.K. Bapu and Thaballei Devi, of Ningthoukhong Radha Madhop Leikai, and soon was in a relationship with him, it said.

Diana, in the course of time wins the confidence of the family of Bonium, and begins to spend time at her boyfriend`™s house, tending to his parents, it said.

It was then that Diana began to play her game and falsely tells Bonium and his parents that her father is an influential leader of the UNLF and that he can help Bonium get a job in the police as ASI. She convinced the family that Bonium should have a job so they can marry, and accordingly Rs. 2 lakh was given to her so her father can start working to have Bonium selected for the job, the release said.

She then took Rs. 1.5 lakhs from the family again so that a sister-in-law of Bonium too can land a government job in the Social Welfare department. Bit by bit, she squeezed a total of Rs. 9,11,000 from the family.

On Jan 8, 2014, the two young couple marry quietly. She did not even inform her own family and the marriage was solemnised at the groom`™s place, the release said.

She then took Rs. 5 lakh more from Bonium`™s family so that her father who she said was UNLF leader can be assassinated, for it was likely he would object to their marriage, it said.

Bonium`™s family begin to have financial problem, but this notwithstanding, they take leave and go to Delhi for some time.

When they return from Delhi, they bid farewell at the Imphal airport and each head for their respective homes. However, when Diana ditched Bonium, the latter complained to the UNLF of Diana`™s deceit in the name of the UNLF, and the party took up the case, the release said.

Since all the concerned parties have confessed their part in the sordid game, the UNLF worked out a verdict acceptable to both, and the matter has been allowed to be treated as resolved, the release said.

The release said such cases are normal in a colonial situation in which a once proud people, living out of their own enterprise and genius have been robbed of their inner strength by the colonial system.

It appealed to all the people to revive the inner strength of the society by instilling in themselves Manipur`™s once proud work culture, and in this the UNLF will extend whatever help within its command.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/04/unlf-resolves-fraud-case-after-diana-and-family-confess-to-party/

Despite the all the brinkmanship and the worries that things may go wrong, the talks between the Government of India and the NSCN(IM) continues to hold. Sadly though, the NSCN`™s other major faction, the NSCN(K) led by SS Khaplang, has walked away from its own ceasefire agreement with the Government of India. Khaplang`™s NSCN however continues to be in a peace agreement with the Myanmar Government. As also widely speculated, his organisation is set for yet another split, roughly along the international border that divides India and Myanmar. He will be at the head of the faction that has support base on the Myanmar side of the border and NSCN(K) leaders from the Indian side of the border, the other. There was always an inevitability about this split, after all, how exactly was the Government of India to reach a negotiated settlement with rebels who were technically Myanmar citizens, just as it could also well be asked, how exactly was the Myanmar government to reach an agreement with rebels who were technically Indian citizens. In many ways, Khaplang`™s abrogation of the ceasefire agreement was a confirmation and admission of a status quo that revolutionary rhetoric could not move, and therefore nothing too much to worry for the governments of India and Myanmar, despite all the hypes by the media. This was quite clearly indicated by the Government of India`™s response of extending its ceasefire with the NSCN(K) unilaterally. The gesture almost seemed like a warm send off. With Khaplang retreating to his base in Myanmar, the NSCN(K) base on the Indian side would have become marginalised and manageable for the government of India, leaving it to focus its attention entirely on the NSCN(IM) which has a dominant presence on the Indian side of the border, and therefore a much bigger problem from its point of view.

However, the NSCN(IM) problem is not going to offer easy solutions either. Besides the known oppositions to one of its main campaign plank of a united homeland for the Nagas, there are other formidable problems ahead. As for instance, even if this united homeland were to be agreed upon, if this arrangement is to be within the Union of India, which now obviously it will have to be, besides opposition from neighbouring states, there will be myriad internal dissentions on matters of competition for resources under the Government of India`™s dispensation. Government jobs, education quotas etc, would be just some of these. It is a fact that there is a strong lobby within Nagaland which is interested in consolidating Nagaland rather than dilute its core interests by incorporating more people within it. What works as idealistic slogans, often does not when it comes to putting them into actual practice. Moreover, the uneasy question before any settlement plan would be, if this settlement is not anything radically different from what was offered by the Shillong Accord of 1975, why had the Naga agony been prolonged so unnecessary when it could have been put to rest in 1975. Forty more years of blood and tear would have to be accounted for by something substantially more for the Nagas in general and not just those in the extra territory to be acquired. Unfortunately, for the moment, greater Nagaland seems so much like a Manipur problem than a Nagaland problem, and if the forty extra years of bloodshed comes to be for a solution of a Manipur problem, it is only to be expected that many eyebrows in Nagaland would be raised. The NSCN(IM) leadership surely must be realizing this and that that the longer the stagnation remains, the deeper its problems would become. In fact, it may already be in a deep crisis. The matter is getting palpably urgent with the BJP government at the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, keen to have the matter resolved once and for all without further delay. In tricky situation like this, sometimes it is doubtful if pushing for a quick solution is the solution at all. Quite paradoxically, and unenviable though it may be, a ceasefire that continues on might have already begun to appear as the best solution. At least overt hostilities would be avoided, just as has been the case for the last nearly 18 years in the case of the Nagas.

Leader Writer: Pradip Phanjoubam

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/04/dreary-peace/

IMPHAL, April 8: The United NGOs Mission Manipur (UNMM) has strongly condemned the degraded statement “Come out Women Folk. Now the WAR has begun. I command 2000 soldier” during the stand- off between public and AR troops at Noney made by the present CO (Commanding Officer) of 8th Assam Rifle, Rajiv Choudhury posted at Noney (Longmai).

According to a release of UNMM, such act by the CO is violation of the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms Discrimination Against Women. He should be tried under Violence Against Women Act at the first Track Court. The statement declaring war against the civilians with strong term was done under the shadow and influence of the Special Power of Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958(AFSPA). UNMM also strongly condemned the inhuman and degraded treatment and harassing of the innocent civilians at Noney Bazar on April 6 by team of 8th Assam Rifle posted at Noney (Longmai). The harassment and ill-treatment of any actors/ individual after arrest in custody is a war crime, it said.

The Assam Rifle has the allegation that they arrested one of the cadres of ZUF from Noney which led to the arresting and the harassing of innocent people is a crime against law of the country (without proper reason and investigation). The Court has to decide whether the person is a member of the armed Group or not. It also clearly proved that people of Manipur are under the army rule, not under Democracy.

India has kept the people of North East India under the AFSPA for the last 56 year. It also deeply understand as to what kind of relationship are established between Indian Armed Forces and armed groups at Noney area. UNMM also condemned the arresting of the civilians and harassing them with ill-treatment like wild animals.

The 24th AR posted at Khudengthabi along Imphal-Moreh highway has been harassing passengers of every vehicle with detention like under military rule. On February 9, 2015 even the Rural Development Minister, Francis Ngajokpa and MLA OK Korungthang were also detained several minutes by 24 AR Posted at Khudengthabi under the command of Maj. Rockey. Now, AR posted at Khudengthabi and Tengnoupal have disallowed vehicle movement along National Highway (Now Asian National Highway)-2 along Imphal-Moreh Highway in the night, it said.

Moreover, KBS. Maniam, a community leader was detained and harassed for 2 hrs from 10:30 PM -12:30 AM by troops of 9th AR posted at Moreh, Chandel, Manipur (Indo-Myanmar border) led by Colonel Anand Atreya on the night of November 26. Those officers involved in such crimes against humanity are still posted in their respective post without initiating any trial.

The UNMM has demanded punish Officers/soldiers of the Assam Rifle who committed heinous crimes against humanity and bring them under trial as per law of the land, to terminate all officers of Assam Rifle who committed crimes to innocent people, to stop the harassment, torture and detention of the civilians in the National Highways, to remove the posts of AR, which are being posted unnecessarily and stop harassing innocent people, to remove AFSPA for some months on trial basis in some districts, to review the special power given to Security Personnel. They are responsible for carrying out various crimes against humanity and crimes against International Law (India being one of the largest Democracies in the World) and to compensate appropriately the victims of the incidents, it said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/04/unmm-condemns-noney-ar-co-statement/