Northeast Platform

Dimapur, February 21 (MExN): Nagaland Home Minister, Imkong L Imchen today said that the issue of women’s reservation is a frontline agenda of the DAN government. However, women have to struggle for their rights.Speaking as the chief guest at the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Watsu Telongjem Dimapur (Ao Union Dimapur), the state Home Minister exhorted the womenfolk that in order to obtain their rights they should struggle for it courageously and preserver for it. Identifying women emancipation, liberty and women’s rights as a very lively and burning issue, Imchen lamented that the Watsu Mungdang (apex Ao women organisation) could not raise its voice when the issue of women reservation cropped up in the Mokokchung Municipal Council last year, and said that the Watsu Mungdang could not say anything out of fear. He also said that when the men folk in Mokokchung town resisted the 33 percent reservation of seats in the Mokokchung Municipal Council, the presence of Watsu Mungdang, and

DIMAPUR: Home Minister Imkong L Imchen today articulated his solidarity with Naga women on 33 % reservation as the tug of war over the issue remains irresolute till date. Speaking as chief guest at the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Dimapur Watsu Telongjem at IMC, he, however, questioned why there had been no protest from any of the different women organisations when the civic polls at Mokokchung was boycotted last year by their male counterparts as a sign of protest against the amendment. He observed that there had been no women organisation voicing against the boycott at that time. “So it was thought women didn’t want reservation,” he maintained. The HM also felt that the biggest questions that need to be deliberated among the women are whether they are actually prepared to accept the reservation, whether they can take it forward in case of its amendment and whether they are prepared to shoulder the consequences. Exhorting that women would have to fight to own their rights, he sa

DIMAPUR FEB 21: The Watsu Telongjem Dimapur today celebrated its 25 years of existence since its establishment under the theme ‘Forward Together’ at IMC hall with Home Minister Imkong L Imchen as the chief guest. Addressing the women folks on the occasion, Imkong exhorted on the importance of family values, its immersion into the foundation of all human society and women as its structural influence. The structure of the family is the structure of all society, he stated while pointing out that every thing starts and ends in a family even the government. Stressing on the basic link of family, women and the issues confronting them, he said women need to fight for their own rights so that their cause can be achieved. The chief guest while congratulating the Watsu Telongejm on the attainment of 25 years since its inception said this celebration is another success story for the organization. Earlier, the chief guest released the Silver Jubilee souvenir book. Speaking on the theme ‘Forward

KOHIMA, FEB 21: The Naga convention for reconciliation and peace, which got underway today under the theme ‘Let my People Go’, underscored the need for inclusive unity amongst all Naga underground groups as well as he public without which there can be no common hope and future. Nagas should reorganise and forge ahead as one, as division and factionalism has broken the spirit of Naga unity, said Nagaland Baptist Church Council (NBCC) general secretary Rev Zhabu Terhüja, delivering the keynote address on the inaugural day at Kohima local ground (Khouchiezie), and rued that so many Nagas have died in the last ten years while querying who had been killed by whom and to what destination this was leading. This should serve as a lesson for all, he said. Furthermore, he said the various underground groups ‘claim to have got many revelations from God, but they seem to have separate revelations and therefore fight one another.’ Even our legislators also know how to pull down each other instead

Kohima February 21 : The two-day Naga Convention for Reconciliation and Peace commenced today at Kohima local ground with General Secretary of Nagaland Baptist Church Council Rev. Zhabu Terhuja saying that the time has come for the suffering Naga people to enter a new dawn through the gate of reconciliation.The convention is on way under the aegis of the Forum for Naga Reconciliation and with the theme ‘Let My People Go’. Dwelling on the theme ‘Let my people go’ in the context of the Naga people and their struggle, Terhuja in his keynote address said “everything is not well, but everything is not lost”. The Nagas can rebuild their future if they hold on to this aspiration, the church leader said.“Time has come for Nagas to enter a new dawn and reconciliation is the gate to that future,” he told the gathering. The gathering comprised of hundreds of Naga people from all walks of life and almost all Naga-inhabited regions.He said the only way out for Nagas is to reason and dialogue toge

IMPHAL, Feb 21: The chief minister Okram Ibobi has appealed to the JAC against the SDO killings and family members of the deceased to take the dead bodies of Dr. Th Kishan Singh, Y Token and A Rajen Sharma and perform their last rites as there was surety that the government was already in a position to fulfill 90 percent of the demands put up by the JAC.The appeal was made by the chief minister at a press conference held today at his conference hall. He further stated that regarding the criminal proceedings against the DC Ukhrul, it could only be done after the fact finding was completed by an enquiry committee. On the incident of firing of tear gas shells at the house of Dr. Th Kishan, in which his brother was hurt, he said that the house was full with people during the curfew hours and the security forces took the action to prevent a mob from forming at the place. He also said it could have happened at any other house under the circumstances. The chief minister also said that the g

IMPHAL, Feb 21: The underground KYKL, in a press statement today strongly condemned the beastly murder of SDO Kasom Khullen, Th Kishan and his two subordinate staff, official driver Aribam Rajen and revenue mandal Yumnam Token. It said whoever is responsible for the crime, it is simply meaningless. Even if the murder was related to distribution of NREGS awards, the target ought to have been just the SDO and not the driver and mandal, who would have had nothing to do with it. It said the crime can only be the handiwork of the most uncivilised and meat brained. Moreover, the mutilated bodies of the murdered men were dumped near another village and this seem a direct effort to implicate the community that lived in the village, thereby an attempt also to create communal enmity between the particular community and that of the murder victims. This is a bigger crime than even the murder, the release said. The release said Dr. Kishan’s is somebody the party held in great esteem and it conside

DIMAPUR, Feb 21 (NNN): On the brutal killing of SDO Dr. Th Kishan and his two staffs the 'Naga Army', the armed wing of the NSCN(IM), has affirmed that whoever may have committed such heinous crime, it has nothing to do with any 'official sanction' of the 'Naga Army' authorities whatsoever. "In the event of any Naga Army personnel found to be involved, 'Naga Army' will not fail to give the punishment to those perpetrators befitting the crime as per the army rules," PRO of the Naga Army (NSCN-IM) Col. Levi Zimik said tonight in a statement. The statement then stated that the brutal killing of Kasom Khullen SDO Dr. Th Kishan and his two staffs had come as a great shock to the 'Naga Army.' Meanwhile, the NSCN(IM) kilo-kilonser (home minister) said that taking into consideration the gravity of the brutal killing of Kasom Khullen SDO and his two staffs, the NSCN stands by its statement that it has no hands in the killing. &

IMPHAL, Feb 21: Widespread condemnations are still coming from all corners of the state in connection with the brutal and inhuman killing of government officials Dr. Th Kishan, Y Token and A Rajen. Various organisations have expressed deep sorrow at the hardships faced by the families of the deceased while asking the state government to book the culprits immediately. The Manipur Chemists and Druggists Association has appealed to the state government to lift the curfew immediately taking into account the problems faced by the emergency patients and people who need medicines daily at the proper time.Asking the authorities not to endanger the lives of such people who need medical attention, the association also strongly condemned the killing of Dr. Th Kishan and his two subordinates and shared the sorrow of the bereaved families. The Tarahei Muslim Women’s Welfare Association has strongly condemned the killings and said that nowadays killing of innocent people had become a trend in the s

IMPHAL, Feb 21: Widespread condemnations are still coming from all corners of the state in connection with the brutal and inhuman killing of government officials Dr. Th Kishan, Y Token and A Rajen. Various organisations have expressed deep sorrow at the hardships faced by the families of the deceased while asking the state government to book the culprits immediately. The Manipur Chemists and Druggists Association has appealed to the state government to lift the curfew immediately taking into account the problems faced by the emergency patients and people who need medicines daily at the proper time.Asking the authorities not to endanger the lives of such people who need medical attention, the association also strongly condemned the killing of Dr. Th Kishan and his two subordinates and shared the sorrow of the bereaved families. The Tarahei Muslim Women’s Welfare Association has strongly condemned the killings and said that nowadays killing of innocent people had become a trend in the s

IMPHAL, Feb 21: The JAC against the brutal killing of Dr. Th Kishan Singh, Y Token and A Rajen has stated in a release that the works minister K Ranjit and PDA chairman Dr. Loken had communicated to it and the bereaved families this morning that the three missing staff, namely Ramsing Siro, Ramthing Singlai and Kapangkhun Zimik, had been apprehended from Toloi in Ukhrul district. The JAC questioned why the three staff did not report to their office after being released by the abductors and said it seems they had been threatened by the abductors as a result of which they were hiding. It also asked the state government to clarify on the involvement of the NSCN(IM) in the brutal killings within 48 hours in accordance with the resolutions of the JAC. The JAC also asked the state and Central government to take up the matter at the highest official level since the triple murder was an act of terrorism committed by the Naga rebel group which is holding peace talks with the Central government

By M Amarjeet Singh Although insurgency in several areas of the North-East region of India has declined, external manipulation and support to insurgency in Assam, the most populous State in the region, continues to be a problem.Three States in the region, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim, are mostly unaffected by insurgency, while there has been substantial decline in insurgency in Tripura and Meghalaya. Thus, insurgencies in the region are largely confined to Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.In 2008, insurgency-related violence claimed some 1049 lives in the Northeast. 96 per cent of total fatalities were reported from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. Manipur recorded 47 per cent fatalities, the highest in the region, followed by Assam (36 per cent) and Nagaland (14 per cent). Further, Assam topped civilian (55.44 per cent) and combatant (44.44 per cent) fatalities, while Manipur topped insurgent fatalities (57 per cent).Compared with 2007, fatalities among security forces deployed in the

Hiranmaey Karlekar Pakistan must do more to prove its commitment The statement by Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mr Rehman Malik, at a news conference last Thursday that perpetrators of the sea-borne attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, could have been from Pakistan, marked a shift from Islamabad’s familiar tactics of denials, prevarications and attempted deflections; so did his remark that “some part of the conspiracy” had been hatched in Islamabad. He also said that Pakistan had registered a case against nine suspects on the charges of abetting, conspiring at and facilitating a terrorist act, and that six of them, including Lashkar-e-Tayyeba leaders Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah, named by India as masterminds of the attack, were already in custody. Reacting to Pakistan’s admission, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee stated in Parliament last Friday that “much depends on actions in the Mumbai case reaching their logical conclusion”. While describing the development as

C. Uday Bhaskar FEB.19 : India’s most viable diplomatic options now would be to maintain the current posture vis-a-vis Pakistan, while simultaneously trying to prevail upon the international community to encourage Islamabad to respond to India in a positive way. Any attempt to intimidate and disparage Pakistan in public would be counter-productive. We should accept Pakistan’s official response and give whatever information they seek — to the extent that we deem it appropriate — but simultaneously insist that Pakistan respond positively to India’s objectives which were conveyed to it in January this year. The United States is a very important interlocutor and it has a number of leverages over Pakistan which India does not have. As regards the rest of the international community, China is a swing state in many ways but Beijing has its own interests in relation to Pakistan that do not necessarily correspond to India’s. Army GHQ-civilian government relations in Pakistan is a complex contes

Sandeep B The current political creed ruling India wears the secular tag like a talisman. Yet, it drugs itself asleep during incidents that actually threaten true secularism Yatha raja tatha praja (As the king so are the people) is a timeless Sanskrit proverb. With her clarion ‘pub bharo’ battle-cry, Ms Renuka Choudhury has become an overnight role model of sorts for thousands of urban Indian youth. Not merely content with force-crowding pubs, our urban youth decided to launch a love-battle against Pramod Muthalik by gathering a nationwide arsenal of dirty pink underwear. But the average urban youngster’s profile forbids us to expect that he/she knows Ms Choudhury’s antecedents as a staunch crusader against liquor during her TDP days. But then, the quality of Ms Choudhury’s leadership can only beget such behaviour.If anything, the mindless youth-hysteria is actually an overwhelming tribute to her sheer genius. The ‘underwear campaign’ swiftly exposed the yawning intellectual vacuum of

Washington: A Mumbai Police team is headed home armed with crucial evidence provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) indicating that the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks were planned in Pakistan. A three-member Mumbai Police team headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police Deven Bharti left US for Mumbai on Wednesday with details of how the Mumbai attackers kept in touch with their Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) masters in Karachi. The US investigating agency that deals with protecting the US against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats provided India details of calls made through the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a satellite phone as also documents relating to the Global Positioning System used by the terrorists while sailing from Karachi. The forensic examination of the bullets used by the terrorists in Mumbai was also a part of the evidence collected from FBI by Mumbai Police. The evidence from FBI is expected to make the case against the terrorists water-tight an

MUMBAI: Arrested Army officer Prasad Purohit had allegedly obtained the explosives used in the 2008 Malegaon blasts and supplied them to two other accused, Rakesh Dhawade, another accused, has said in his confession. "In August 2008 Purohit told me that two persons associated with Sadhvi Pragya, Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, had asked him for RDX. He said RDX has to be given to them at all costs," Dhawade said in the confession given to the police in December 2008. Dhawade said he refused to assist Purohit in obtaining the explosives, but after a few days the Lt Colonel telephoned him and told him that he had obtained the RDX. "Using that RDX, Pragya's associates carried out the blast in Malegaon." However, when produced before a magistrate later, Dhawade denied making such statements and said his signature had been taken on previously typed sheets of paper. He also denied any involvement in the September 29 Malegaon blasts in which six persons were killed

NEW DELHI: Opposition unleashed a scathing attack on the government in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, with the principal opposition, the BJP accusing it of being a disaster on all parameters. Participating in a debate on President's address to the joint session, BJP's Arun Jaitley accused the UPA government of compromising the nation's security, both internal and external, and of frittering away the gains of economy clocked under the NDA. Jaitley came down hard on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing him of failing to provide inspiring leadership when the country was in the grip of a serious crisis. The former union minister, who wished Singh, convalescing from a heart surgery, a speedy recovery, pulled few punches as he hammered home his argument that the PM could not lead because he was not the first choice for the top job. "The prime minister is merely a stop gap arrangement in a stop gap job. The PM of the world's largest democracy cannot be a night watchman,

NEW DELHI: "You do not deserve one paisa of public money," an angry Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said as members of several political parties stormed the Well of Lok Sabha raising a spate of issues and disrupted Question Hour. So annoyed was the Speaker with the behaviour of some members, he said that he believed Parliament should be adjourned sine die. "I think Parliament should be adjourned sine die ... public money should not be spent on useless allowances for you," he said as some members of the BSP, BJP, TDP, RPI, PMK and MDMK stormed the Well and raised slogans against the government on several issues. BSP criticized the UPA government for "being anti-Dalit" as it had "ignored" the backward classes in a new draft legislation on universities introduced in the House. BJP members joined them on the same issue, while members of PMK and MDMK trooped into the Well demanding that the government make efforts to "stop war" in Sri Lanka. TDP

NEW YORK: A New York Post cartoon that some have interpreted as comparing US President Barack Obama to a violent chimpanzee gunned down by police drew outrage Wednesday from civil rights leaders and elected officials who said it echoed racist stereotypes of African-Americans as monkeys. The cartoon in Wednesday's Post by Sean Delonas shows two police officers, one with a smoking gun, standing over the body of a bullet-riddled chimp. The caption reads: ``They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.'' The cartoon refers to a chimpanzee named Travis who was killed on Monday by police in Stamford, Connecticut, after it mauled a friend of its owner. Some critics called the cartoon racist and said it trivialized a tragedy in which a woman was disfigured and a beloved chimpanzee killed. Others said the cartoon suggests that Obama should be assassinated. Many urged a boycott of the Post and the companies that advertise in it. ``How could the Post let this

Dimapur police busted a major racket involved in forging and selling fake certificates and documents of various government offices, police, schools, colleges, universities etc of different states of the Northeast and arrested the kingpin of the racket Muantuo Sailo from his residence at Block 3, Ward No. 9, Chumukedima on Tuesday.SDPO Niuland K Kahlo told newspersons that during a raid at the residence of the prime accused Muantuo, fake certificates and documents of various government officials, schools, school boards, computer institutes, colleges, Bible colleges, universities and various government offices with forged signatures, 151 fake rubber stamps and seals of various government officials, school authorities and university authorities as well as police and IR(Bn) letter pads of Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram besides computers sets, lamination machine, and colour printers were recovered. Altogether 171 school cumulative record books and various fake certificates, do

Four days after two former Congress MLAs resigned from both the party and the assembly and joined the ruling NPF, the opposition suffered another jolt when two more sent in their resignations to the Assembly speaker Tuesday.The two Congress MLAs- Azheto Zhimomi of 3 Dimapur-III and Deo Nukhu of 17 Chizami followed the footsteps of their colleagues- Kejong Chang who represented Tuensang Sadar –II and Aloh Wangham of Tizit assembly constituencies.With the latest resignations, the Congress strength has been reduced to 19 and the effective strength of the house to 56. The major DAN coalition party the NPF currently has 26, BJP and NCP two each, and supported by six independent MLAs.Sources said both the MLAs tendered their resignation to Speaker Kiyanilie Peseyie at his official residence at 8 pm Tuesday.When contacted, the Speaker said he has accepted the resignation of the two Congress MLAs and that a notification to this effect would be issued tomorrow.CONG DEMANDS PROBE: Earlier, on Tu

IMPHAL, Feb 17: The state cabinet in an emergency sitting today in the wake of the potentially explosive public mood after the kidnap and murder of three state government employees, namely SDO Kasom Khullen, Dr. Th. Kishan, his driver, Rajen Sharma and a Mondal, Y Token Singh, decided to pay ex-gratia compensations to the next of kin of the slain men.A brief press note by the principal secretary to the chief minister, AN Jha, also said the investigation into the case would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, the meeting decided.A government job each would also be given to the next of kin of the deceased officials, it said.It may be recalled the three men were abducted from Ukhrul district headquarters on February 13 by unidentified armed miscreants and found murdered near Taphou Kuki village in the Senapati district this morning.While Dr. Kishan’s kin would get an ex-gratia of Rs. 10 lakhs, those of his two subordinate staff would get Rs. 5 lakh each.Dr. Kishan,

Dimapur, Feb 17 (NNN): Strongly condemning the killing of sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Khasom Khullen, Dr. Thingam Kishan and two others, the NSCN(IM) has said tonight that the outfit has ordered an investigation and booking of the culprits at the earliest possible time. The NSCN(IM)'s ministry of information and publicity (MIP) informed Newmai News Network tonight that it has nothing to do with the incident and said that such heinous crimes should be condemned by all sections of the society. Pledging to book and award befitting punishment to the culprits involved in the killing of the SDO and two others, the NSCN(IM) has said that killing of the officials was carried out by vested interests to create unnecessary unrest in the society. The NSCN(IM) appealed to the general public not to spread rumours but to remain calm saying that the outfit would put in its utmost effort to book the culprits at the earliest. (IFP)

IMPHAL, Feb 17: The inhuman killing of Dr. Th Kishan, SDO, Kasom Khullen, Y Token, mandal of the revenue department and A Rajen, driver of the SDO has drawn strong condemnations from many organisations in the state as well as outside the state.A joint meeting of the UPF, NIPCO, TIPS, HERICOUN, MAPI COUNCIL and DESAM held today at the office of the HERICOUN strongly condemned the incident and said that the apex organisations believe the crime was committed by the culprits in collusion with the DC Ukhrul.It asked the DC Ukhrul, state government and Central government to take whole responsibility for the incident and at the same time appealed for the release of the other three staffs of the SDO.The Tangkhul People’s Organisation, Imphal (TPOI) also condemned the brutal killings and shared the sorrow and pain of the victims’ family.The TPOI also appealed to all communities to maintain calm and asked them to restrain from creating any untoward incidents anymore. It also appealed to all conc

IMPHAL, Feb 17: A 12-hour Senapati district bandh from 4 am to 4 pm tomorrow has been called by the Naga People’s Organization (NPO), Senapati District Women Association (SDWA) and Senapati District Student’s Association (SDSA) in relation to the inhuman killing of the SDO and two others.The apex organisations condemned the barbaric act of killing where the faces of the victims were smashed by stones beyond identification and demanded immediate investigation and punishment of the culprits by the concerned authority.It also further questioned the culprits, whoever they represented individually or by any organisation as to why the victims were kidnapped from some other place and killed in such a gruesome way in Senapati district thereby creating a negative image of the district which could not be pardoned.The organisation also shared the grief and sorrow of the bereaved family members and appealed to every responsible citizens and organisation to condemn the merciless killing of innocent

Editorial-The Northeast Herald DAN chief minister Neiphiu Rio’s apprehension of running his fragile ministry has been known from the very beginning. It is quite natural for him to worry when his NPF party and other DAN constituents were greeted with fractured verdict in the last general election in 2008. Yet he could somehow form the DAN Ministry with the support of the 6 Independents as the Congress Party that won 23 preferred to sit as Opposition. The Opposition Congress’ stand from day one is very clear that it would not indulge in any “toppling game,” rather it would play an effective and responsible Opposition so as to make the ruling DAN government deliver goods to the people. Despite of all these, the Rio Ministry not only miserably failed to deliver goods to the people but also failed in all developmental fronts. Not satisfied, it has further attempted to weaken the Opposition Congress through undemocratic tactics. The apprehension the DAN chief minister feels about his fragil

Feb 17: The state capital Imphal remained tense today after the discovery of the dead bodies of the SDO of Kasom Khullen sub-division and two of his co-workers in Senapati district.A 48-hours general strike from midnight tonight has been called by the JAC formed against the killing of the SDO, Kasom sub-division and two of his officials.The three dead bodies were found this morning around 7 am near Lukhrabi bridge between Taphou Kuki and 9th MR outpost under the Senapati police station and brought to the RIMS mortuary.The deceased were identified as Dr. Thingnam Kishan (SDO), 40, son of Th Ibopishak of Nagamapal Kangjabi Leirak Meinam Leikai, Yumnam Token Singh (Mandal of revenue department), 38, son of late Y Shamu of Chinga Mathak Yumnam Leikai and Aribam Rajen Sharma (driver of the SDO), 36, son of A Ibopishak of Uripok Khoisnam Leikai.Regarding the incident, Sapam Subhankar, convener of the JAC stated at a press meet held today at the residence of the deceased Dr. Th Kishan, that o