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January 6
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MHA has urged Mizoram Government
resume dialogue with the HPC-D in order to find a solution to
the Hmar tribal issue. The HPC-D and Mizoram Government began
negotiations on November 11, 2010 and six months bilateral SoO
was signed between the two. However, the peace talks were abandon
when the state government sent a letter to the HPC-D leadership
on December 22, 2010, saying that it would not accept 'foreigners'
as members of the delegation. The HPC-D however denied that their
delegation team included a foreigner.
Militant groups operating in the
Northeast have realised that violence will never pay and the only
way to solve their problems is peace negotiations, Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said. "Most militant groups have come
to realise that violence will not pay, state will never allow
the violence to pay. The state will never allow any violent group
to overthrow, overpower the state and talks are the only way to
find solutions to their problems," he said. Chidambaram said it
was heartening that most of the militant groups were in the mood
to talk and most part of Northeast was free from conflict. He
also said that the Centre, in collaboration with State Governments,
made efforts to deal with insurgent groups operating in the region
through various ways in the last two years.
Chidambaram said peace agreements
have been signed by the Government with Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
in West Bengal, UPDS in Assam and again it was on the verge of
concluding another agreement with at least two groups in Assam.
"ULFA, both factions of NSCN -- IM and K -- as well as NDFB are
in talks mood. The talks are at different degrees. Formal talks
are underway with NSCN-IM. Talks have began with ULFA and I am
confident that shortly talks will begin with NDFB. Many other
smaller groups are in talks mood," he said.
He said most of the Northeast
was today conflict-free and there was no violence in most parts
of Northeast as 2011 witnessed a new low in the level of violence
where in all states together there were only 627 incidents in
which 70 civilians and 32 Security Force personnel were killed.
"There is a grain of truth (to it). But much has been changed
in the Northeast. By any measure, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim,
Arunachal Pradesh and most parts of Assam are conflict free. Conflict
is today confined to Manipur, to some extent in Nagaland, and
it might be paradoxical to note that the level of violence (in
Nagaland) is extremely low, and some parts of Assam," he said.
The Home Minister, however, said
there were still some areas of concern that include extortion
and occasional kidnapping for extortion. "Extortion keeps the
militant groups going. That is their source of funds....I have
been saying this with responsibility that these extortion rackets
must be stopped," he added. Chidambaram said the Central government
was offering support to all state governments in the region to
ensure that extortion does not take place and kidnapping for extortion
does not take place. "During the last year, these incidents have
come down dramatically and I am confident that in 2012, the situation
will be better," he said.
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| January 8 |
State Home minister R Lalzirliana
said that State Government would not resume talks with HPC-D 'merely'
because of the Centre's pressure to do so. Lalzirliana asked,
"How could the Centre ask us to talk to the outfit now when the
Union Home Ministry, a few months back, had itself asked state
governments to deal with the insurgent outfits as dacoits? ".
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| January 19 |
During the Home Secretary level meeting between
the India and Myanmar, Myanmar has assured India that steps would
be taken against the Northeastern militants using its territory.
Myanmar has sought India's help for implementation
of several road projects, which would facilitate free movement
of the troops to the areas where the militants are taking shelter.
Myanmar has also sought India's help in completing the trilateral
highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand.
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