South Asia Terrorism Portal

Hope and Fear
Nijeesh N.
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On March 18, 2019, Husnu Al Suood, President of the Commission on Investigation of Murder and Enforced Disappearances, announced that four high-profile cases assigned to the Commission for investigation were successfully completed. Husnu Al Suood disclosed,

Though Suood did not reveal the name of the group, he confirmed that information would be made public soon in the Commission’s investigation report. He also accused the previous Government of being aware of the group as early as 2011, but failing to go after them for political reasons.

Significantly, soon after taking office on November 17, 2018, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih formed the Commission to investigate murders and enforced disappearance that occurred between January 1, 2012, and November 17, 2018 in the country. The Commission, with the aid of foreign experts, is currently probing a total of 24 such cases, including the four high-profile cases of the murder of Ungoofaaru Parliamentarian and religious scholar, Dr Afrasheem Ali on October 1, 2012; the abduction of well-known blogger and journalist Ahmed Rilwan, on August 8, 2014; the murder of popular liberal blogger and a strong voice against radical Islamist elements, Yameen Rasheed, on April 23, 2017; and the murder attempt on the blogger and human rights activist, Ismail Hilath Rasheed, on June 4, 2012.

Further, on November 22, 2018, President Solih ratified the Bill to repeal the Anti-Defamation and Freedom of Speech Act. Repealing the Anti-Defamation Act was one of President Solih’s major pledges, as the Maldivian Press saw the Act as a major blow to freedom of expression and freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution.

Indeed, the change of Government in the Maldives, the tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean, has created optimism among the international community that it will no more remain a nation which will encourage Islamist extremist elements. Significantly, on February 26, 2019, President Solih, while urging its citizens not to advocate religious extremism, asserted that “ideologies that support radical Islam could upset the peace and security of the nation.”

Disturbingly, reports highlighting the ‘Islamisation’ of society, especially the radicalization of Maldivian youth which began to gather in the Maldives after the 2004 Tsunami, when several Islamic religious groups from Pakistan and the Middle East came to the Maldives in the guise of helping the affected people and began preaching radical Islam, were prevalent through 2018. The Pakistani footprint is glaring here. Large numbers of Maldivians have been provided free education in radicalized Pakistani madrassas, joined the jihad in Afghanistan and subsequently within Pakistan, and returned to propagate a hardline Islamism significantly at variance with indigenous practices. 

On January 15, 2018, Maldives’ Defence Minister Adam Shareef had disclosed that 61 Maldivians had travelled to Syria to fight along with jihadi groups, including Islamic State or Daesh and al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Fateh al-Sham – currently rebranded as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)]; and another 68 persons, including 59 adults and nine minors, were caught on their way to Syria. However, according to an ICSR report on Women and Minors of Islamic State published in July 2018, around 200 Maldivians, including 12 females and five minors, were fighting in Syria and Iraq, which make Maldives the world’s second largest number of foreign fighters ‘per capita’ (500 fighters per million population), after Tunisia (at 545.5 fighters per million).

There were also several reports of Maldivian nationals arrested before leaving the country to join global jihad. For instance, on June 6, 2018, Maldives Police arrested a group of Maldivians, who were attempting to go and fight in Syria, from Velana International Airport in Male. One of the arrested persons had been banned from travelling by a court order after an earlier attempt (on an unspecified date) to join the Syrian war. He had tried to leave again after the ban was lifted.

The National Counter-terrorism Centre (NCTC) disclosed, on February 20, 2019, that families of some Maldivian insurgents killed in foreign conflicts are currently requesting permission to return to the country. Director General of NCTC Brigadier Zakariyya Mansoor disclosed, “We are talking about families that are struggling alone, without any other options due to their husbands dying in war. Out of these families, six are making contact with us.” According to various releases from Islamic State and al Qaeda-affiliated groups, around 24 Maldivians have already been killed in different conflict zones of the Middle East.

Indeed, as the Islamic State rapidly loses ground in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, the foreign fighters have started retuning home, to their countries of origin, including Maldives, which further threatens security within these countries. Worryingly, reports indicate that there is a dearth of measures to tackle this situation. According to an April 16, 2018, report, an unnamed Maldivian man who, along with wife and child went to Syria and participated jihadi activities alongside with Islamic State, returned to Maldives in March 2018. The Man who was from Kaafu Atoll Guraidhoo island, started living in the capital Male and was not even questioned by Police following his return.

Even the country’s judiciary system came under suspicion when terror suspects having links with the Islamic were freed by on trivial grounds. Prominent among such incidents were:

November 4, 2018: The Criminal Court in Male released two suspected terrorists, Ishag Ali and Hussein Afeef, who were arrested on an unspecified date in September 2017 for their connection with Islamic State. The Court granted a conditional release based upon their physical illness and its treatment during the detention and the government’s failure to ‘respond’ to it. The arrestees were planning to carry out a suicide attack in the capital, Male.

October 2018: The Criminal Court in Male released two suspects, who were charged with terrorism in connection with a separate bomb attack conspiracy, on medical grounds. The two men were among four Islamic State suspects arrested in April 2017 for allegedly planning bomb attacks in five areas of Male.

On July 23, 2018: Ali Shafeeq, who was charged for leaving the Maldives to join the Syrian civil war, was cleared of all charges and released by the Criminal Court on the grounds that the prosecutor could not prove that he had left the Maldives to join the Syrian civil war.

The political establishment’s direct role in such acts of support to radical elements was also highlighted. On September 21, 2018, the Maldives Government demolished an artwork created by famous British artist and environmentalist Jason de Caires Taylor at a semi-submerged art gallery, Coralarium, after a court ruled that the ‘human-like sculptures’ in the artwork were ‘anti-Islamic idols’. The court ruled the artwork was a threat to “Islamic unity and the peace and interests of the Maldivian state” and that its removal was necessary to “protect the five tenets of Islamic shariah”, as the depiction of human figures in art is discouraged under Islamic law. Though the Government had given prior permission to build the art gallery, then President Abdulla Yameen ordered its demolition in July 2018, arguing that “significant public sentiment” against the artwork had guided his decision to destroy it.

According to reports, the Class IX Islamic studies textbook carries lesson which tells students that “performing jihad against people that obstruct the religion” is an obligation and promises that “Islam ruling over the world is very near.” While promising a ‘caliphate’, the textbook also says, “This is something that the Jews and Christians do not want. It is why they collaborate against Islam even now.”

With so much open support, radical elements were thriving. On August 21, 2018, the Eid al-Adha celebration event at Maafaru Island in Noonu Atoll, depicted the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in US. The photos circulated on social media showed men armed with pretend rifles and a tower with a US flag on top of it; a plastic plane on a zip-line crashes into the tower, with smoke and fire billowing out.

Amidst all this, the Maldives went through a cycle of political crises during 2018. Then President Abdulla Yameen declared a ‘state of emergency’ in the country on February 5, 2018, which eventually ended after 45 days on March 22, 2018. He also jailed several political opponents and judges after filing terrorism charges against them during the emergency. However, amidst all this political uncertainty and upheavals, Presidential election went through without any major incidents of violence. In the elections held on September 23, 2018, sitting President Abdulla Yameen was defeated by the opposition candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Subsequently, Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-led Joint Opposition (JO) formed the Government and Solih took oath on November 17, 2018.

Since assuming power, Solih has tried to implement some corrective measures to bring a change in a country which has a history of using ‘Islamist mobilization’ to the political advantage of ruling regimes. The major challenge for the new President will be to sustain these measures.

Mizoram: Persisting Irritants
M. A. Athul
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

On March 18, 2019, the Mizoram State Assembly unanimously passed the Mizoram Maintenance of Household Register Bill, 2019, which aims to create registers containing the names, details and photographs of every resident of the State, on a household basis, in an effort to detect 'illegal foreigners'. The Bill states,

The Bill further states that once the information prescribed by the State Government is received, the concerned registering authority will compile the details in two distinct registers - one for citizen residents and another for non-citizen residents of a village/area/town.

Talking about the bill, Mizoram Chief Minister (CM) Zoramthanga stated,

He also added that “large scale influx of foreigners and their mala fide assimilation” with the permanent residents in the villages of Mizoram has led to an “abnormal increase in the population” and poses a law and order threat.

Significantly, on March 15, 2019, Minister for Local Administration K. Lalrinliana informed the State Assembly that immigrants had set up at least 25 ‘illegal villages’ along the international border with Bangladesh and Myanmar and State border with Manipur: 16 villages in Lunglei District, four in Aizawl, three in Champhai and two in Mamit. The Minister added that, besides illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar, people from Manipur and Tripura were also residing in these villages, though he gave no estimate of the number of such people.

Though the ramifications of the Bill are still to manifest themselves, its passage clearly shows that the issue of illegal immigration is of urgent significance for the people in Mizoram, as in all other areas of the region.

Not surprisingly, the State had vehemently opposed the attempted introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019. In a significant incident which indicated the deep-rooted apprehensions regarding CAB, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the apex students’ body, and the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the apex Mizo youth organisation, boycotted Republic Day (January 26) and forcibly prevented two officers of the Indian Administration Service (IAS) from attending Republic Day functions in Aizawl. Moreover, no member of the general public attended Republic Day related events throughout the State as a boycott call was given by the Mizoram Joint NGO Coordination Committee, an umbrella group of civil society organisations and student bodies. 

Additionally, on February 13, 2019, former Chief Minister of the State Lal Thanhawla, while attending an agitation program against CAB, held a banner which read ‘Hello independent republic of Mizoram’. Earlier, on February 12, the State observed a ‘black day’ protesting the CAB proposal. Protests were held in Aizawl and all seven District Headquarters of the State to protest against CAB. Many protesters in Aizawl held placards with statements such as ‘Welcome Independent Republic of Mizoram’ and ‘Hello New Christian Country’.

While the issue of illegal migration continues to haunt the State, the repatriation of Brus is another concern. About 30,000 Brus (5,000 families) had fled from Mizoram to Tripura in the wake of ethnic clashes with the dominant Mizos in September 1997. According to a January 2019 report, out of 5,000 refugee families who were to be repatriated to Mizoram between August 25 and September 25, 2018, following the meeting, only 150 members of 42 families actually returned.

Drug use in the State is also a serious issue. With a population of just over a million (1,097,206 according to the 2011 Census), Mizoram recorded 36 deaths due to drug abuse in 2018. According to the Mizoram Excise Department, at least 60 people died of drug abuse in 2017; 59 in 2016; 27 in 2015; and 38 in 2014. The number of drug related deaths had peaked in 2004, with 142 deaths. In 2017, the then State Health Minister Lal Thanzara had stated that there were about 25,000 drug users in Mizoram.

According to a 2014 Narcotics Department report, Mizoram makes for an attractive drug trafficking route.  Vanlalruatna, President of YMA, which is also involved in actions against drugs, noted that a large proportion of drugs smuggled to the rest of the country pass through Mizoram. According to Mizoram Excise and Narcotics Department data, heroin recovery between 2013 to 2018 increased from 0.827 kilograms in 2013 to 3.126 kilograms in 2014 which climbed to 4.088 in 2015 and 4.039 kilograms in 2016. In 2017 the recovered quantity of heroin was 6.186 kilograms; and in 2018, 8.716 kilograms. (Recoveries are a tiny proportion of the total traffic and local use).

The border region of the State has also periodically faced the spill over effect of insurgency from neighbouring Myanmar. On March 11, 2019, a man from Bangdukbanga village located along the border was wounded in a landmine explosion near boundary pillar number two on the Indo-Myanmar border. Earlier, on January 15, 2018, one Indian was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Myanmar militants in Lawngtlai District along the Indo-Myanmar border. Separately another civilian was wounded in a similar incident along the Myanmar border.  

On February 17, 2019, two additional companies of the Indian Army were moved to Lawngtlai District along the Indo-Myanmar border following fresh clashes between the Myanmar Army and the rebel Arakan Army (AA). Troops were deployed to prevent the militants from entering India and also to facilitate processing of refugees. In November 2017, around 1,750 people from the Arakan area in the Rakhine State of Myanmar took refuge in Mizoram, following clashes between AA and the Myanmar Army. On February 19, 2019, Mizoram Inspector General of Police (Intelligence & Law and Order) L. H. Shanliana disclosed that about 230 Myanmar refugees from 60 families out of 1,750 people, who entered Mizoram in November 2017, were still in Hmawngbuchhuah village in Lawngtlai District. He also added that no fresh entry of refugees into Mizoram from neighbouring Myanmar had been reported.  

Amidst these irritants, through 2018, Mizoram continued to consolidate the established peace further. For the third consecutive year, the State did not register any insurgency-related fatality. The last militancy-related fatality had occurred on March 28, 2015, when three Policemen were killed in an ambush by the Democratic faction of Hmar People’s Convention (HPC-D) near Zokhawthiang in Aizawl District. Moreover, the last insurgency-related incident in Mizoram was reported on April 16, 2017, when three militants of the Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram (BDFM) were arrested in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai District, while trying to enter Mizoram from Bangladesh.  

Significantly, after the signing of the Mizo Accord between the Mizo National Front (MNF) and Government of India (GoI) on June 30, 1986, the Mizo insurgent movement died out. Though no data is available for the period between July 1, 1986, and December 31, 1991, according to data available with the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) website there have been a total of 49 fatalities (15 civilians, 25 civilians and nine militants) since then (data till March 22, 2019). The groups responsible for these fatalities primarily included the United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isaak Muivah (NSCN-IM) and Hmar People's Convention – Democracy (HPC-D). The other groups that became active after 1991 include the Bru National Liberation Front (BNLF), formed in 1996; Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (BLFM), formed in 2003, and surrendered in 2005; the Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram (BDFM), formed in 2008. Though BDFM has not surrendered, it has no noticeable presence.  

Meanwhile, peace talks between the Mizoram Government and BNLF began on September 7, 2001. At least 12 rounds of talks have been held between 2001 and 2005. The Mizoram Government and BNLF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 26, 2005, and the group surrendered. However, in April 2018, the surrendered militants requested the Mizoram Government to implement the provision of the Peace Accord they signed with the State Government. There is no further news on this development. 

In a significant development the Mizoram Government and the H. Zosangbera faction of the Hmar People's Convention-Democratic (HPC-D-Zosangbera) on April 2, 2018, signed  a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS).

The irritants which have been allowed to linger for a long time need to be addressed, lest they manifest themselves in a more serious form in the future. Given that identity politics has been rejuvenated as a result of the CAB protests, the possibility of identity-based agitations getting further momentum in Mizoram is likely.