Insurgency / Manipur

IMPHAL, March 12: The top brass of Manipur police is drawing up an elaborate national highway security plan following the torching of 25 oil tankers by militants on National Highway 39 over the past three months. Director-general of state police D.S. Grewal told The Telegraph today that police officials will meet Army commanders on March 15 to discuss the situation arising out of the March 8 incident in which militants set ablaze 15 oil tankers in Senapati district. One handyman was killed and 13 truckers injured in the attack. The police will seek the Army's help in maintaining security on...

IMPHAL, March 10: Manipur Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam has urged the Centre to provide a rehabilitation package for surrendered militants. Koijam, on his recent trip to New Delhi, informed Samata Party leader and Union defence minister George Fernandes about the state's unemployment problem and lack of funds for rehabilitating surrendered militants. As there are no private industries and enterprises, the state's over three lakh unemployed youth depend on the government for employment, Koijam said. Requesting the defence minister to set up a "Manipur regiment" in the Army, Koijam asked him...

NEW DELHI, March 7: The Manipur Chief Minister, Radhabinod Koijam, has favoured setting up of a judicial commission to investigate the politico-government employees nexus with the various insurgent groups in the Northeast. The Centre too is considering the proposal "We just can't deny their links with the militants. Though the Centre is yet to decide on the proposal which was mooted some time back, I am confident that it will yield positive result to minimise insurgency in the state," Koijam said. On the allegation against Gangmunei Kamei, the minister for forest and environment in his Cabinet...

NEW DELHI, March 6: The Manipur Chief Minister, Radhabinod Koijam, today had to leave Delhi empty-handed. He announced yesterday that the finance minister had agreed to clear Rs 100 crore out of the Rs 200-crore special aid to the state and hence state government employees would receive their salary, pending for three months. The finance ministry held back the money at the eleventh hour, following the home ministry's intervention, sources said. The latter insisted that the money should be cleared only after the state honoured the MoU with it on retrenching around 2000 employees for their...

IMPHAL, March 6: Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam, pushing forward the peace initiative he began with the declaration of a month long unilateral ceasefire, has once again appealed to the underground groups to accept the government's offer to talks. Radhabinod Koijam, who returned today from New Delhi, was speaking at a function organised by the Thangmeiband Athletic Union, THAU, to felicitate him on assuming the Chief Ministership. The Chief Minister warned that it the underground groups rejected the talks offer, the ultimate consequences for Manipur would be severe. To save Manipur, he said...

IMPHAL, March 6: The Union Minister of State for Food Processing, Thounaojam Chaoba who is also the working president of the Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP) has categorically stated that the ongoing unilateral ceasefire announced by Radhabinod led People's Front government towards the insurgent outfits of the state cannot be effective. Speaking to group of newsmen at his Babupara Bungalow here this morning, Thounaojam Chaoba said that a ceasefire can be possible only when both the parties involved respect it. He pointed out that for an effective ceasefire, the state government's machinery...

NEW DELHI, March 5: Firmly opposing the extension of the three-year-long ceasefire between the Centre and the NSCN(IM), Manipur Chief Minister Radhabinod Koijam today demanded comprehensive ceasefire with all the outfits in the region to make the peace process "more purposeful", reports PTI. "Why not all the outfits are covered? But if you want to confine your talks with National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM) alone at any cost it should not be extended to the Naga inhabited territories of Manipur," Koijam told reporters. Dismissing reports which suggested that Koijam and Mahanta's...

IMPHAL, March 4: The 17-day-old People's Front Ministry led Radhabinod Koijam has strongly opposed the proposed extension of the 3-year-old ceasefire between the Centre and the NSCN(IM) to Naga-inhabited areas of the Northeast, particularly Manipur. The Chief Minister, Radhabinod Koijam who is currently in New Delhi for the Chief Minister's conference, in a statement which was made available here, said that Naga outfits have been demanding a Greater Nagaland or Southern Nagaland integrating all Naga-dominated areas of Manipur have strongly opposed the extension of the ceasefire and will, at...

GUWAHATI, March 5: Separatist guerrillas have trained their guns on the Catholic Church in Manipur, threatening to bomb at least two of the prestigious schools run by it in capital Imphal. The reason: failure in paying 'taxes' to the rebels. Manipur director-general of police D.S.Grewal, speaking to TheNewspaperToday on Monday, confirmed that the banned People's Liberation Army has slapped a demand of Rs 5 lakh on all the eight schools in Imphal city run by the Catholic Church. The church authorities have expressed their inability to meet the rebels' demand saying the schools they run are non...

IMPHAL, March 4: Eight missionary schools located in the valley area are in the throes of an acute crisis as many non local teachers who are serving at the state have started fleeing fearing repercussions from underground organisations. Sources said the demand served on the schools by a particular underground organisation to cough up Rs 2 crore and the failure of the schools to pay the astronomical amount triggered the mass exodus. According to reports received here an underground organisation had served demand notice of Rs 5 lakh on each of the eight missionary schools. This works out to Rs...