NE security

NE security

Though the level of violence in most of the States of the north eastern region in recent months, the Centre and the concerned State governments must keep a close watch on the situation and efforts should continue for finding permanent solution to the problem of militancy. It has been established following decades of counter-insurgency operations that the operations can only bring down the level of violence and political dialogue is the best way to find permanent solution to the issues raised by the militant groups and the government should not consider bringing down the level of violence as the sole indicator of the overall situation. There have been instances in the past when the major militant groups of the region suffered severe reverses but they managed to bounce back because of the failure of the Central and concerned State governments to find permanent solution to the problems. Of course, the situation in Meghalaya and Tripura improved considerably but the situation in Assam remains an area of concern despite the fact that the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) suffered major setbacks in recent months following the arrests of a number of senior leaders including the chairman of the outfit, Arabinda Rajkhowa. But the outfit should not be written off as in the past also, the ULFA managed to bounce back after suffering major setbacks. The government must try to find permanent solution to the issues raised by the ULFA by bringing all the leaders to the negotiation table as any attempt to hold talks with only the jailed leaders of the outfit may not help in restoration of permanent peace.

The level of violence in Nagaland came down after both the factions of the NSCN signed cease-fire pacts with the Government of India, but unfortunately, the process of talks remained very slow and faction clashes between members of NSCN (I-M) and NSCN (K) remain an area of concern. The talks with the NSCN (I-M) have been reportedly deadlocked over ego problem between the Government and the leaders of the outfit as the NSCN leaders are demanding a formal letter from the Prime Minister’s Office to come to India for the next round of talks. It is unfortunate that talks are held up on such an issue and the matter should be resolved and efforts should be made to expedite the process of talks. Successful completion of the peace process will definitely encourage other militant groups of the region to come forward to settle their problems through negotiations. On the other hand, formal talks with the NSCN (K) are yet to start despite the fact that the outfit signed a cease-fire pact with the government several years back. It is a fact that both the factions of the NSCN have serious differences but the government can at least make efforts to bring both the factions to the negotiation table together for restoration of permanent peace in Nagaland. ASSAM TRIBUNE