M A I N   N E W S

NSCN (I-M) leaders to visit India today
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 4
Putting aside the recent differences with the Centre, leaders of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) have agreed to visit India beginning tomorrow to continue the Naga peace talks.

According to official sources, Mr Isak Chishi Swu, Chairman of the NSCN (I-M), and Mr Thuingaleng Muivah, general secretary of the organisation, are expected to arrive in New Delhi from Amsterdam by a KLM flight tomorrow night.

On Monday and Tuesday they are expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, CPI leader A.B. Bardhan and CPM leader Sitaram Yechury.

It took a lot of pursuation from Centre’s interlocutor for Naga peace talks K. Padmanabhaiah to set at rest the misgivings of the NSCN (I-M) leaders about the government or some of its agencies dealing simultaneously with other minor Naga groups or propping up rivals while negotiating with them.

The NSCN (I-M) leadership had threatened to call of their proposed visit accusing the Centre of “arming” Naga insurgent group NNC and trying to dilute the Naga sovereignty issue by agreeing to talk to its rival faction NSCN (Khaplang).

Sources said today that Mr K. Padmanabhaiah spoke to Mr Isak Swu and Mr Muivah recently on telephone to inform them that the Indian Government was “sincere” in continuing the peace process. The Naga leadership “saw the logic” and finally decided to come to India on December 5, the sources added.

Uttaranchal seeks Central help to quell Maoist threat
Swati Vashishtha

Dehra Dun, December 4
With Maoist guerrillas strengthening their foothold in the Kumaon region of the state, the administration has swung into action.

Top bureaucrats and police officials of the state would present their demands to the Centre at a meeting in Delhi to tackle the stepped-up Maoist supported Naxalite activities in the state.

Funds for police modernisation, improvement of roads in the border areas and taut communication network and strengthening the revenue police would be some of the demands, said Additional Chief Secretary M. Ramachandran.

After a hiatus of about three months, when a camp run by Maoists was busted in the border district of Champawat, Maoist threat is lurking afresh in the state.

Dozens of posters were found put up on Friday in Nainital, Haldwani and Lalkuan carrying messages of an armed revolution for farmers, the police said.

The police has seized the posters red in color signifying left wing extremists' connection.

According to SSP Nainital Vijay Sankhare, the posters could have been put up by CPI, which has been floated two months back with the merger of two outfits active in the region—People's War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), with the idea to make its presence felt.

The police has registered two cases under Section 120 of IPC for insighting the people in this regard, he said. The police also suspects that certain student organisations could have a role in this, he added.

The officials suspect that the Naxalite outfits in the state could be in contact with the Maoists across the border owing to proximity and ideological similarity.

Uttaranchal shares border with Nepal through three districts— Pitthoragarh, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar.

The training being imparted to the Nepalese Royal Army in Chakrata by the Indian Army could be one of the reasons which has rubbed the Maoists the wrong way. The new outfit CPI, resulting from the union of PWG and MCCI, has announced its support to the Maoists in their struggle against monarchy.