M A I N   N E W S

Muivah Visit
Pillai in Manipur to defuse crisis
Bijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Guwahati, May 11
The Centre today rushed Union Home Secretary GK Pillai to Manipur to hold discussions with senior government functionaries on the situation arising from the economic blockade by Naga students and NSCN-IM leader Thuingaleng Muivah’s attempt to enter the state to visit his ancestral village.

According to sources, the meeting discussed the counter blockade by some valley-based bodies preventing transport of essential items to hill districts as a protest against the All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM)- sponsored economic blockade on national highways.

Besides Pillai, who reached Imphal by a special flight from Delhi today, top officials from the Army, the CRPF, the Assam Rifles and the BSF also attended the meeting.

The state government had approached the Centre to provide security on the Imphal-Silchar National Highway 53 so that trucks loaded with essential items could ply without disruption since the ANSAM was blockading the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway 39.

The Manipur government has opposed Muivah's visit saying it would disturb communal amity since the NSCN-IM has demanded a 'greater Nagaland' comprising Naga-inhabited areas in neighbouring states. Meanwhile, the Nagaland Government has sought intervention of the Prime Minister to resolve the volatile situation in border areas it shares with Manipur.

In a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio has sought an official statement from the Government of India explaining its position on the issue. (With PTI inputs)