Prime Minister's Northeast Tour

The Prime Minister's visit to Assam and Manipur raised high expectations among the people of the region as far peace and development were concerned. The editorials in various dailies summed up the popular mood. The Imphal Free Press (12 November) editorial 'Hope Tags PM's Tour' commented, "There are high hopes in the state that ... he would be bringing some good tiding on the front, as well as announce other measures for uplifting the state's ailing economy and exploding unemployment rate. In particular, there is optimism that he would be announcing packages that would generate skilled job especially in the health and engineering sectors."

However, making an assessment of the visit The Sentinel in its editorial (24 November) 'A frustrating Visit' said, "One must not be carried away by the various economic projects announced by the Government on the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit. These were projects hanging fire since long and which were delayed due to sheer casualness of approach of the Government of India towards the developmental problems of Assam and the North-east. It was a frustrating visit by a Prime Minister as far as the people of Assam are concerned."

Illegal Migrants and Assam

The Prime Minister's statement that he would personally favour the extension of the IM(DT) act to other States of the Northeast led to a lot of debate over the state of illegal migrants in Assam. An article in The Assam Tribune (28 November) titled, 'Illegal Migrants Laws (repealing & amending) Bill, 2003' said, "Continuance of IM(DT) Act will jeopardize the existence of Assamese people at large in social life as well as in political strata of the Nation, as such the minorities who identified themselves as Assamese and part and parcel of being permanent resident of Assam irrespective of religion, creed etc."

The Sentinel (25 November) editorial, 'Of Immigration Laws', in a similar tone, criticized the Prime Minister and said, "Had he studied the Act carefully, he would have realized like anyone else that it represents a total sabotage of the immigration law of the country. Mercifully, there are still chief ministers of many Indian States who are aware of the sinister implications of the IM(DT) Act, and who will never allow the black law to be extended to their States."

Talks with the ULFA

An editorial in The Assam Tribune (28 November), 'Uncertainty over talks', reflected on the response of the Union government ruling out any negotiations with the ULFA on the subject of sovereignty. The editorial said the Prime Minister "did not spell out the steps to be taken by the Government of India to bring the militants to the negotiation table for a political solution of the problem of insurgency that has been haunting the state for more than two decades." While appreciating the stand of the Union Government, the editorial, however, commented "it may be difficult for any Government to publicly announce that it would hold talks on the issue of sovereignty of any State, but at the same time, the Centre cannot remain a silent spectator and allow Assam to burn. Some measures must be taken to bring an end to the orgy of violence."

Factional clashes in Nagaland

Recent spurt in the internecine clashes among the three militant outfits in Nagaland: the two factions of the NSCN and the NNC have been interpreted as a major obstacle to peace. Commenting on it The Sangai Express (13 November) editorial 'Price of Peace' said "Peace always comes with a price and for the elusive peace to become a reality in Nagaland, then inevitably the three different Naga rebel groups, the NSCN (IM), NSCN (K) and the NNC have to realise that the peace they are searching for will have to come at a price and that price has to be some sort of a compromise formula amongst themselves." Commenting on the ineffectuality of negotiating with only the NSCN (IM), The Shillong Times (17 November) editorial, 'The Naga tangle' said that the NSCN (IM) "does not represent the whole of Naga society which is guided by the Naga Ho Ho and the Christian Church. The NSCN (Khaplang) is not a group to be dismissed lightly either. Talks with the NSCN (IM) should proceed apace. But to bring about peace in Nagaland, the Centre should talk to these organisations also."

Illegal Arms Smuggling

A front-page item in Tripura Times (5 November) 'ATTF kingpin behind arms smuggling' said, "The militants of the All Tripura Tiger Force have started to churn out millions in the name of arms trafficking." It further elaborated, "ATTF has been working in collusion with other militant outfits in the region and smuggling in arms into the region and also inside Bangladesh." A similar report in Tripura Times (3 November) 'Arms shipped from Hong Kong for ULFA' said, "Following one of South Asia's largest ever seizures of illicit weaponry in the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong in April, there has been considerable interest within regional security and intelligence circles in establishing the background to the incident." The report further said, "The shipment involved two key insurgent movements from India's Northeast-ULFA and the NSCN-IM."