Peace in Bodoland

The signing of a memorandum of understanding with the BLT and the unilateral ceasefire by the NDFB has brought relative peace to the land inhabited by the Bodos . Commenting on it, The Assam Tribune (20 April) editorial, 'Bodoland: Wind of Change' said, "There are some indications that the BLT and the NDFB having played bitter adversarial roles during their days in the jungle may be willing to bury the hatchet and accommodate each other's interests to some extent. Both have given indications that peace is preferable to violence. But everything will depend on the success of dialogue between the government and the NDFB. While discussing all issues in a comprehensive manner with the outfit, the Government will have to accommodate views of other representative groups as well and only then the talk will lead to a durable solution of the issues in question."

On the formation of Bodoland People's Progressive Front, a new political party of the BLT cadres and the election to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), The Telegraph (Northeast) said in its editorial on 15 April, "The success of the Council and the democratic experiment in Bodoland could nail the lie of ethnic insurgents in the whole of the Northeast. The BLT is the first militant outfit in the region after the Mizo National Front to have given up arms and joined democratic politics."

AFSPA and Manipur

The review committee on the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is due to submit its report soon. Commenting on the lack of effectiveness of the Act, The Sangai Express (23 April) editorial, 'Panel's final lap' said, "Militancy has not stopped and far from reining in the activities of the militant groups, the State has seen the burgeoning of a number of armed groups down the years. On the other hand, we have only seen the clout and influence of the militant groups spreading and gaining strength with each passing day. The continuation of the Act has only served to legitimise the claims of the militant outfits that the Indian security personnel are here to trample upon the rights and dignity of the people of Manipur.

Language Movement in Manipur

The burning down of the State library on  13 April by the MEELAL activists remained the prominent incident in Manipur. In a lead report, The Sangai Express (14 April) reported, "Stepping up their agitation to demand the implementation of Meetei Mayek from this year, MEELAL activists set on fire the State Central Library today at about 4.30 pm destroying books worth over Rs 10 crores besides damaging a large chunk of the building." Writing on the incident, The Imphal Free Press (16 April) editorial, 'Judgement Day', said, "It also goes without saying that no rational person would ever order destruction of books - the greatest of all human inventions which itself mirrored and chronicled the very essence of the civilization. Prior to 13 April, all empathised with MEELAL and none would oppose it had the issue been just about replacing the Bengali script with Meitei Mayek in written Manipuri. If human civilization is to be neutralized and we were to start all over again, it is the books which can raise us from the scrap heap."

Fencing of the Indo-Bangladesh Border

Killing of a Border Security Force (BSF) officer allegedly by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) raised fresh debate on the progress of Indo-Bangladesh border fencing. Quoting the Indian High Commissioner in Bangladesh, the Tripura Observer (12 April) said, "India erected barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangla border to check infiltration, trans-border movement of militants, border crimes and other illegal activities." A report in Tripura Observer on 9 April quoting Home Ministry sources said, "Completion of the fencing work along the 736 km international border between Tripura and Bangladesh will be completed by next year. Of the 736 kms, so far fencing has been completed along 189.26 kms and the balance of 546.74 kms will be done by end of next year."

ULFA in US terror list

The listing of ULFA as a terrorist outfit in a US State Department report found prominent mention in newspaper headlines in the Northeast. The Assam Tribune (29 April) said, "In what could be described as a major blow to ULFA the United States of America has identified the banned outfit as among 40 Foreign Terrorist Organisations. Significantly, the ULFA is the only new Indian outfit to be added in the list of terrorist organisations brought out annually the US State Department. It also is the only outfit from the Northeast to be included in the list." Another front page report, 'Centre, State puzzled over US action' in The Assam Tribune (30 April) said, "US State Department's sudden move to list outlawed ULFA as among Other Selected Terrorist Organisations (OSTO) has left the Ministry of Home Affairs and Assam Government puzzled."