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Wednesday, Aug 18, 2004

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National

Centre ready for unconditional talks on Manipur

By Our Special Correspondent

— Photo: Robert Sapam

UNITED WE STAND: Protesters form a human chain during a civil disobedience movement in Imphal on Tuesday, demanding the removal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Manipur.

NEW DELHI, AUG. 17. While asserting that the Centre was not afraid of the situation in Manipur, the Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, today said the Government was ready to hold unconditional talks with anybody who was willing to talk in order to re-establish normality and peace in Manipur.

"The Chief Minister is trying his best to defuse the situation. If we find that he is not acting in the interest of the country, we will not fail to act. We are a giving a chance to the elected representatives of the people. The State Government may belong to this party or that, we are not going to excuse our own Government. We will do it because it is our duty and because we are angry," Mr. Patil said while replying to clarifications sought by the members in the Rajya Sabha on his statement on the Manipur situation.

Replying to clarification sought by Reishang Keishing, also a former Chief Minister of Manipur, Mr. Patil said the veteran leader could be instrumental in initiating the dialogue process. "If we can agree to hold talks in Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, and Nagaland, we can certainly talk to the people of Manipur. This is an invitation to those who want to come and talk to us," he said.

"On razor's edge"

On the clarification sought by Sushma Swaraj, Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Rajya Sabha, on how long the Government would wait before taking firm steps, Mr. Patil said the Government would wait only as long as was necessary. "We are walking on the razor's edge. We will not act hurriedly so that things do not fall in place but we will also not wait unnecessarily. Our authority is not so small so as to simply vanish and there is no difference between me or the Defence Minister. People who have picked up arms are also our brothers and we have a responsibility towards them as well," he said.

Without going into specific allegations relating to the killing of Manorama Devi by the Assam Rifles personnel as there were two sets of inquiries on the issue, Mr. Patil said the Assam Rifles men were ready to depose before the judicial commission set up by the State Government if the hearings were held in-camera or the commission held its sittings in their camp or even give evidence on affidavits.

`Against our advice'

Mr. Patil said the State Government, against the Centre's advice, withdrew the Act from Imphal on August 12 and allowed it to remain in force in the rest of the State. "The State Government says that the Act did not meet the expectations of the people in the State. There has been no change in the situation even after the Act was withdrawn from Imphal. The Union Government is watching the situation. It will take appropriate action to meet the situation."

Earlier, the BJP demanded in the Rajya Sabha that the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, initiate a dialogue with political and civil groups in Manipur and that the Government should review if not repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur.

While seeking clarifications, Ms. Swaraj said the Prime Minister should call political and civil groups for a dialogue to defuse the tense situation in the sensitive border State.

`Layered blackmail'

The Leader of the Opposition, Jaswant Singh, charged the Congress-led Ibobi Singh Government with indulging in "layered blackmail" and "complicity" in the ongoing unrest in Manipur.

Describing the situation in Manipur as a challenge to the country's unity and integrity, Mr. Singh said the Chief Minister was being pressurised to act in a certain manner and he, in turn, was pressurising the Centre. "We cannot let this layered blackmail to go on," he said.

Jairam Ramesh (Congress) wanted to know what steps the Government had taken to safeguard families of the State police and armed forces personnel who were fighting insurgents. He also wanted to know whether any dialogue was proposed to be held with civil society groups in the State and if there was any time frame for completing the probe.

He wanted to know if there was any evidence of narco-terrorism and terrorism as Manipur fell in the region of drug trafficking.

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