20th November 2013

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www.morungexpress.com

The Morung Express

Dimapur VOL. VIII ISSUE 316

www.morungexpress.com

[ PAGE 08]

reflections

By Sandemo Ngullie

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 12 pages Rs. 4

Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living 75 per cent voter turnout in Chattisgarh elections

‘It showed me the emptiness of my own life’ [ PAGE 11]

2013- YEAR OF WATER CONSERVATION [ PAGE 02]

UN calls on coal industry to change [ PAGE 09]

Our Correspondent Kohima | November 19

While a vast majority of the world’s population has access to mobile phones, one third of humanity (2.5 billion people) does not have access to proper sanitation, including toilets or latrines. This has dramatic consequences on human health, dignity and security, the environment, and social and economic development. To address these issues, the ‘Sanitation for All’ Resolution (A/RES/67/291) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in July 2013, designating November 19 as World Toilet Day. Er Y Tep, Superintending Engineer (PHED), Kohima Circle presented a briefing on the significance of ‘World Toilet Day’ during a one day workshop on ‘2013- Year of Water Conservation.’ The event was held at the Ura Academy Hall and was organized by the Water and Sanitation Support Organization (WSSO) PHED Nagaland. The lack of improved sanitation largely contributes to the fact that almost 2,000 children die every day from preventable diarrheal diseases. It also impacts vulnerable populations such as persons with disabilities and women, who are more exposed to sexual violence. Lack of private toilets in schools is a major reason why girls do not continue their education once they enter puberty. Poor sanitation and water supply also result in economic losses estimated at $260 billion annually in developing countries. World Toilet Day aims to change both behavior and policy on issues ranging from enhancing water management to ending open-air defecation (which 1.1 billion people practice worldwide).

PWD (NH) notifies

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KOHIMA, NOVEMBER 19 (MExN): The Chief Engineer for PWD (NH) has informed of the guidelines to be followed during the construction of all National Highways to 2 lane. A press note notified that the formation width of the road is 12 meters and that the Right of Way (ROW) is 22.5 meters on either side from the central line of the road. It further informed that the carriageway width is 7.0 meters plus 2.00 meters paved shoulder on either side of the carriageway. As such, all village councils/ communities/individuals have been requested not to construct any new structures along the ROW. It cautioned that if found otherwise, “no compensation will be entertained and will be doing so at their own risk.”

Bulls find their way to beat Bobcats

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engage in meaningful debate

Kohima | November 19

World Toilet Day observed

–John Dewey

‘little tibet’ in Kohima AfsPA: Govts have failed to Vibi Yhokha

Shall I tell him as a member of the party -- he is not allowed to have an opinion?

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Every day after school, 13-year-old Tenzin Tseten attends another class at the Tibetan community hall at Phoolbari in Kohima with 19 other Tibetan children where she learns the Tibetan language and script. The special class was initiated in 2008 among the Tibetan community which felt the need to impart Tibetan culture and history to the children growing up in a foreign land. Born and brought up in Kohima, Tseten enjoys Naga food and watching the Kohima night view; she belongs to one of the few remaining Tibetan families in Kohima. The early Tibetan settlers came to Kohima around the 1970s, when they started earning a livelihood by selling secondhand clothes at Phoolbari. Some years back the Tibetans in Kohima consisted of more than 50 families; today they comprise around twenty families—the sole reason being a decline in business in the last three to four years. The remaining few have more than business to stay back in the hills of Kohima for. “I like the climate here that’s why even if business is not good, we are still settling,” says 58-yearold Sumchhung who came to Nagaland in 1997. He came to know of Nagaland from a friend who was once settled here. In May 1997, he visited Nagaland and on finding out the pleasant climate, he went back to his village in South India and told his wife all about it— that is how they came to

A group of Tibetan children in Kohima. The Tibetan community in Kohima considers themselves temporary settlers and yearn to one day return to their home land in Tibet. (Morung Photo)

settle in Kohima. 37-year-old Tenzin came to Kohima in 1997 with her husband. Tenzin got her Physiotherapy degree from Chennai. Ask her why she left the profession, she says, “Since we’re refugees, jobs do not come so easily to us. Our older generation is hardly educated and so is the same among our generation. It is our kids who are able to pursue such privileges.” Left with no other way, engaging in business becomes the only resort. Although they are allotted land to cultivate crops by the Indian government, Tenzin says that the next generation will hardly have land to cultivate. “We (Tibetans and Nagas) are the same. We belong to the same race, it’s just that our language and dharm is different,” says 62-year-old Penba who has lived in Nagaland for 41 years. Nagas and Tibetans

are like brothers, he asserts, which is one of the main reasons why he continues to live in Kohima. Perhaps one of the oldest Tibetan settlers in Kohima, he arrived in Nagaland in 1972 where he first lived in Dimapur. They started by selling secondhand clothes and later upgraded to selling first hand goods. Penba belongs to a generation which walked all the way from Tibet to India during the 1960s with his family. He was around 9 years old during the exodus. His parents died within 2 years of arriving in Nepal. From Nepal, Penba arrived in Himachal Pradesh where he stayed for some years and moved to Chattisgarh. “Although the Indian government gave us land, the soil there was not cultivable, so we had to ultimately get into business,” adds Penba. Whether settled in

Nagaland, Karnataka or Dharamsala, Tibetan refugees consider their current place of stay temporary despite all the provisions given by the Government of India, be it land or citizenship. Much like the Naga struggle for independence, the Tibetans too have been fighting for their homeland against forceful Chinese occupation of it. Alongside, the Chinese force their culture on the Tibetans. Their stance on nonviolence amidst violence, and their effort to preserve their culture are values that Nagas need to learn from the Tibetans. With the hope that one day they will return to Tibet as the rightful owners of their land, they consider their present settlement temporary. But even the temporary cannot go on forever. In the words of Sumchhung, “What started as temporary has almost reached fifty years.”

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 19 (MExN): Two persons, who carried out an audacious highway carjacking plan in collusion with two others on November 14, fell into police custody on November 18. The incident had occurred at NH 36, near the inter-state police check-post at Dillai. The Additional Superintendent of Police, Dimapur, Watichuchang Jamir, in a press release stated that a gang of four, armed with machetes, had waylaid a goodsladen pick-up truck (a Tata Mobile, NL 07A 4925) at

NH 36 and decamped with the vehicle. The vehicle was transporting garlic from Assam to Dimapur. Two members of the gang were however tracked down and arrested by a team of West Police Station personnel on November 18. The arrested duo was identified as Nzanthung, resident of Viola colony, Dimapur and Moayanger, resident of Aoyimsen village, Dimapur. The police team recovered the stolen vehicle along with 42 sacks of the stolen cargo from a hideout at 4th Mile near the Cha-

the River. The duo further revealed the names of their absconding accomplices, identified as Nthuga alias Kunal Rengma and Shikato. The release further stated that Nzanthung has a history of stealing cars and had earlier been arrested by Dimapur police in a vehiclelifting case. During interrogation he revealed he had recently stolen two Mahindra Boleros in Dimapur. The vehicles were transported to Manipur via Jalukie and Peren and sold in Imphal for around Rs. 2 to 2.5 lakhs, the release stated.

Morung Express News

DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 19 (MExN): Parliamentary Secretary for IT&C, Technical Education, Science & Technology and Taxes, Tovihoto Ayemi has stressed on the need to protect the revenue Nagaland state. He expressed this view during the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers meeting in Shillong on November 18 and19 at Pinewood Hotel. A press note informed that the position of Nagaland was that the Centre should assure that 100% compensation must be given to states that suffer revenue loss with the introduction of GST, at least during the initial implementation period. It reiterated for the creation of a GST Compensation Fund or a similar mecha-

nism. Tovihoto also said that Nagaland supports an early consensus on this issue and transition to the GST regime but keeping in mind the special requirements of the small North Eastern states. Tovihoto expressed satisfaction that the draft Constitutional Amendment Bill on Goods & Service tax (GST) has made special provisions for the NE states and Jammu & Kashmir. But while framing the details of these special provisions, he said attention must be given to the “unique requirements of individual states”. It was suggested that a special meeting be convened for States with special provisions. The GoI was also requested to release the GST compensation claims at the

earliest for Nagaland and other small states since the amount was not large. On the issue of Dual Control by the Centre and States in the GST regime, it was propounded that the small traders and small scale industries be kept out since many dealers in small states fall under this category. Dual control would make compliance difficult for small dealers. The threshold for Central GST for goods should be kept at not less than Rs. 1.5 crores and the threshold for services should also be appropriately high, it was stated. On the issue of threshold in the GST regime, it was mentioned that for a small state like Nagaland, a lower threshold like in the case of VAT is more desirable.

BANGALORE, NO VEMBER 19 (MExN): Amnesty International India (AII), in continuation of its call for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in India, has noted that the central government, and state governments of the states in the North East, has “failed to engage in a meaningful debate on the Act despite well-documented evidence of abuses.” This was stated in a ‘briefing’ on ‘The AFSPA: Time for a Renewed Debate in India on Human Rights and National Security’ released today by the AII. In this, the international human rights body has also urged the Government of India to grant sanction to pending cases for prosecution of members of security forces suspected of human rights violations, and remove the requirement for sanction to prosecute in all cases of alleged human rights violations, and to ensure that security legislations comply fully with India’s international legal obligations and are in line with international standards including the UN Principles for the Prevention of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. International and national human rights groups and activists have called for the AFSPA’s repeal for years, with little purposeful response or definitive action from the government. In 2013, two high-level official committees from India, namely Justice Verma Committee and the Justice Hegde Commission, supported calls made to authorities by the UN and In-

AII has urged state governments in states where the AFSPA is in force to: • Initiate full and independent investigations into all human rights violations, including sexual violence and extrajudicial executions, allegedly committed by security forces in areas where the AFSPA is in force; where sufficient admissible evidence is found, prosecute suspects – including those with command responsibility - in fair and speedy trials in civilian courts, without recourse to the death penalty. • Ensure that victims of human rights violations are provided effective reparation, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation. • Ensure that police officials are held accountable for any lapses in registering or investigating cases of human rights violations allegedly committed by security forces. • Ensure that law enforcement personnel, including security forces that carry out law enforcement, are trained in upholding international standards, including the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. • Protect the civilian population from rights abuses and violent crimes, including acts committed by armed groups, and prosecute those responsible for such attacks within the framework of criminal law and in conformity with international human rights law and standards.

dian bodies to address the abuses committed under the AFSPA and end the effective impunity enjoyed by security forces. While neither committee was expressly mandated to consider the role of the AFSPA in violence against women or extrajudicial executions, respectively, both pointed to the AFSPA as being a key cause of both past and ongoing human rights violations. The Santosh Hedge Commission primarily criticized the lack of enforceable safeguards against abuse of the AFSPA’s provisions. The Verma Committee concluded that the provision requiring sanction

to prosecute allowed for crimes against women to be committed by security forces with impunity. On the international front, Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, said after her visit to India in April 2013 that the AFSPA had “resulted in impunity for human rights violations broadly.” Cristof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, visited India in March 2012. In his report to the UN Human Rights Council, he called for the repeal of AFSPA.

Police busts car-lifting gang NSCN (IM) leaders leave for next round of talks

‘Need to protect Nagaland’s revenue’

Dimapur | November 19

The NSCN (IM) collective leadership, including Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and General Secretary Th. Muivah, left for New Delhi Tuesday to take part in the next round of talks with the Government of India. Speaking to media persons at Dimapur Airport prior to their departure, the NSCN (IM) Chairman said they were leaving for the next round of talks as per invitation of the Government of India. Swu,

Chairman Isak Chishi Swu and his wife, and General Secretary, Th. Muivah, at Dimapur Airport before their departure to Delhi, Tuesday.

however, did not specify the dates of the talks. Queried on whether the NSCN (IM) expected a concrete or positive outcome this time,

Swu replied that they cannot comment on anything at the moment. NSCN (IM) General Secretary, Th. Muivah, said the

problem lies with the Government of India and not with the NSCN (IM). “We are waiting for the Government’s response and we are ready from our side. We want a solution as soon as possible.” On the other hand, Muivah alleged that there has been much delay in the talks and accused the Government of applying “delay tactics.” This may be the last round of peace talks of the UPA-led Central Government with the NSCN (IM) before the next General Elections.

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