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The Morung Express
Dimapur VOL. IX ISSUE 178
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www.morungexpress.com
1st July - 09:30 PM Argentina Vs Switzerland 2nd July - 1:30 AM Belgium Vs USA
First Rubber Board of India field office opens in Nagaland
Britain’s Queen appoints first female music master
[ PAGE 2]
New UN rights probe intensifies pressure on Lanka [ PAGE 9]
[ PAGE 11]
[ PAGE 8]
2014 FIFA World Cup
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 12 pages Rs. 4
Leadership is about encouraging women to break their silence and tell their stories to the world
India launches five foreign satellites, Modi wants one for SAARC
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–Zainab Salbi
Les Bleus for Nigeria as France moves ahead [ PAGE 12]
Foothill Road: NFHRCC levels fresh charges
Morung Express News Dimapur | June 30
After implementing the bandh in Dimapur, the Nagaland Foothills Road Coordination Committee (NFHRCC) has levelled By Sandemo Ngullie fresh charges against the Nagaland Minister for Roads & Bridges, Kuzholuzo (Azo) Nienu. The NFHRCC on Monday produced a letter to the media, which stated that the Minister “demanded” a “work commission” from a contractor for award of work order. According to the NFHRCC, the letter was written by A. Neangba Konyak, one of the contractors who had made a bid in response to the NIT, dated May 8. In the letter, Yesterday I slept for 12 hrs. the contractor alleges that Today I feel rejuvenated on June 24, 2014 the Minisand totally alive. Thanks ter “demanded” Rs. 30 lakh for the bandh. as “work commission” for award of work contract. The contractor stated that he had refused to comply. Supplementing the contractor’s letter, the NFHRCC stated that contractor Neangba’s bid for the Mon sector was the lowest and technically, his bid should have been selected. But the bid for the Mon sector went to another contractor after Neangba refused to accede to the alleged demand. The NFHRCC informed that Neangba was one of the two contractors recommended by the Committee to take up work on the remaining portion of the ‘jeepable road’. The NFHRCC additionally accused the Minister of aggravating the situation in Dimapur on June 30 by moving around when the bandh took effect. On the district administration’s move of “disallowing” the bandh, the NFHRCC asserted it as a “democratic right.” According to the NFHRCC, Mon-
reflections
Petrol price hiked by Rs.1.69 a litre, diesel by 50 paise
NEw DElHI, JUNE 30 (IANS): State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) Monday hiked the petrol price by Rs.1.69 a litre, excluding taxes, effective from midnight, owing to a rise in global oil prices and exchange rates. Diesel prices were also hiked by 50 paise per litre.
144 CrPC revoked in Mokokchung MOKOKCHUNG, JUNE 30 (DIPR): The District Magistrate for Mokokchung has informed that promulgation of Section 144 CrPC within Mokokchung town has been revoked with immediate effect. The prohibitory order was earlier enforced on June 27 and was scheduled to continue till July 4.
KK Paul to be sworn in as Nagaland Governor on July 2
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KOHIMA, JUNE 30 (DIPR): Governor of Meghalaya, Dr Krishnan Kant Paul will be sworn in as the Governor of Nagaland on July 2 at 11:30am at Durbar Hall, Raj Bhavan Kohima. Meanwhile the Nagaland state government has appointed TC Sangtam as the Commissioner and Secretary to the Nagaland Governor. This was informed by the Joint Secretary to the Governor, Motuo M Sote.
(LEFT) People pelting stones at each other at the Green Park Junction, Dimapur on June 30. (RIGHT) Police personnel in riot gear stand guard in the middle of the road during the 12 hour Dimapur bandh called by the NFHRCC.
day’s bandh was the “only instance” when the district administration promulgated Section 144 Cr.PC to prevent the people from voicing out against injustice. Responding to the Tenyimi Union Dimapur’s (TUD) stand on the bandh, the NFHRCC stated that the TUD should have played the role of a mediator. “The NFHRCC is perplexed about the TUD’s one sided statement. We would appreciate if they offer amicable solution instead of showing communal colour,” it said. Bandh marred by sporadic clashes The 12 hour Dimapur bandh called by the NFHRCC on June 30 saw sporadic clashes between bandh volunteers and groups opposing the bandh. Even as traders downed their shutters in the main town, almost all government establishments, including the Deputy Commissioner’s office and financial institutions
CPO clarifies stand on June 30 actions
pan junction during early hours of the bandh.
remained open, though sparsely populated. In Chumukedima, most shops remained open. Traffic was negligible in both Dimapur town and Chumukedima. Clashes erupted between the two groups in the morning and later in the afternoon at Green Park Junction. Intermittent stone pelting reportedly began at around 8:00am,
Journalist assaulted A journalist covering the Dimapur bandh on June 30 was assaulted when stone pelting between bandh volunteers and those opposing the bandh ensued at the Green Park Junction. A press note from the Dimapur Press Club (DPC) informed that the journalist was taking photographs of the scene, when a group of people confronted him and accused him of trying to tarnish their image. The unidentified persons, who were armed with clubs and stones, also tried to snatch the journalist’s camera, informed the DPC. He managed to free himself and ran for safety, during which one person from the group allegedly kicked the journalist from behind. However, he did not sustain any serious injury. The DPC has strongly condemned what it termed as the “unruly act of assault” meted to one of its members.
DIMAPUR, JUNE 30 (MExN): The Chakhroma Public Organisation (CPO) has clarified the stand of the Chakhroma people in relation to the June 30 incident on NH 29 which, according to the CPO, was “directly or indirectly invited by certain tribes for imposing bandh in Chakhroma area without any consultation.” “As per the Naga tradition every tribe has its own land and jurisdiction therefore, it’s an insult to the Chakhroma people when tribes from certain parts of Nagaland are imposing bandh in our area without our consent,” the CPO stated today in a press release from its president, P. Beituo Hama and general secretary, Vichutuolie Mere. It made clear that
the Chakhroma people will continue to stand by its “Declaration by the Original Land Owners at Chakhroma Land” on February 18, 2012, which was made public. The CPO iterated that the Chakhroma people are “not against the construction of Nagaland Foothill Road but any grievances of any tribe should not be forced upon another tribe or area.” While they noted that Chakhroma people are “ready to give helping hand in this very Foothill Road project if given a chance,” the CPO brought to notice that their “sympathy” for the “Foothill Road beneficiary tribes” was put into a “very big question” through the bandh. “The Chakhroma people will never allow any tribe(s) to impose
when those opposing the bandh came from Chumukedima and confronted bandh volunteers at the Junction. The stone pelting resumed on a heavier scale at around 10:10am, compelling police to chase the bandh volunteers towards Green Park. By 11:30am, police reinforcements arrived and dispersed the two groups by firing tear
Naga militant gets life term for triple murder NEw DElHI, JUNE 30 (IANS): A court here Monday sentenced Naga militant Hopeson Ningshen to life in prison for abducting and murdering three government officials in Manipur in 2009. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge V.K. Gupta sentenced Ningshen and imposed a
fine of Rs.35,000 on him. He is a member of the National Socialist Council of NagalandIsak Muivah (NSCN-IM). On Feb 13, 2009, Thingnam Kishan Singh, subdivisional officer of Kasom Khullen in Ukhrul district, and five other officials were abducted by militants. The next day - three of the abducted people - Ram Singh
Siro, Ramthing Singlai and Kapangkhui Jajo - were released, the CBI said. On Feb 17, the bodies of Kishan Singh, Y. Token Singh and A. Rajen Sharma were recovered from the banks of the Taphao Kuki river near Senapati, Manipur. An investigation pointed towards the involvement of Ningshen in the
NFHRCC involvement to do away with corruption: RHD
DIMAPUR, JUNE 30 (MExN): The Rengma Hoho Dimapur (RHD) today stated that the Nagaland FootHill Road Co-ordination Committee is “not some corporate entity trying to construct the road on Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis but only facilitating its construction in the interest of all the tribes of Nagaland.” A press note from the RHD President, P Keppen Rengma, stated that despite the “parameters of technicalities” like “why an open tender was not flouted and so on, the fact of the matter is that when the proposal was mooted to award the contract work to NFHRCC proposed contractors, understanding the need to construct the road quickly, without payment of taxes to the NPGs and commissions to the department or compensation to land-owners, the concerned department readily agreed.” It informed that this was an “out-of-
the-box agreement” between the PWD (R&B) department and the NFHRCC to construct the road in the least possible time incurring least possible expenditure. Thus, it asserted, the NFHRCC’s involvement in this venture was to do away with corruption, which the RHD stated, “follows most developmental activities in the state.” It stated that at a time when “no projects are implementable without corruption stalling it,” the Foothill Road could have been a “pilot project for future ventures” between the government and NGOs. However, the RHD lamented that the “blow-hot-blow-cold stand of the government has killed off any future collaboration,” and has “spawned tribal animosity, which is not at all good for the state.” The RHD further appreciated its youth volunteers for participating in the 12 hour Dimapur bandh on June 30.
abduction and killing. The CBI arrested Ningshen May 25, 2009. The case was transferred from Manipur to Delhi on the direction of the Supreme Court in May 2010. The apex court order came on a CBI plea seeking transfer of the case as there was apprehension of conflict between two communities and of a fair trial.
Naga apex orgs appeal for amicable resolution KOHIMA, JUNE 30 (MExN): The Naga Hoho, Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA), Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) and Naga Peoples’ Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) have jointly appealed to the PWD (R&B) and the NFHRCC to “amicably resolve the (Foot Hill Road) matter and resume the work at the earliest in the interest of the Nagas.” They also appealed to all sections of Naga society “not to drag the ‘Foot Hill Road Construction’ into tribal lines nor politicize the noble project for self interest.” While they expressed concern for “hampering” the construction of Foot Hill Road because of “the misunderstanding” that cropped up between the two parties involved, the apex Naga organizations made clear that this project “should not be jeopardized at any cost or under any circumstances.” The organizations expressed “discontentment” over the NFHRCC’s total bandh “which has disrupted normal life in the commercial hub Dimapur.”
bandh in our area without consulting us even in future.” The CPO, while explaining its actions, stated, “As per our action against the volunteers of the band we had patiently waited the district administration and the security forces’ action since 144 Cr.P.C was imposed and the bandh was disallowed by the Deputy Commissioner Dimapur but we could not find any sign of stopping the bandh either from the district administration nor from the police. Therefore, we were compelled to disperse the agitators, which is in fact in support of the government decision but rather our people were on the receiving end of the government agency actions.”
gas shells. Police then proceeded towards Chumukedima firing tear gas shells, where a large number of people had gathered. Later, in the evening, fresh clashes erupted between bandh volunteers and those opposing the bandh around the same area, at 5th Mile. Police resorted to blank firing to disperse the crowd. 16 persons were ar-
rested by the police, one of them found with a gun, who was booked under the Arms Act, IPC. Four persons were released, two of whom were found to be minors. An unspecified number of people were injured during the clashes. Minor confrontations between bandh volunteers and civilians were also reported at Clock Tower junction and Hotel Trago-
‘the foothill road is deeply significant for us’ Morung Express News Dimapur | June 30
“The Foothill Road is deeply significant for us—the Government (of Nagaland) has created this crisis and it should have been solved by them,” said Anok, a resident of Dimapur, while talking on why he supported the NFHRCC-called Dimapur bandh on June 30. “There is no link from Mon to other parts of Nagaland, and we have suffered a lot due to this, especially due to frequent Assam bandhs. The Government initiated this project a long time back but could not do it, and if it continues to behave like this, people will always continue to suffer.” “We, as common people, just wanted a connection from Tizit to Dimapur. Now corrupt elements have hijacked the project,” stated Chingkem, who is of the view that the whole matter as published in the media is not very clear to the common people. “We are being told that bribery, contract works and other technical matters are issues—for us, we just need this road, and that is why we have supported the NFHRCC today,” he maintained. Even Dimapur Gov-
ernment offices remained empty, defying the district administration’s orders. The Government of Nagaland created problems, according to another commentator (who wished to remain anonymous), only when the funds for the foothills road project were sanctioned, and the project initiated by the people. “If
by the voice of the people.” For others, it is the DAN Government bent on “spoiling the project.” “If the Government promised something before, why should they go back on their word?” asked A. Jimomi, explaining why the bandh was necessitated. Wapang added that “if the Government does not listen to the people, we will continue our protest in different forms— the NFHRCC has taken this project up for the common people, not for their benefit!” Both remain annoyed that there should be “opposition” to the NFHRCC demands when there are Naga landowners giving up their land without compensation, and even the Naga political groups sparing taxes on the same. “We are not against any political party but the Government itself—the current tender should be cancelled and given to a genuine person,” they demand, as children are seen behind them enjoying a game of volleyball in the middle of the road, while an old man quietly tugs his luggage, probably on his way home from the railway station on foot.
‘Nagaland Government should have stood by the voice of the people’ contractors give money away in bribes, they will have to adjust the amount on the quality of the road, which is unacceptable. If public leaders have made mistakes, they should just apologize—why should they be so arrogant?” Moreover, said the commentator, “It is irresponsible to create tribal animosity over the project when it is not a tribal issue at all. NFHRCC should make sure that works are allotted to the genuine contractor,” adding that the Government “disallowing” the bandh and coming down heavily on volunteers could have been avoided. “Nagaland Government should have stood
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