Khaplang forges ties with NE rebel groups

Eastern Nagaland, February 6: Northeast-based revolutionary groups fighting for the independence of the region have been extended support and cooperation by the Khaplang faction of the NSCN.

In what appears to be the first candid admission of his intimate links with these groups, NSCN (K) Chairman, S S Khaplang declared that the objective was to fight unitedly for the independence of the contiguous region comprising the Northeast and Eastern Nagland.

Explaining the rationale behind the decision, Khaplang said, "The Northeast is not a part of India and we have similarities and a relationship since historical times. We can be independent only if we stick and fight together. After independence, we will declare ourselves as one country."

Khaplang's decision may be explicable in terms of the agreement that his organization has arrived with the Myanmar Government on cessation of hostilities.

The last major skirmish was more than a decade ago when rebel camps in Namjong came under heavy shelling by the Myanmarese Army. The Chairman pointed out that there would be retaliation against the army if they were to break the agreement on cessation of hostilities.

The growing bonhomie between the Naga outfit and Northeast groups has raised the heckles of the security establishment in New Delhi. It has been pressurizing Naypyidaw to initiate action against rebel camps and has been providing photographs and other evidence of their presence at regular intervals.

Some camps have been destroyed in the past two decades, but India is demanding the implementation of a comprehensive strategy that would put an end to such activities forever.

Not surprisingly, the Naga chief has been careful not to revel his association as it would further provoke the Indian government. From allowing groups to set up camps and training facilities, NSCN (K)'s relation later on extended to sharing vital information on enemy movements and on sources of weapons. Moving large consignments of arms over a distance to remote jungles was not as easy two decades ago since routes were not clearly defined and the shipments had to pass through regions controlled by adversaries.

In fact, the association of NSCN (K) with Northeast groups was an open secret that stretches back several decades.

Khaplang's Eastern Naga Regional Council aided batches of the Phizo-led Naga National Council (NNC) when they passed through his territory en route to China from 1966 onwards. He himself joined the NNC only to walk out a few years later to float the NSCN.

Among non-Naga groups it was the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur that first forged links with the NSCN (K) in the late 1980s for assistance to reach Kachin for training.

Subsequently, other groups such as the ULFA, United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) followed suit and developed close relations with Khaplang after he had broken off from the NSCN. In 1990, NSCN (K) even joined hands with the ULFA and UNLF to float the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front, which however, remained a non-starter.

With the NSCN (K) following an open door policy to like minded groups, many new groups have also made a dash to the region in the past decades or so. Among the new groups to set up camps are the anti-talks groups of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and two breakaway factions of Prepak named United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) and Prepak (Progressive)

NSCN (K)'s writ runs over a better part of the Naga inhabited regions in Eastern Nagaland. But though Khaplang always stood in favour of unity, groups from Nagaland have not exactly loved to shake hands with him.

The deadly gun battles that erupted between the NSCN (K) and NSCN (IM) a few years ago are still fresh in the public memory and recent efforts at reconciliation by NGOs and the Church have not borne desired results. Last year, NSCN (K)'s Nagaland based commander-in-chief Khole Konyak walked out of the group along with general secretary, N Kitovi Zhimomi.

But Khaplang remains steadfast in his resolve to float a united front and plunge headlong into the campaign for the region's independence. Like most rebel leaders of the Northeast, he is optimistic about the future. (Courtesy: Seven Sisters Post)