By Veronica Khangchian
On March 7 and 8, 2013, in a major arms haul – the biggest haul in
Mizoram thus far and one of the biggest in the Northeast in recent years
– the Mizoram Police and Assam Rifles seized 31 AK-47 assault rifles,
one Singapore-made Light Machine Gun (LMG), one US-made Browning
automatic rifle, 809 rounds of ammunition, and 32 magazines, from a
farmhouse near the Lengpui Airport, on the outskirts of State capital,
Aizawl. On March 7, Police seized 23 AK-47 rifles, one LMG and one
Browning rifle and also arrested three Bangladeshi Chakma tribals in
connection with the seizure. Mizoram Police’s Superintendant of Police
(SP), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Crime branch, Joseph
Lalchhuana, disclosed that the Police further acted on information
derived from the interrogation of the three Bangladeshi Chakma tribals
and on March 8 recovered eight AK-47 assault rifles and 809 rounds of
ammunition at a location near the spot of the first seizure. According
to police, cases under the Arms Act, Foreigners Act and the Indian
Passport Act were registered against the arrestees at Sairang Police
Station, where the arms were seized. The arrestees were identified as
Robi Chakma, Soboz Chakma and Moni Tripura.
Three days later, on March 12, 2013, the Mizoram Police disclosed
that it had proof that the sophisticated arms seized were to be
delivered to the Parbotia Chatagram Jana Sangata Samiti (PCJSS) – a
forum claiming to fight for the rights of the indigenous people of the
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) tribes of Bangladesh. Police added that the
three Chakma tribals arrested from the farmhouse belonged to the PCJSS
of the erstwhile Shanti Bahini. SP Lalchhuana disclosed, further, that
the arms were smuggled from Myanmar and were to be delivered to the
PCJSS in Bangladesh. The person who smuggled the arms into India through
the porous Mizoram-Myanmar border had reportedly returned to Myanmar
and was hiding there. On March 13, Director General Assam Rifles
Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh confirmed the Police disclosures. The
three arrested persons were remanded to Police custody and were being
interrogated by the Police and central intelligence agencies, including
the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing
(R&AW). The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also been
informed about the arms seizure.
Officials believe the arms haul would deliver a severe blow to the
capacity-building efforts of militant outfits operating in and from the
region.
Outside Mizoram, on March 8, 2013, Security Forces (SFs) recovered
explosives with the arrest of Gin Zamuan Simte of the Churachandpur
District of Manipur. Altogether, 450 detonators, 165 Gelatin sticks, 50
meters of safety fuse and two 12 bore guns were recovered from Simte’s
possession. Interrogation brought to light the fact that the that
explosive materials had been purchased from civilian construction
organizations in Mizoram and were being smuggled into Manipur and
Myanmar, where they would be distributed among militant groups for use
against the SFs.
Despite an uninterrupted peace in Mizoram since 1986, the State is
often used as a conduit for illegal activities by criminals and
militants alike. At an internal security Conference of Chief Ministers
in New Delhi on April 16, 2012, Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla
observed that his state shared ‘porous’ international borders with
Myanmar and Bangladesh, and remained prone to a host of illegal
activities, such as smuggling of weapons, narcotics and Fake Indian
Currency Notes (FICN). The Chief Minister noted, “Mizoram shares a 722
kilometre-long porous international borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar
and free movement regime is allowed along the 404-kilometre Indo-Myanmar
border. This 404 kilometre Indo-Myanmar unfenced border is
characterised by inhospitable terrain covered with dense canopy. Hence,
the Assam Rifles cannot effectively dominate the Indo-Myanmar border…
This has direct bearing on the internal security for not only Mizoram
but also for the whole north eastern States (sic) as Indian Insurgent
Groups (IIGs) use it as a conduit for arms smuggling and for crossing
over to neighbouring countries for seeking refuge or training.” He
added, further, that the “State also shares 284 kilometres (border) with
three adjoining militancy-affected States… It remains prone to
smuggling of weapons, narcotic drugs and FICN.”
On April 3, 2013, in a written reply to a query in the State Assembly
in Aizawl, State Home Minister R. Lalzirliana, said 237 arms and 6,345
rounds of ammunition were seized by the State Police during the present
Congress Government’s tenure, since 2009. Lalzirliana noted that the
majority of the seized arms were made locally and were destroyed in
accordance with orders of the Courts. While some arms, especially small
arms, were issued to individuals through Court orders, others were
retained in Police armouries.
FICN flows through the State were reconfirmed on March 19, 2012, when
SFs arrested three FICN racketeers from Thuampui under the Aizawl
District Police Station, and recovered FICN worth INR 300,000. The
racketeers, all women, were identified as Lalengkimi, Lalbiak Thuami and
Ramdinthari, all from Aizawl. Their interrogation subsequently revealed
that the Karimganj (Assam) border had become a major conduit for the
smuggling of FICN. Racketeers operating on the other side of the border
had a chain of contacts and couriers to deliver FICN to pre-arranged
destinations.
Abduction for ransom by a variety of militant groupings, including
several from neighbouring States, was another problem afflicting
Mizoram. Thus, on February 19, 2013, five road construction workers at
Dampa Tiger Reserve on the Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border in the
Mamit District, were abducted by armed miscreants, who demanded INR 10
million as ransom for their release. They were however released on March
28 and handed over to Mizo leaders in Bangladesh. Mizoram Additional
SP, CID-Special Branch, H.L. Thangzuala asserted that the abductors were
not militants, but a group of criminals belonging to the Bru (Reang)
community. However, the gang had a nexus with a Tripura-based National
Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) ‘area commander’. However, Rhangzuala
claimed that the criminals apparently did not obtain permission from
the NLFT high command to carry out the abduction on this occasion. Chief
Minister Lalthanhawla, while announcing the release of the five
hostages, claimed that no ransom was paid.
Earlier, on November 25, 2012, NLFT militants abducted three Tripura
residents, two timber merchants and one driver, from Rajibnagar village,
in Mizoram’s Mamit District, demanding INR 3 million for their release.
They were feed on December 12, 2012 following joint action by the
Tripura and Mizoram police.
On March 26, 2012, at least six executives of the Assam-based Anupam
Bricks and Concrete Industries (ABCI), including residents of Assam,
Punjab, and Rajasthan, were abducted by NLFT cadres operating from
Bangladesh, from the Lunglei District of Mizoram. The abductees were
released on April 30, 2012. Aizawl District SP, Lalbiakthanga Khiangte
disclosed that there was no communication from the ABCI on how the
hostages were released by the insurgents. Sources indicate that NLFT
cadres had demanded INR 10.2 million as ransom for their release.
Residual activities of a range of extremist formations are also
evidenced by periodic arrests in the State. On February 14, 2012, for
instance, a suspected militant belonging to the Mara People’s Army (MPA)
was arrested near the Laki hamlet in the southernmost Saiha District of
Mizoram. The Police seized one US-made M-16 rifle, 156 rounds of
ammunition, two magazines and two walkie-talkies from the arrested
person.
On September 22, 2011, BSF troops arrested three National Socialist
Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) militants at the Indramchhera
Nallah under the border outpost at Silsuri in Mamit District, while they
were trying to cross over from Bangladesh.
On July 12, 2011, SFs arrested ‘foreign secretary’ Utpal Debbarma (34) of the Biswamohan Debbarma faction of NLFT, from Aizawl.
On March 7, 2011, SFs arrested four cadres of the Kangleipak
Communist Party-Sunil faction (KCP-Sunil) from the Bongkawn area of
Aizwal. The arrested cadres were actively involved in extortion from
businessmen, contractors, the general public and Government officers,
over the preceding six months.
Another startling revelation, according to a November 25, 2011,
report indicated that Mizoram, the most peaceful State in the Northeast,
was allegedly used as a meeting point by the Communist Party of
India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and leaders of the Manipur-based Peoples
Liberation Army (PLA). The NIA, probing the PLA’s activities, discovered
that a meeting was held between PLA and Maoist leaders at Champhai in
Mizoram on July 15, 2010, besides similar meetings in Calcutta, Guwahati
and Rourkela.
Significantly on April 1, 2013, the Mizoram Government passed a
resolution to pave the way for setting up a Territorial Army (Home and
Hearth) to strengthen security within the State. Participating in the
discussion and moving the resolution, State Home Minister R. Lalzirliana
reiterated that Mizoram had a long porous border with neighbouring
countries — Myanmar and Bangladesh — which was protected by the Assam
Rifles and the BSF, adding, “The State has 8 Police Battalions which
cannot meet all the requirements, including setting up of Police
Outposts, in the border area.” The Home Minister further noted that a
number of new development projects, including hydro power projects, the
construction of a railway line between Bairabi and Sairang, the Kaladan
Multi Modal Transit Transport Project, and the exploration for oil and
natural gas in various places in the State, were being undertaken, all
of which required a security cover.
Further, Subhash Joshi, Director General, BSF, along with other
senior BSF officers, while on a two–day visit of Karimganj and the
Mizoram border on April 3-4, while reviewing the security scenario and
border management on the Indo–Bangladesh border, stated that 90 per cent
of border fencing was complete and the remaining portion would also be
completed ‘soon’. A March 31, 2013, report added that, with the
improvement of relations between India and Bangladesh, the ties between
the border guarding forces of the two countries had also improved
considerably, and coordinated patrolling by the BSF and Border Guard
Bangladesh (BGB) had started – a major positive in the management of the
border.
Mizoram’s residual difficulties are compounded by a range of
‘indigenous’ unresolved tensions, most prominently including the
repatriation of Bru refugees from Tripura to Mizoram, and the Hmar
Peoples’ Convention-Democracy (HPC-D) demand for an Autonomous District
Council.
In a significant development, on January 31, 2013, the HPC-D and the
Government of Mizoram signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement
with the HPC-D in Aizawl, for a period of six months, after several
months of suspense. After signing the SoO pact, the HPC-D, stated that
at least two rounds of talks were to be held with the Government, as
mutually agreed upon, during this six-month period, to find a ‘permanent
solution’ to the ‘Hmar issue’. However, on March 25, 2013, State Home
Minister Lalzirliana warned that ongoing peace negotiations between the
Mizoram Government and the HPC-D could not be resumed early due to the
February 19 abduction of five Mizos, although steps had been taken to
ensure early resumption of talks. The five Mizos were released on March
28, and the Joint Monitoring Group responsible for supervising the
implementation of the SoO, is now scheduled to hold a meeting on April
19. The meeting would deliberate on the date and place for resumption of
talks between the Mizoram government and the HPC-D and also discuss the
observance of the bilateral SoO signed between the two parties in
January. The HPC-D had also received a major setback on June 10, 2012,
when SFs arrested two top leaders of the group, ‘army chief’ Lalropuia
and ‘deputy army chief’ Biaknunga, at the Kumbigram Airport located in
Silchar, Cachar District, Assam. Again, on July 18, 2012, H. Zosangbera,
the ‘chairman’ of HPC-D, was arrested from Indira Gandhi International
Airport in New Delhi, by a combined team of the Mizoram and Delhi
Police. However, all the three leaders were released on bail and talks
were initiated again in 2013.
Further, a February 18, 2013, report claimed that the Mizoram Bru
Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), led by A. Sawibung, had finally
succeeded in bringing the issue of repatriation of Bru refugees to the
negotiating table with the Mizoram Government. Bruno Msha, general
secretary of the Naisingpara (Tripura) camp-based MBDPF, stated that the
MBDPF had received a letter from the State Home Department for talks to
be held on February 21, 2013, in Aizawl to deliberate on the impasse on
repatriation of Brus, who have been displaced from Mizoram since 1997.
The meeting between MBDPF and the Joint Secretary, Home Department of
Mizoram, Lalbiakzama, however, could not be held due to all India bandh
(shut down strike), by various trade union bodies, on February 20-21,
2013. There are no further reports on the issue. Thus far, only 891
families have been repatriated to Mizoram, in four phases of
repatriation between May 2010 and May 2012, out of an estimated 35,000
Bru refugees in Tripura.
The State’s proximity with Myanmar and the infamous ‘Golden Triangle
area’ through which narcotics are smuggled makes Mizoram vulnerable to
destabilization by a range of factors, including drug trafficking, arms
smuggling and militancy, particularly by groups from the troubled
neighbouring States and countries. These risks are compounded by
long-unresolved ‘indigenous’ concerns that constitute a latent threat to
a peace that has endured since 1986.
Veronica Khangchian
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management
READ MORE - Hidden Dangers In Mizoram – Analysis
