Phungzathang lands in poll code soup

IMPHAL, Feb 13 : Acting on a complaint that Congress candidate in Churachand-pur Assembly Constituency, Phungza- thang Tonsing had violated the election code of conduct and was using more than the number of vehicles specified by the Election Commission of India, the Chief Electoral Officer has instructed the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Churachandpur to lodge a case against the candidate.

The CEO issued the instruction to the CJM following instructions from the Election Commission of India.

Phungzathang Tonsing is the sitting MLA of CCpur AC and is also the Minister of Irrigation and Flood Control in the SPF Government.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express a reliable source informed that the CEO issued the instructions after complaints were lodged that Tonsing was using more than the number of vehicles as specified by the ECI as well as utilising Government vehicles for election purposes.

The complaints were lodged with the Election Commission of India along with a CD containing video clippings of the vehicles being used by the candidate, said the source.

According to the code of conduct laid down by the Election Commission of India, a candidate is allowed to utilise three vehicles for poll purposes.

No candidate is allowed to use Government vehicles for election purposes, the ECI had stipulated adding that sitting MLAs and Ministers may use their official vehicle only for going to their offices to work.

The CD shows the said candidate using Government vehicles besides a large number of vehicles in a procession, said the source.

With the Election Commission of India not taking the matter lightly, the Chief Electoral Officer has also instructed the District Election Officer of Churachandpur to serve a show cause notice on Phungzathang Tonsing and entrust the Chief Judicial Magistrate of the district to take necessary action, said the source.

Following the instruction of the Chief Electoral Officer, the District Election Officer is scheduled to serve the show cause notice on the Congress candidate tomorrow. The case will then be referred to the Court the following day, further informed the source.

Churachandpur district along with Chandel and Tamenglong districts and Jiribam sub-division of Imphal East district is scheduled to go to the polls in the third and final phase of polling slated to be held on February 23.

Manipur continues to lead at National Games
medals tally continues...

Security for CCpur(Lamka)polls
62 BSF Companies

Lamka, Jan 8 : With the conclusion of nomination process for the ensuing Assembly election in the district, Churachandpur is all set to exercise its franchise under the watchful eyes of 62 companies of BSF personnel.Taking a grave note of the pretext some Government employees were engaged in, apparently to shirk off their poll duties, DC/CCpur Sumant Singh today declared that he won’t hesitate in issuing suspension orders to officials who ignore their duties.‘A mere submission of application for exemption or a medical certificate doesn’t pertain to approving their application,’ he said adding, ‘one fine morning they (abs- conders) will find themselves being suspended and arrested.’ Besides the EPICs, the deputy commissioner has identified seventeen documents that will be utilized for establishing the identity of voters during the election. And, if at all any family has still failed to posses anything within the mentioned list, they will be at liberty to obtain certificate from the Revenue Deptt. that can be issued even on the date of voting in order to exercise their franchise, he said. Establishing the identity of one in a family will be sufficient for exercising the franchise of an entire family, he adds. As date of re-poll for the district has been earmarked for 25 February, two days after the polling, 23 clubbing points, including 10 helipads where a magistrate will be stationed were identified in various remote areas for more than one hundred interior polling stations to manage the lack of time, in case re-poll is needed. Each polling booth will have a minimum of one unit (8-9) of BSF personnel to ensure free and fair voting while a couple of armed units will be dispatched for Hyper sensitive booths and three units for 20 special booths.

n7w: World Tour

Sonia Gandhi opens National Games, Assam overjoyed
Feb 9, 2007 - 9:45:01 PM

Arjuna awardee and Asian Games gold medallist Bhogeshwar Barua lit the games torch.

By IANS, [RxPG] Guwahati, Feb 9 - Congress president Sonia Gandhi declared the 33rd National Games open here Friday evening amid clamorous cheering from the 30,000-strong crowd at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.For once the rejuvenated spirit of the culturally vibrant state of Assam came to the fore, brushing aside the recent orgies of bloodbath by a separatist group, as it showcased snippets from its vast heritage reservoir. The weather that had threatened to play spoilsport also gave way. Nothing could deter the spirit of the spectators and participants - not even a bomb blast that rocked a railway station in the morning. With a cool breeze blowing across the stadium, in the Sarsujai Sports Complex, host Assam was fortunate to have a perfect setting for the evening, which saw the nation's largest sports festival colourfully open. 'Assam has produced many sportspersons in the past and the National Games will act as a platform for many upcoming athletes of the state and the neighbouring ones as well,' said the United Progressive Alliance chairperson in her inaugural address. In his speech, a proud Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, recollected the difficulties that the state had faced in the run up to the games.'Today is a red letter in the history of Assam and an epoch-event that is going to put the state in the sports map of the country. In spite of our financial constraints, floods, insurgency, we have overcome all hurdles on the way to organise this mega sporting event,' he said.Noted Assamese singer Khagen Mahanta and his troupe presented the welcome song and it was followed by colourful dance by the local school children. Assam's classical dance form, the Sattriya and the vivacious Bihu dance, were also presented in their splendid best.The stadium literally went up to a hysterical height of exhilaration when the cute mascot Rongmon, the rhinoceros, entered the stadium to take the centre stage accompanied by 100 little girls. The mascot also responded back to the cheering crowd by waving its hand and blowing away a series of flying kisses. Rongmon's entry was one of the much-awaited moments for the spectators. The Indian Air Force participated in the gala event from the skies as three MI-17 helicopters displayed a fly past enthralling the spectators with petal showers from a height of about 3,000 feet. The spectators warmly greeted the paratroopers as they landed on the ground. The paratroopers jumped from a height of 7,000 feet and formed different formations including that of the tricolour. The team march past took place with Andaman and Nicobar leading the way with hosts Assam in the last.Arjuna awardee and Asian Games gold medallist Bhogeshwar Barua lit the games torch. Union Home minister Shivraj Patil and Indian Olympic Association Suresh Kalmadi were present on the occasion.

India to develop Myanmar port to benefit the North East

In a significant move the centre is planning to spend $103 million to develop Myanmar’s Sittwe port in a bid to provide India’s land-locked North Eastern states access to commercial sea routes.According to union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh this would require developing the Kaladan river as a waterway connecting Mizoram in the North East with the Bay of Bengal. Ramesh said this would also enable the movement of goods from Sittwe to any Indian port by using sea routes. Once the project is completed, Mizoram would become a hub of international trade, he said. According to Ramesh cabinet approval is expected soon. Developing the Myanmarese port and making the Kaladan river navigable, India wants to give the North East access to the sea for international trade.

Sittwe, formerly known as Akyab, is situated in Rakhine state, a long narrow coastal region in western Myanmar, and is separated from the mainland.

The Rescue

The Story & Intent

writes Haumuanlun Samte from New Delhi

As the sun was going down with a blaze of yellowish display over the distant hills, a bus slowly grudges and tackles its way up the unkempt, pot-holed and dusty Teddim Road, while small children of the area, grim and dirty, dressed in rags, waved and smiled to the passengers inside the bus. Nearby was a pile of recently burnt wood for charcoal and stacks of wooden sticks for firewood. Chopped and arranged in neat order. A little further down were a group of men engaging in the hardest of physical labour - cutting a huge trunk of a tree with their bare hands using giant manual saws. And as a Shaktiman truck roared by spewing dust and fumes, Mr. Hausuan, a Timber Contractor from Muallum village commented with a shrug, “Since we have already depleted our forests of trees, we have no choice, but to go further beyond into the deeper forest. And across the border if we are to survive.”Never did he realise then, that he himself would be one of the 20 plus odd people arrested by the Myanmarese Army, spending months in jail on charges of illegal border crossing and illegal logging of timber, sentenced and convicted to 12 years by the military junta, and be a character in a drama where efforts to secure their release, unbeknownst to many, have been played out at the highest level of international diplomacy, co-operation and collaboration from local organizations.This is not just an attempt to sensationalize a story about breaking laws, international if you will, or securing the unimaginable feat of the release of a group of desperately poor villagers from a punishment handed cruelly to them for a crime they purportedly committed. By a cruel and reclusive Military junta that the world has not confronted yet. A crime they were accused of committing. A crime, if that is - they had to commit. To survive.This is, but and more so, a cry for awareness of the common interests of the Zomi entity, recognition of the bonds and the similarities. For oneness and the need for a unified stand among the Zomis.This story will try to unfold and recount, regardless of petty differences, tribalism or clan induced one-upmanship, how things, which may seem impossible, can be made possible when people and organizations work together selfless, in unison, can achieve a happy ending to what could otherwise be not only a life scaring traumatic ordeal, but a life changing experience for the 20 plus odd people and the families they have to provide for - in this part of a forgotten world.And this is just the beginning. We still have along way to go.

I. The BackgroundFor decades, the inhabitants of Singngat and Behiang, south of Manipur, and predominantly of the Zo tribe, were dependent on the produce of the forest across the river Guun, particularly timbers, for their survival. Needless to add, it’s inside Myanmar and a very dangerous livelihood due to the bad and hostile terrains, the hard physical labour involved and to be endured; and it does not pay much either. But they have to feed mouths. Even though there are many life-threatening risks involved in life inside deep jungles, including occasional confrontations with the armed Myanmarese army.However, a deal was often reached that the Timber Contractor from this side of the border, paid a sum of Rs.20,000 – Rs.40,000 for a certain period to a local Village Chief inside Myanmar, for his labourers to cut the trees from a certain patch of forest under the Chief’s jurisdiction, who in turn greased the army so as not to interfere, or look the other way. But there were also others involved in the business - who paid nothing. Freelancers, you may say.“We pay around Rs.60 for every cubic metre of wood beam, and sell it for Rs.90, and we occasionally pay Rs.500 to the labourers,” says one Timber Dealer in Singngat.

II. The Confrontation as usual, in early May of 2006, a convoy of trucks with around 100 labourers set out towards Aisih, a village across the border, to log trees in the prime forest. But this time, luck didn’t seem to hold out too well. And as they crossed into a foreign land, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by the Myanmarese Army. Most of them managed to escape, while 3 trucks with 21people, including a 9-year-old child were arrested. The date was the 6th of May.They were immediately taken to Cikha, a nearby town and after about a week, were taken further down to Tonzang where they were locked-up as prisoners in a 20-square feet area. Fortunately, the prisoners were not abused except for minor instances where certain individuals loose their tempers or were at odds with the Myanmarese authorities.During their arrest at Cikha and Tonzang, food was provided for and arranged through the locals by the contractors and not by the Myanmarese authorities.

III. The JudgementDuring their detention in Tonzang, the prisoners were made to appear 13 times before a local court without any legal representation - where the prosecution laid out their cases and the judge, on the basis of the charges, passed the sentences, without the accused ever being represented.The Tonzang Township Court ruled on the 25th August 2006, for the minor Pauminthang to be released while a certain Manglianlam from Tangpijol village was sentenced to 19 years for poaching. The rest were convicted to 12 years each, for illegal entry into Myanmar and illegal logging. Deep inside a foreign country, all hopes now gradually faded as they were again transferred to serve their sentence at Inndainggy prison-cum-labour camp in Kalemyo, a town in Sagaing Division.However, it took sometime for the 9 year old Pauminthang to be released due to the absence of relatives or people to take care of him. With no one to take care of him, he was forced to endure a long period in a strange land with people he’d never seen or knew. Somehow he was escorted to Champhai during September 2006. His journey from the south of Mizoram to the comforts of his home in Manipur is another sad story.Describing his ordeal after he was released - and the adults were sent to Kalemyo, he said to Hausuan on their re-union and who had been looking after him as a guardian since he was a small child, “You know Pa Suan, after you all were sent to Kalemyo , I was alone and so afraid. I knew no one, and there was no way I can get home by myself. I wanted to go home so much. All I could do was cry.”

IV. The DestinationInndainggy prison-cum-labour camp housed around 1,300 including 270 female inmates. Their daily routine starts at 3:am in the morning and tea at 6:am. After that, it’s minor work inside the jail premises and breakfast is served at 10:am. At 11:am, inmates are locked up again till 1:pm in the afternoon. Then back to work till dinner at 3:pm. Light out is at 5:pm!Besides the appalling conditions at the jail, the food given to inmates, according to one of the prisoner ‘ was not even fit for pigs’. One can only imagine when the typical food they eat at home is rice and vegetables and the occasional ‘dal’ or potato. And if any of the inmates got sick, with a headache, stomachache, dysentery, fever etc., they were given the same medicine - Paracetamol, if available.The days turned to weeks. And the weeks to a month.

V. The Release:Then early one morning, at 5:am came the news of their release. It was the 30th October, 2006. They were taken to Namphalong, and further escorted to Moreh, the border town on the Indian side. Since all their personal belongings were confiscated when they were arrested, they were given a shirt and a ‘lungee’ each on release. The three trucks in which they went still remain at Cikha.During all their ordeal of arrest, the conviction and their experience inside a much feared Myanmarese penal system, these simple villagers never lost hope. “We were never worried, because we knew that we worship a living God. And I had come to know about the actions taken by the ZHRF in Delhi and that our MP was already involved with our case”, said a grateful Hausuan.

Behind The Story

I. The Mobilization as the news came to light that as many as 21 persons have been arrested by the Myanmarese authorities, people were shocked. The topic became a hot issue for discussion in the SSPP(Siamsinpawlpi) Yahoo Group which has members all over the world. As far as it is known, the news of this incident was first brought to light by H. Khamkhansuan from Varanasi, India, and was posted in the SSPPNet. Nobody seemed to be aware of the incident as there seemed to be no report of it in the local or state media in Manipur.However, after 18 days into captitivity, and with no complaints or queries whatsoever forthcoming from the public or the families concerned, Mr. Kamzathang, Officer-in-Charge, Singngat Police Station filed a FIR on the 24th May 2006. In the meantime, families of those arrested were reported to approach the local sitting MLA, Mr. Thangso Baite for help.Due to the intense discussion among the members in the SSPP Yahoo Group, the ZHRF (Zomi Human Rights Foundation), Delhi Cell gathered the details and facts on the ground, and then approached Mr. Charenamei, Member of Parliament, Manipur on the 24th of June, 2006 to do anything he can in order to secure the release of the prisoners.Mr. Charenamei, deeply appalled by this incident immediately set out to work on it by personally contacting the concerned divisions in the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as the Ministry of External Affairs. He also assured the ZHRF Delhi Cell that he would be intimately looking at the case.

II. The Bureaucratic & Diplomatic EffortsAt the same time, a high ranking Zomi Diplomat currently posted as an Indian Ambassador to DPR Korea, Mr. NT Khankhup, IFS, concerned at the plight of his fellow Zomis and knowing too well the hardships and the inhuman conditions inside Myanmar, not to speak of their prisons, contacted his colleague and friend, Mr. Manoj Kumar Bharti, DCM at the Indian Embassy in Yangon, and apprised him of the matter.However, no official communications in this regard had been received by the Indian Embassy in Yangon at that time.On August 3, 2006, Mr. Charenamei, MP tabled in the Parliament in New Delhi about the plight of these unfortunate prisoners and explained the local, historical and ethnic composition and situation of the people, geography and how it was a normal practice that people from both sides of the border interact and travel freely since many have families and relatives on each side of the border and urged the Myanmar government to release the detainees immediately.After a month, E. Ahamed, MOS ( External Affairs) informed Mr. Charenamei, MP, that the Indian Embassy in Yangon had been instructed to take the matter up with the Myanmarese authorities. The Myanmar Foreign Office, in a bid to justify the arrests also came out with a statement that the 21 persons were arrested for illegally crossing the border and logging timber from their forest.(And while the case dragged on, it was learnt on the 25th August, 2006 that 20 of the 21 arrested persons were convicted to prison terms of up to 12 and in the case of one person - 19 years).By late August, Mr. NT Khankhup, in response to his concerned query was assured by his counterpart in Yangon, Mr. Bhaskar Mitra that he would immediately look into the case as and when all the necessary information are made available to him. However, at a meeting with Mr. Mitra in Delhi in early September for the SE Asian Ambassadors Conference, he learned that the necessary information still had not been received by the Indian Embassy in Yangon.In order to fast track this bureaucratic delays, Mr. NT Khankhup personally met and spoke to Mr. Mohan Kumar, Joint Secretary (BSM) at the MEA Headquarters in Delhi on the 5th September 2006. The Joint Secretary acknowledged Mr. NT Khankhup’s concern and immediately took action to inform the Indian Embassy in Yangon to take necessary action the same day.In the meantime, Mr. Charenamei also put pressure on the Embassy of Myanmar in New Delhi as well as the Ministry of External Affairs relentlessly, and needless to add, Zomi government employees in the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha in New Delhi did whatever they could to contribute to the solution of this case.Alarmed at the outcome of events and while closely monitoring the developments the case discussed in the SSPP Yahoo Group, a fellow Zomi, Mr. Lealyan Thomte, presently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark offered to donate Rs.20,000 for any expenses that maybe incurred in pursuing the case further and to secure the release of the detainees.On September 13, 2006, during the 12th Indo-Myanmar Home Secretary Level Talks, the Indian delegation apprised the Myanmarese Deputy Minister for Home Affairs, of the incident and requested the Myanmarese government to immediately consider the case and release the prisoners.Again, during the New Delhi Siamsinpawlpi, Joint Headquarters conference in October 14, 2006, and in collaboration with the ZHRF, Delhi Cell, a request was again made to Mr. Oscar Fernandez, MOS (Labour) who had graced the conference as Chief Guest for his office to look into the case.Though the exact dates are not available, it is learnt that as soon as the Indian Embassy in Yangon received directions from the MEA Hqs. in New Delhi, Mr. Raj Srivastava, First Secretary immediately requested the Myanmarese authorities for consular access of the prisoners and had a meeting with them.Diplomatic talks continued. And the prisoners were eventually released on the 30th October, 2006.

III. The Sigh of ReliefAfter their released, Ambassador Mitra expressed his relief at the safe release of the prisoners, especially after being convicted, since he was well aware of incidents where people arrested by the Myanmarese Army on similar charges being shot.And it maybe worth mentioning that while the Myanmar authorities arrested these poor villagers for violating their laws, which they have every right to - the Government of India did not just forsake - their (law breaking) citizens - to rot high and dry in a foreign jail - but did everything to secure their freedom and moved things at the highest level.With years of experience as a diplomat spanning the globe, from Canada to Cyprus to North Korea, Mr. NT Khankhup chose to only modestly advise – “If you have or face any problems in a foreign country, you should immediately contact the nearest Indian Embassy or the Ministry of External Affairs.”Mr. Charenamei suggested that if the leaders of the area, and the Zomis in particular were to come up with a concrete proposal for a policy that can be applied effectively along those areas, where either side of the border is inhabited by the same ethnic Zo people, he would be only too willing to take up the proposal earnestly with the concerned authorities.

Now, that’s a point worth heeding.

Election tempo on the rise in Lamka(CCpur)








NPP candidate V Langkhanpau Guite shows his potential with a large number of supporters on the way to file his nomination

Lamka, Feb 1: Term it the Dhandi march of CCpur, they will be more than glad to explain the proximity of their march to that of Gandhi’s in 1930 to break the salt law. More than ten thousand supporters of V Langkhan-pau Guite, a serious con- tender to the sitting MLA T Phungzathang today mar-ched on the streets of Lamka town to show their solidarity and support as he reach- ed for the Deputy Com-missioner’s office to submit his nomination.Langkhanpau a nominee of NPP today filed his nomination accompanied by large number of supporters, while his political comrades Hangkanpau and V Hang-khanlian prefered separate way solely on security reasons. Later in the day after Langkhanpau filed his papers, NPP president V Hang- khanlian launched his official election office and cam- paign here in the presence of their clique. Speaking on the occasion Hangkhanlian claimed that housing scheme awar-ded under Tribal Development consist of six bundles of GI sheet and not five as was disbursed by the present government. A former headmaster in Rayburn High School and a debutant in the political ambiance of the district Langkhanpau is all set to give his arch rival and IFC Minister T Phungzathang a good run for his money.Meanwhile, thirteen more contenders today filed their nomination papers here while a couple of them were advised to turn up tomorrow, as they have arrived shortly after 3 pm, the time officially set for closing all nominations for the day. Those who had filed their nominations today include, Thangso Baite (INC) and Hangkhanpau (NPP) for 60-Singngat AC; T Manga Vai- phei (INC), Thangliansang Vaiphei (NCP), TT Haokip (LJP) and Ms Tinkhonei (RJD) for 57-Henglep AC; N Tuanzalian (CPI), V Hang-khanlian (NPP) and Pacu- hindou (LJP) for 56-Than-lon AC; Jainson Hoikip ((MPP) and Lalthrialien (NCP) for 59-Saikot; Chan-tonlien Amo for Tipaimukh AC and V Langkhanpau Guite for 58-CCpur AC.s o u r c e : s a n g a i e x p r e s s"

Money power versus people power

Find out the real truth

Natural gas discovered in India's Manipur state

New Delhi, Feb 3, IRNA
Natural gas has been discovered at the Manipur-Myanmar border area in Churachandpur district. The discovery was made near border pillar no 31/3 at Singhat subdivision of Churachandpur district, a UNI report said here quoting an official statement from Imphal, capital of Manipur state.
State government officials and an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation team are to survey the area to find out if the gas could be used properly, the statement said. The matter came to light after GOC of 57 Mountain Division Maj Gen Kochekkan wrote a letter to the state's Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh in this regard. Tests were conducted and the presence of natural gas has been confirmed in the area, it said.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0702039801132137.htm