Nagaland Post www.nagalandpost.com
Vol XXIX No. 274
DIMAPUR, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 Pages 12 ` 5.00
HK protesters urge Trump to ‘liberate’ their city
Andreescu stuns Serena to win US Open
Devp, trust, big changes: Modi on 100 days NDA govt
international, Page 9
sports, Page 12
national, Page 5
GoI backtracking on Framework Agreement NSCN(I-M) CHIEF TUCCU SAYS CAR IN NEUTRAL GEAR BECAUSE OF GoI NOT NSCN
Tinakali Sumi
DIMAPUR, SEP 8 (NPN): National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) chairman, Q. Tuccu has accused government of India of backtracking from August 3, 2015 Framework Agreement signed by the two entities in the presence of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. In an exclusive interview to Nagaland Post, Tuccu admitted that due to misinterpretation of the Framework Agreement by government of India the negotiating parties were yet to concur on some core issues like separate Naga National Flag and Constitution. Tuccu, who is also the Yaruiwo of Government of the People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN), said NSCN would sign the final agreement provided government of India adhere to the agreed positions based on the Framework Agreement. Referring to Modi’s desire to sign the final agreement within three months, Tuccu said NSCN could visualise it as an “ultimatum” to the Nagas. Excerpts of the interview: NP: As the newly elected chairman/Yaruiwo of NSCN/GPRN what is your vision for your government and Nagas? Tuccu: Since time immemorial Nagas were independent.We have never been subjected by anyone. Before British left India, Nagas expressed our rights to live independently. Naga leaders in the past and present have been fighting for
NPC condemns Sep 6 firing incident KOHIMA, Sep 8 (NPN): Nagaland Peace Centre (NPC) has expressed shock on the firing incident at Lamhai Namdi village on September 6. In a condemnation note, NPC chairman, Pedi Miachieo regretted that the incident occurred on the day when Nagas were observing the day of peace (September 6), the signing of ceasefire agreement between the Government of India and FGN by ceasing the hostilities and embracing peace. NPC said the incident will only create hatred and enmity, and urged the “conflicting parties” to embrace peace and forgiveness and settle the issue amicably. It stated that violence would only beget violence and only through love and prayer the summit of love can be achieved.
This is it!
“Sir, we permit shared sovereignty of tax here in this check gate.” K Y M C
our Independent right. Under the banner of NSCN, Nagas have entered a political dialogue with government of India. NSCN will continue to fight for the Nagas till our objective is fulfilled. NP: What is the status of the ongoing Talk with government of India? Tuccu: The agreed position between government of India and NSCN is “shared-sovereignty”. That means, neither India will be under Nagas nor Nagas under India but we will coexist on the basis of “shared-sovereignty”. However, government of India is not agreeable on separate Naga National Flag and Constitution due to which we are unable to conclude the Talk. NP: Is there any possibility for the two negotiating parties to come to an understanding regarding the demand for separate Naga Flag and Constitution? Tuccu: If government of India adheres to the agreed positions as mentioned in the August 3, 2015 Framework Agreement then there would have been no misunderstanding between us. We agreed to coexist as two entities, that is, two nations on the basis of shared-sovereignty. NP: If government of India does not budge on the issue of separate Naga Flag and Constitution, what measures will your government take? Tuccu: We cannot reveal plan B. NP: Will NSCN walk out of Talk and subsequently break cease-fire if both negotiating parties remain
Q. Tuccu (NP)
adamant on these pressing issues? Tuccu: If government of India continues the Talk as per the agreed positions of Framework Agreement then there is no question of walking out of the Talk. Government of India is misinterpreting and backtracking from Framework Agreement and this is not acceptable to us. NP: According to Governor of Nagaland and government of India’s Interlocutor to Naga Peace Talks, R.N Ravi, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has expressed to conclude the Talk within three months. Is there any possibility to conclude the Talk within three months? Tuccu: We could visualise this three months deadline as an ultimatum to the Nagas. Today, government of India is devising to undo whatever has been agreed upon by the two entities in the Framework Agreement. We will not accept anything less than what has been agreed upon. NSCN will only agree to conclude the Talk, within three months, if government of India adhere to our agreed positions based on
Framework Agreement. NP: Then when is Naga issue likely to be resolved? Tuccu: NSCN wants to resolve the Naga political issue at the earliest. However, we cannot agree to anything less than the agreed positions. NP: In a recent interview to Nagaland Post, the Interlocutor has likened the Talk to a switched on car engine in neutral gear. What do you have to say on this? Tuccu: The car is in neutral gear because of the government of India and not NSCN. NP: What is NSCN/ GPRN position with respect to WC of NNPGs joining the ongoing Peace Process? Tuccu: Government of India is engaging NNPGs because they are agreeable to remain within Indian Union and Constitution. Their position is favourable to government of India and that is why they are engaged in it. NSCN/GPRN is for sovereign Naga. We will not betray the right and aspirations of the Nagas. NP: What will be NSCN/GPRN’s position if government of India goes ahead and sign a final agreement with WC of NNPGs? Tuccu: NNPGs position is favourable to government of India. It depends on government of India whether to sign an agreement with them or not, it is up to them. However, NSCN will not remain a mute spectator; we will work out our own strategy. NP: Government of
India has maintained that there will be only “One Talk and One Solution. What do you have to say on this? Tuccu: Mr. R.N Ravi knows what he meant by “One Talk, One Solution”. NP: Your government wrote a letter to Prime Minister expressing displeasure over reducing the Talk to “mere governor” level. Since then you have held Talks with the Interlocutor, R.N. Ravi, have you come to an understanding? Tuccu: The commitment before entering the Talk with government of India was – Talk shall be at the highest level; venue of the Talk shall be outside India, in a third country and Talk will be held without any pre-condition. Since then the Talk has been held at the Prime Minister level, however, today the Talk has been reduced to a Governor’s level. This is not acceptable to us. If government of India feels that Ravi should continue as Interlocutor, as he has detail knowledge of the Naga issue, then we will agree to it provided the Talk continues at the Prime Minister level. We cannot continue the Talk at the Governor’s level. NP: What is your message for the Nagas? Tuccu: I appeal the Nagas to be more consistent and patient till the final solution is signed with government of India. GPRN is a people’s government; we will not betray the Nagas, we will hold consultative meeting with the Naga public before signing of the final agreement.
Lander Vikram located on Lunar surface: ISRO chief Bengaluru, Sep 8 (PTI): The Chandrayaan2’s Vikram module has been located on the Lunar surface and it must have been a hard-landing, ISRO chairman K Sivan said on Sunday, in an admission that the planned soft-landing wasn’t successful. Yes, we have located the lander on the Lunar surface. It must have been a hard-landing, Sivan told PTI. He said the lander rover Pragyan is housed inside it was located by on-board cameras of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. Asked if the lander was damaged during the hard-landing, he said: That we do not know. Sivan said efforts to establish contact with the lander were continuing. India’s mission to softland on moon suffered a setback during the wee hours on Saturday, with ‘Vikram’ module losing communication with ground stations, just 2.1 km from the lunar surface during its final descent. Considered as the most complex” stage of the country’s second expedition to the moon, the Lander was on a powered decent for a soft-landing when it lost the communication. “Vikram Lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from the
Vikram landing trajectory. Photo: YouTube/ISRO Official
lander to ground stations was lost,” Sivan had said. “The data is being analysed”, he had added at the Mission Operations Complex at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here. The successful landing would have made India the fourth country after erstwhile USSR, the US and China to achieve a softlanding on the moon, also the first to launch a mission to the unexplored south pole of the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is healthy and safe in the Lunar orbit, an ISRO official said after the lander lost contact with ground stations minutes before the touchdown on Moon’s surface. “The orbiter is healthy, intact, functioning normally and safely in the Lunar orbit,” the official told PTI. The mission life of the 2,379-kg orbiter is one year.
The orbiter payloads would conduct remote-sensing observations from a 100km orbit. C h a n d r aya a n - 2 , a follow-on mission to the Chandrayaan-1 mission undertaken more than a decade ago, comprises an orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan). The orbiter carries eight scientific payloads for mapping the lunar surface and study the exosphere (outer atmosphere) of the Moon. ISRO on September 2 successfully carried out the separation of lander Vikram (with rover Pragyan housed inside) from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. The Vikram module, which was supposed to carry out various tests on the lunar soil, had completed the rough braking phase as planned and entered the phase of fine braking at an altitude of 2.1 km, when it lost communication.
‘Vikram’, named after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, the father of the Indian Space Programme, was designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface, and to function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 earth days. The rover was to roll down from the lander explore the surrounding lunar terrain, a few hours after the planned soft-landing. The Chandrayaan-2 is a Rs 978-crore unmanned moon mission (satellite cost Rs 603 crore, GSLV MK III cost Rs 375 crore). India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully launched the 3,840-kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit on July 22. The spacecraft began its journey towards the moon leaving the earth’s orbit in the dark hours on August 14, after a crucial manoeuver called Trans Lunar Insertion that was carried out by ISRO to place the spacecraft on “Lunar Transfer Trajectory.” The spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 20 by performing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuver. On September 2, ‘Vikram’ successfully separated from the orbiter, following which two deorbiting manoeuvres were performed to bring the lander closer to the Moon.
Centre not to touch Art 371; no illegal immigrant to be allowed: Amit Shah Guwahati, Sep 8 (PTI): The Centre will “not touch” Article 371 of the Indian Constitution that is applicable to the Northeast and not a single illegal immigrant would be allowed in the region, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday. After Article 370 was abrogated in Jammu and Kashmir, there were attempts to “misinform and misguide” the people of the Northeast that Article 371 would be scrapped by the Centre, the Home Minister said in his inaugural address at the 68th plenary session of the North East Council (NEC) here. “I have clarified in Parliament that this is not going to happen and I am saying it again today in the presence of eight chief ministers of the Northeast that both the Articles are different and the Centre will not touch Article 371,” Shah said. The Constituent Assembly had framed Article 370 as a temporary provision but Article 371 is about special provisions in the Northeast and there is a vast difference between the two, Shah said. “I think it is important to clarify the difference between the two. Let me make it clear that the Prime Minister and the BJP government respects Article 371 and 371 (A),” he said. Most of the States that have been accorded special provisions under Article 371 are in the Northeast and the special status aims to preserve their tribal culture. There was an attempt to give a wrong message that the BJP-led government would scrap Article 371 and this was done by people who did not want peace in the
Jethmalani passes away
Ram Jethmalani
N e w D e l hi , S e p 8 (PTI): Eminent jurist and former Union minister Ram Jethmalani passed away on Sunday at the age of 95, his family members said. Jethmalani breathed his last at 7.45 am at his official residence in New Delhi, his son Mahesh Jethmalani told PTI. Mahesh and other close acquaintances said Ram Jethmalani was not keeping well for a few months. He passed away a few days before his 96th birthday on September 14, his son said. Besides Mahesh Jethmalani, the former Union minister is survived by his daughter based in the US. His other daughter, Rani Jethmalani, died in 2011. Jethmalani was the Union law minister and also the Urban development minister during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. He also served as Supreme Court Bar Association president in 2010. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Jethmalani, saying the country has lost an “exceptional” lawyer and an “iconic figure” who made rich contributions in courts and Parliament.
Amit Shah addresses the 68th Plenary Session of North Eastern Council, in Guwahati, Sunday. (PTI)
Northeast or the region to become an engine of development, Shah said. On the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Home Minister said, “Questions are being raised about the NRC by different sections but today I just want to say this that the BJP-led government is committed to ensure that not a single illegal immigrant enters the region.” The NRC has also been completed within the stipulated time-frame, he added. Shah’s visit comes just days after the publication of the final NRC in the state on August 31. Pointing out that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi there has been a “drastic decline” in terrorism and militant activities, Shah said, “I do not want to quote statistics but the entire country and the world knows that we have been able to control it.” There are still misguided people who indulge in armed activities but “our minds are open and hands stretched for those who want to lay down arms. For those who want to continue, the governments at the Centre and the state will follow a zero-tolerance policy,” he said. The misguided people who take up arms are “our
own but are tools in the hands of vested foreign forces”, he said. He further pointed out that border dispute between the different states of the Northeast is a major issue which must end. “If Indo-Bangla border dispute can be resolved, why not disputes among our states in the region? Rise above border disputes and support each other, so that the region can develop together,” Shah added. “Modiji has given top priority to the development of the Northeast and he was the first Prime Minister in 40 years to attend a NEC meeting at Shillong”, he said. “No Congress Prime Minister had attended a NEC meeting and though I do not want to make a political statement but among all the eight Chief Ministers present at the meeting today, none are from the Congress but all are North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) constituents”, Shah said. Earlier, the Northeast was known for terrorism, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, social tensions but now it is known for development, infrastructure, sports, connectivity and Look East Policy, the Home Minister pointed out.
CIHSR rejects NPRAAF allegations DIMAPUR, SEP 8 (NPN): Christian Institute of Health Science and Research (CIHSR), Referral Hospital Dimapur has rejected the allegations levelled by the Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) as baseless, ignorant of the ground reality and factually incorrect. In a rejoinder, CIHSR director, Dr. Sedevi Angami said the institute was conceived to meet the healthcare needs of the state of Nagaland and North eastern region, and is governed by a society comprising of Nagaland government, Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA) New Delhi and Christian Medical Centre (CMC) Vellore. On NPRAAF’s allegation that the Referral Hospital was revitalized with an estimated project cost of Rs 4,012.92 lakh after the hospital remained dormant and that government of Nagaland entered into tripartite agreement by signing a MoU with the EHA New Delhi and CMC Vellore on January 25, 2005, the director said EHA and CMC being charitable organisations cannot invest and also the institute did not receive any fund from any foreign agency. On the functioning of the management, the director said that the hospital was governed by an administrative committee and officers, who met every week to take decisions and therefore one man cannot take any decision.
CIHSR also partnered with various organisations and has adopted two blocks – Dhansiripar and Medziphema in developing services and capacity of health personnel. The institute offered five paramedical courses while three has been upgraded to bachelor courses. Besides this, the institute offered three post graduate DNB degree courses under the National Board of examinations in Family medicine, General surgery and Internal medicine. For admission to these academic courses, the director said that it followed the MoU guidelines of minimum 50% seat reservation for students from Nagaland. Apart from providing health services, the institute also run a special school for children with special needs, where the staffs regularly trained schools, churches and NGOs in related to people with learning difficulties. The director further said that the institute is planning to have an integrated centre for disability and is also working towards a regional paramedical institute with several paramedical allied health courses. In the light of the above, the director said labelling the institute as “commercial institution” has done a great disservice to the scores of staff, who have given up their lucrative job opportunities to extend their service to the people of the state. (Full text on p-6) K Y M C