AFP-Indian PM discusses steps to end insurgency in northeast

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Saturday, January 22 1:05 PM SGT
Indian PM discusses steps to end insurgency in northeast
SHILLONG, India, Jan 22 (AFP) -
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met chief ministers and state
governors here Saturday to frame strategies to end decades of insurgency in
the northeast, officials said.
Vajpayee met senior officials of the seven states in the region bordering
Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh, Bhutan and China where thousands of people have
died in separatist and ethnic violence in the past 50 years.
The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister George Fernandes, Home
Minister Lal Krishna Advani, army chief General Ved Prakash Malik and heads
of the local police forces.
A home ministry official said the prime minister discussed measures to open
talks with about 30 guerrilla groups active in the region.
"Militancy here has become a matter of concern for New Delhi," he said.
At the meeting, chief ministers of the seven states urged the federal
government to bust the hideouts the militants reportedly have in
neighbouring countries.
"Militants of these states have their camps in Bhutan, Bangladesh and
Burma," said Prafulla Mahanta, chief minister of Assam, an oil-rich state
that has seen some of the worst separatist and ethnic violence.
"Unless these camps are busted, there is no point in strengthening troops
here as the rebels attack us and then sneak back into their bases in
adjoining countries," he said.
Manik Sarkar, chief minister of Tripura state, demanded that India's long
land borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan be sealed "to prevent cross-border
terrorism and the illegal influx of Bangladeshis into India."
On Friday, Vajpayee told the chief ministers and governors that Pakistan was
backing separatist rebels in the northeast to destablise India.
The seven states in the far-east include Nagaland, a Christian-majority
state bordering Myanmar which is home to India's longest running insurgency
that began after the country became independent in 1947.
The region is rich in oil, timber and tea.