DHD gets Sept 15 deadline

The government on Tuesday gave 15-day notice to the dreaded Jewel Garlossa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah...

The government on Tuesday gave 15-day notice to the dreaded Jewel Garlossa faction of the Dima Halam Daogah DHD-J,also known as Black Widows,to lay down arms and begin peace talks.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi warned that the group would invite an intensified military operation against itself if it doesnt follow the directive. Gogoi was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram to discuss the law and order situation in Assam with a particular focus on the North Cachar Hills district,the main area of operation of DHD-J.

It has been decided to ask the Black Widows to surrender and lay down arms by September 15. They should stay put in designated camps and we will consider holding peace talks with them. If they do not comply with our conditions,we will have no option but to step up our operations against them, Gogoi said.

There cannot be any compromise with the security of the people, he said.

DHD-J,a relatively small armed group,claims to represent the Dimasa tribe and is fighting for a separate state for Dimasas to be carved out of parts of Assam and Nagaland. It has been responsible for a spate of violent attacks in the North Cachar Hills district in recent times.

However,the security forces achieved major successes last month in neutralising the top leadership of the organisation. The groups top commander Jewel Garlossa was arrested by Assam Police in Bangalore along with the deputy commander-in-chief Partha Warisa. Immediately thereafter,the organisations foreign secretary Frankie Dimasa was gunned down in an encounter near Guwahati.

Recently,the government had rejected the groups offer of a ceasefire. Chidambaram had stressed that an insurgent group like DHD-J was no one to offer ceasefire to a sovereign state. The government had put the group in the list of unlawful organisations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act some time back.

Ex-MNF cadres,kin set to get jobs

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AIZAWL: Former Mizo National Front MNF cadres who gave up violence under the historic Mizo Accord signed between the Centre and the underground outfit in 1986 are set to be rehabilitated with government jobs. The General Administration Department recently cleared the proposal for appointment of 70 former MNF cadres or their qualified family members as assistants,upper division clerks,lower division clerks and Grade VI employees.

Only personal interviews would be undertaken by the applicants,but they have to have the requisite educational qualification. The Mizo Accord,signed on June 30,1986,was the most successful accord signed by the Centre with an underground organisation,ushering peace in Mizoram after 20 years of disturbance. PTI