Mizoram Home Minister justifies MAP operations against Hmar rebels in Manipur

Aizawl, April 29, 2014

Mizoram Home Minister R. Lalzirliana has defended the raid on a village in Manipur by the Mizoram Armed Police saying, “If necessary we will continue to pursue and raid villages that shelter the enemies of Mizoram.” Lalzirliana said this to mediapersons during a press conference here yesterday at the New Secretariat Complex when asked whether there was any substance in the reports of some local dailies that the Mizoram Armed Police (MAP) had entered the neighbouring state of Manipur and raided Lungthulien, a Hmar village in Tipaimukh constituency of Churachandpur district.

The home minister while confirming the reports said, “The MAP did entered and raided the village and if necessary we will re-enter and pursue any militants rebelling against the State government.” According to reports, the MAP in the wee hours of April 22 entered Manipur and raided Lungthulien village, forcefully entered the house of the village authority chairman, destroying household items and stealing church money from a wooden box. The MAP personnel were also reported to forcibly take one of the villagers along with his mini-truck across Mizoram border and he was roughed up but released him later.

The MAP reportedly launched the operation against the Hmar Peoples’ Convention – Democratic (HPC-D) insurgents who were said to hole up in the raided village. The armed HPC-D insurgent group reportedly operates in three neighbouring states of Northeast India – Mizoram, Manipur and Assam – and currently has ceasefire agreements with the governments of Manipur and Assam.

“Although the people of the insurgency prone area demonstrated their resentment and issued a press statement condemning the MAP operation, we will continue to have operations if the situation demands,” the home minister further added.

Mizoram DIG Zoremmawia, when asked to whether the MAP operation inside Manipur was legal, defended the government’s decision. “In India, if a group of militants disturb law and order against a State, the government has legal rights to pursue them under a ‘hot operation’ policy. The Mizoram police launched an operation at Lungthulien villaged based on this policy,” he said.

In a new twist to the incident, the rival faction of the HPC-D (president) led by Lalhmingthang Sanate in its press statement dated April 26, 2014 took responsibility for the operation in Lungthulien village on April 22.

The HPC-D, an offshoot of the armed political movement of the HPC which signed a memorandum of settlement with the Congress-led government of Mizoram in 1994 resulting in the setting up of the Sinlung Hills Development Council (SHDC) in Mizoram, has been demanding an Autonomous District Council under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

In November 11, 2010, the HPC-D and the Mizoram government signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) for a period of six months. However, the agreement ended after repeated hiccups over the delegates of the HPC-D for peace talks between the two parties. The Mizoram government demanded that the HPC-D delegates should be from Mizoram. The HPC-D later called off the SoO agreement after Mizoram police arrested its army chief and his deputy at Silchar airport in June, 2012 while they were on their way to a proposed meeting with the All Party Leaders of Mizoram in Assam.

And in July the same year, the HPC-D chairman was also arrested at Delhi airport while on his way to meet officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Both leaders were later released on bail after the Aizawl bench of the Gauhati High Court heard their cases.