Imphal, September 21: �Is India, the world�s largest democracy bold enough to let people of Manipur decide their own future?� This is the question that RK Meghen alias Sana Yaima, leader of the oldest rebel group in the North East has asked Government of India.

�Is New Delhi prepared to go beyond the usual approach of offering talks within the ambit of Indian Constitution in dealing with the demand for Manipur�s independence,� Sana Yaima, Chairman of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF), queried in an exclusive interview with Tehelka last week.

Sana Yaima who slipped out of Manipur and met Tehelka at Hong Kong, said his outfit is willing to discuss peace with Government of India if New Delhi accepts that only people of Manipur can decide their future.

�India is world�s largest democracy and if its leaders believe in democracy, they should let the people decide which way they want to go,� Sana Yaima told Tehelka, the only Indian publication that he granted access to during a short, secretive trip to Hong Kong.

�Plebiscite under UN supervision is the only correct approach to seek resolution to this conflict,� Sana Yaima, who has been underground for 30 years, said.

�We have adopted a new approach asking for UN mediation and plebiscite since our earlier demand to recognise our right to sovereignty was not acceptable to New Delhi.

Without a UN-supervised plebiscite, talks cannot be trustworthy,� he said, citing example of the Indo-Naga talks which have gone on for eight years without any substantial progress.

The four-point formula that UNLF has mooted includes: A plebiscite under United Nations (UN) supervision to elicit the opinion of the people of the State on the core issue of restoration of Manipur�s independence.

Deployment of a UN peace-keeping force in Manipur to ensure the process is free and fair.

Surrender of arms by the UNLF to the UN force, matched with the withdrawal of Indian troops.

Handing over of political power by the UN in accordance with the results of the plebiscite.

When pointed out that the Government is bound to reject these conditions outright, Sana Yaima, whose outfit has been fighting nearly 50,000 Indian troops in the jungles of Manipur for the past six months, said he is willing to go to any reasonable length to explore the possibility of peace with India.

�If New Delhi even accepts in principle that the 4-point proposal that we have mooted can be discussed to begin with, we are willing to come a step forward,� Sana Yaima said.

�Ultimately, we are a democratic organisation and only people�s will will be our final arbitrator,� the UNLF chief said.

However, he made it clear that the Government of India�s response has to be substantive and needs to be stated publicly.

Sana Yaima, appearing quite different from his usual imposing figure in battle dress, feels that the Government of India�s policy towards insurgent organisations in the North East is dominated by a militaristic attitude and hence it cannot break away from the mentality of treating the issues in the region purely from a law and order point of view.

�Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a sincere man, even his promise of reviewing the AFPSA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) has not been kept.

After he himself had admitted that the Act is repressive, military commanders continue to defy him and say that the military cannot work without the AFPSA.

Isn�t that contradictory?� he asks.

The UNLF chief asserted that the military considerations continue to dictate Government of India�s policy towards groups fighting for self-determination in the North East.

�How else does one explain the fact that India is dealing one by one with different groups? NSCN (IM) has been rendered ineffective with prolonged talks.

They are now trying the same tactics with ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom).

Even in Manipur, Prime Minister Singh�s assurance that the AFPSA would be reviewed in six months has been utilised by the Indian Army to launch an operation against us.

As many as seven brigades are engaged in an offensive against us for the past six months.

And yet, they have not been able to reach our base camp,� Sana Yaima said.

He admitted that UNLF is not fighting a conventional battle against the Indian Army.

But Sana Yaima insisted the UNLF, which he said had around 2,000 armed cadres, was not on the run.

�We are not fighting pitched battles against the invading Indian forces, but that doesn�t mean we are running away.

If at all we are running away then they should be able to come to our base headquarters.

So far they haven�t done that,� he said.

The UNLF chief called upon the Indian leaders to think beyond clich�s.�Ours is a human problem, not a law and order problem.

In the past year, the people of Manipur have shown that their voice cannot be suppressed.

The agitation against AFPSA was in fact the manifestation of a deeper resentment against Indian occupation.

There is a qualitative change in people�s mindset that now sees all Indian promises as empty gestures.

When earlier we had set a condition that sovereignty of Manipur should be the core issue for any discussion, we were told it was not acceptable.

That is why we have mooted the new four-point proposal.

If New Delhi is serious about resolution of the Manipur problem, it has to show boldness and respond to us.

If it does not, we will understand that Government of India is not interested in any solution,� Sana Yaima said.

�There is no middle point where we can meet with India because we were a sovereign independent country before India annexed Manipur in 1949 and we just want to regain that sovereign independence,� he said.

Manipuris, he said boast of two thousand years of history as an independent kingdom until the Maharaja was forced to agree to the State�s accession to India in 1949.Sana Yaima made it clear that neither he nor UNLF as an organisation is tired of the �liberation struggle.� �If necessary, we will continue our struggle for another hundred years because it is the very fundamental right that we are fighting for, the national right that we are fighting for, so we cannot afford to get tired,� he said.

He however made it clear that the UNLF�s fight is against the Indian Government and not against the people of India.

�We have much to learn and benefit from the people of India but they must be made aware about our problems and our concerns.

The families of all Indian soldiers who die in a fight against us must start asking question of the Government why they die as they do,� he said.

Sana Yaima, a liberal at heart also admitted that the current ethnic divide in Manipur does not augur well for the future of the State.

A product of Calcutta�s Jadavpur University, Sana Yaima says: �As a majority community, the Meities must be prepared to accept their past mistakes and be ready to make sacrifices in the future.

There is no denying the fact that injustice was done to the smaller ethnic communities during feudal times.

There are more than 40 different communities living in the present geographical area of Manipur.

Our future is inter-linked.

That is why, the policy of �ethno-exclusivity� adopted by NSCN(IM) is dangerous for Manipur and we oppose it totally�.

He lauded the people in the Imphal valley for refusing to get provoked by what he called the NSCN(IM) tactics of pitching Nagas against Meiteis by backing measures like economic blockade.

�The NSCN (IM) is taking political advantage of the artificially created divisions among different communities.

But it will not serve their cause.

Instead all ethnic communities of today�s Manipur must unite even while recognising each other�s right of self-determination.

If necessary, a new name can be given to this entity.

But we are so intertwined with each other that new demarcations are not possible.

Both the government of India and the NSCN (IM) must understand this.

If they don�t, there would be unprecedented developments in the region,� Sana Yaima predicts sending a clear signal that just talking to one group may not resolve the issues in the northeast.

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