ID :
12093
Thu, 07/10/2008 - 20:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/12093
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Arms smuggling endangers peace in Mizoram
Aizawl, Jul 10 (PTI) Mizoram, which boasts of being an island of peace in the otherwise insurgent-hit North-East region, is facing danger by arms smuggling through its porousborders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Mizoram's international border areas are conduits for arms smugglers with recent seizures of huge weapons caches near Aizawl andother places worrying the administration.
The police seized 19 AK-47 assault rifles and a huge quantity of ammunition during June end at Sairang near here and arrested two militants belonging to Assam's North Cachar Hills-based Dima Halam Daoga (D.H.D.) and six members of theformer Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (B.L.F.M.).
The sources said that the former B.L.F.M. cadres, disgruntled with the Centre for not releasing fund meant for their resettlement were trying to regroup and re-arm with thehelp of the D.H.D. ultras.
Seven AK-47 rifles and a rocket launcher with rocket shells were again seized by the Excise and Narcotics department officials on July 5 at Vairengte village on theMizoram-Assam border.
Alarmed by the spurt of arms seizure state D.G.P.
Lalrokhuma Pachuau has constituted a Special Investigation Team (S.I.T.) headed by K. Amona, S.P. (Crime) to concentrateon arms trafficking.
A state assembly inquiry committee to investigate allegations of government-insurgent nexus by the opposition members, in its report, had also pointed out that there was a possibility of arms smuggling and movement of rebels in theborder areas without the knowledge of the government.
The state being surrounded by insurgent-infested states like Assam, Manipur and Tripura, faced threat of violence from insurgent groups who frequent the border areas to procure armsor launch operations against security forces.
Former Chin National Army (C.N.A.) leaders told PTI that most of the arms procured by North East insurgents were fromCox's Bazar in Bangladesh .
J. Kiauluaia, former Chin Army leader fighting for democracy in Myanmar, now settled in South Mizoram's Lawngtlai town, said that arms, from small hand-guns to rocket launchers and from Kalashnikovs and Chinese-made rifles like SKS to American-made M-16 rifles were readily available in the Mizoram-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction and also in Cox'sBazar.
F. Rozathang, another pro-democratic underground leader from Myanmar said that surplus arms left behind by super powers in the Vietnam and Cambodia conflicts found their wayto Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Weapons were transported by boat from Vietnam and Cambodia through the waters of Thailand here, a former CNAleader said.
There was also narcotics smuggling from the infamousGolden Triangle through the Myanmarese forests.
Myanmarese Pro-democratic organisations in Mizoram alleged that army personnel deployed along the international border with Mizoram were working in connivance with arms andnarcotic traffickers.
Sandwiched between Myanmar and Bangladesh, Mizoram's international border areas are conduits for arms smugglers with recent seizures of huge weapons caches near Aizawl andother places worrying the administration.
The police seized 19 AK-47 assault rifles and a huge quantity of ammunition during June end at Sairang near here and arrested two militants belonging to Assam's North Cachar Hills-based Dima Halam Daoga (D.H.D.) and six members of theformer Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram (B.L.F.M.).
The sources said that the former B.L.F.M. cadres, disgruntled with the Centre for not releasing fund meant for their resettlement were trying to regroup and re-arm with thehelp of the D.H.D. ultras.
Seven AK-47 rifles and a rocket launcher with rocket shells were again seized by the Excise and Narcotics department officials on July 5 at Vairengte village on theMizoram-Assam border.
Alarmed by the spurt of arms seizure state D.G.P.
Lalrokhuma Pachuau has constituted a Special Investigation Team (S.I.T.) headed by K. Amona, S.P. (Crime) to concentrateon arms trafficking.
A state assembly inquiry committee to investigate allegations of government-insurgent nexus by the opposition members, in its report, had also pointed out that there was a possibility of arms smuggling and movement of rebels in theborder areas without the knowledge of the government.
The state being surrounded by insurgent-infested states like Assam, Manipur and Tripura, faced threat of violence from insurgent groups who frequent the border areas to procure armsor launch operations against security forces.
Former Chin National Army (C.N.A.) leaders told PTI that most of the arms procured by North East insurgents were fromCox's Bazar in Bangladesh .
J. Kiauluaia, former Chin Army leader fighting for democracy in Myanmar, now settled in South Mizoram's Lawngtlai town, said that arms, from small hand-guns to rocket launchers and from Kalashnikovs and Chinese-made rifles like SKS to American-made M-16 rifles were readily available in the Mizoram-Myanmar-Bangladesh trijunction and also in Cox'sBazar.
F. Rozathang, another pro-democratic underground leader from Myanmar said that surplus arms left behind by super powers in the Vietnam and Cambodia conflicts found their wayto Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Weapons were transported by boat from Vietnam and Cambodia through the waters of Thailand here, a former CNAleader said.
There was also narcotics smuggling from the infamousGolden Triangle through the Myanmarese forests.
Myanmarese Pro-democratic organisations in Mizoram alleged that army personnel deployed along the international border with Mizoram were working in connivance with arms andnarcotic traffickers.
