Dimapur, Jan 30 (MExN): News reports highlighting Government of India considering the appointment of a retired DGP to replace the present incumbent Lt Gen (Retd) RV Kulkarni as the Cease Fire Monitoring Group Chairman has caught people by surprise.
The incumbent Lt Gen (Rtd) RV Kulkarni when contacted said he has neither official confirmation nor intimation from the Central government about their plans for replacement. Gen (Rtd) RV Kulkarni said he is not aware of retired Andhara Pradesh DGP Swaranjit Sen and that he cannot comment whether Sen is competent enough.
Lt Gen (rtd) RV Kulkarni term ends on August later this year.
Meanwhile the NSCN (IM) ceasefire Convenor ‘Brig’ Phungthing said the news was known only through the media and they have no official confirmation about it. He however said that selection of the CFMG Chairman can be done only through mutual consultation of the parties involved in the cease fire. He further asserted that the centre alone cannot select the chairman unilaterally. He mentioned that when the Centre tried to appoint Srivastava as the CFMG Chairman unilaterally, the NSCN (IM) rejected it and another was chosen.
The NSCN (IM) CFMG Convenor rubbished the claim of the news item that the move comes as measure for the army to garner the assistance of the NSCN (K) to flush out ULFA rebels in their camps. Phungthing further said they received reports that Indian Government had sent ten truckloads of arms and ammunitions to the Myanmarese army as military assistance to attack NSCN (K) camps in ‘Eastern Nagaland.’ Phungthing, when asked whether the NSCN (IM) was against the Indian government’s move in helping the Myanmarese army against the NSCN (K), diplomatically said, ‘it (the military assistance) affects everyone’. He charged the Indian government of playing a ‘double standard’ game of talking about peace on one hand and suppressing the Naga rebels on the other.
The Myanmarese army on January 29 launched a military offensive against NSCN-K in ‘Eastern Nagaland.’
‘Defence Secretary’ of the NSCN (K), Joseph said the issue of the new chairman of the Cease Fire Supervisory Group will be discussed by the council of kilonsers. He categorically said that the present incumbent has been asked to be removed by the NSCN (K) many times in the past. He also said that under no terms the NSCN (K) will turn against the other North East rebels under their shelter. He said that the issue of flushing out the other rebels under their shelter was the work of the Government of India.
It may be that mentioned local dailies had recently carried a news report about the centers’ move to select retired Andhara Pradesh DGP Swaranjit Sen as the new chairman of the CFMG.
