NLFT WANTS ZORAMTHANGA, HRANGKHWAL FOR FINAL TALKS

 Manas Pal

Stage is all set for final peace talks with the National Liberation front of Tripura (NLFT) –Biswamohan militants.  

If everything goes in right direction and smoothly the NLFT leaders will sit on a discussion table with the central and state government officials for the final discussion within a very short time. Papers relating to the peace talks have been finalized today (11 August, 2015). The entire process for the peace talks is being handled, according to sources in the government, by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) at the instance of New Delhi in cordination  with Tripura Police and Tripura Tribal Welfare Department.

Senior official sources said, already two meetings with the NLFT militants were held –one in Shillong and one in New Delhi – on April 2 and May 2 last. In the meetings IB officials and senior Tripura Police Officials as well as Tripura Tribal Welfare department officials were present. Now the ‘modalities’ and ‘frameworks’ are being finalized. Everything is fecilitated by the IB in association with the Tribal Welfare Department.

Interesting it may sound that the NLFT has among others also demanded that former Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and former TNV leader, now INPT president Bijoy Hrangkhwal to be included in the peace talks as interlocutors. NLFT  has sent a letter to the Home Ministry recently in this regard. It is not, however, clear whether the government has agreed to the demand but sources said both Zoramthanga and Hrangkhwal are kept aware of the developments.

The NLFT with a reduced strength of mere 80 ( or 90) was neither at all in a position to revive militancy considering the present situation of the state, nor in a position to bargain hard with the government. Their other demands, except that of Zoramthanga – who, according to them, played a great role in bringing other underground organizations to talks, - and Hrangkhwal, included ‘suspension of operations’ against them like it was in the case of NSCN –IM. They also asked assurance for the ‘proper rehabilitation’ of the NLFT militants who had already surrendered in the past.

The State government side pressed that NLFT must stop all their violent activities and there should be no extortion or recruitment. The government assured that the militants would be given North East surrender packages whoever would fit for that.

The NLFT –which still carries the tag of its president Biswamohan Debbarma a ka D Baithang- is actually now being led by Sachindra Debbarma, a militants who deserted All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF-now defunct) some five years ago from Satcherri, Bangladesh.

Biswamohan Debbarma the first generation NLFT leader, according to sources, does not carry much weight in the organization now. In fact , in one meeting Sachindra Debbarma who runs the organization de fecto  was present while NLFT’s self styled foreign secretary Utpal Debbarma alias Umthang attended both the meetings, ostensibly for the fact that the engineer-turned militants is fluent in English and well versed about the nitty-gritty of such a dealing. However, the NLFT letter to Home Ministrt demanding Zoramthanga and Hrankhwal’s inclusion in the peace talks was signed by K Reang who is actually Upendra Reang, son of senior CPM leader Binduram Reang. Upendra had left the home and joined the NLFT about 15 years ago. He is now reportedly operating in Northern Tripura side with a small band of NLFT militants.

At the face of it the peace talks seems to be a usual development. But what may appear surprising, if not intriguing, is the involvement and alacrity of the central intelligence agencies. NLFT could be last choice for any such peace talks, given its present condition.

Whatever the outcome of the talks may ultimately appear, anticipation of a larger fall out , politically speaking, of any such initiative where names like Zoramthanga and Hrangkhwal are being uttered cannot be ruled out altogether – at least in relation to recent demand of the “Twipraland”  to be curved out of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council Areas. There are reportedly some initiatives are on for merger of IPFT and INPT for a greater cause.

Only on August 4 last the Mizos of Jampui hills of North Tripura staged demonstration demanding that they now be always and officially as well be called ‘Mizo’ , not by the popular and common nomenclature ‘Lushai’. It should also not be missed out that some of the Mizo National Front leaders in the past openly subscribed to the idea of merger of Tripura’s Mizo dominated Jampui Hills with Mizoram.  At the face of it the demand may look very innocuous and innocent, but a deep look at the developments it generates an uncomfortable feeling—it is as if  not all that meets the eye.

NLFT had suffered two splits since its inception in 1990 with former TNV vice president Dhananjay Reang.  Dhananjay who as NLFT’s first president led a daredevil attack in Tainani Police station in South Tripura on December 11 , 1991 with  seven cadres –all except one Nitya Debbarma- belonging to his own tribe ‘Reang’- was two years later ousted in a coup by Tripuri militants led by Biswamohan Debbarma , Kamini Debbarma et al on the pretext of financial irregularities, murders and womanising in December 1993.

Dhanajay claimed that the Tripuri militants- belonging to the largest tribal community of the state- were not ready to accept leadership of a Reang (Bru)– belonging to the second largest and only primitive community of the state and that is why the coup was organized. Dhananjay had been outnumbered and he had to flee with his followers, mostly Reangs and formed his own outfit Tripura Resurrection Army which once even sought to forge alliance with the ATTF led by Ranjit Debbarma an arch rival of NLFT. But the TRA could not sustain and under pressure –both from the security forces and from the NLFT surrendered to the government en masse with 113 militants in April 1997. Now Dhananjay lives in a pathetic conditiomn. 

Second split the NLFT suffered when Nayanbasi Jamatia a staunch Christian and slightly eccentric,  was forced to leave the organization in October 2000 following meeting from 4-6 October. The split was a result of long drawn discontent on various issues, mostly financial irregularities and some specific murders of underground cadres by the Biswamohan-Kamini group. Nayanbasi and his followers like Janbir Debbarma et al somehow managed to escape from murderous attacks from NLFT Biswamohan group at last on Februray 12, 2001  formed his own group NLFT- Nayanbasi with 137 cadres ( Mlater 45 more joined).

After a series of bloody engagements and killings by both sides NLFT- Nayanbasi group surrendered en masse - except Nayanbasi himself -on December 25, 2004 following negotiations with centre – L K Advani , the Tripura police – DGP G M Srivastava and Tribal Welfare Department- Secretary GSG Ayyengar ( April 10, 2004). Nayanbasi who first came over ground but then went one more time underground was held by Bangladesh agencies in jail. He was later released by Bangladeshi authorities and then arrested by Tripura police.  He is now seriously ill.

In the meantime, the main group who went strong despite splits –NLFT Biswaamohan also faced serious setback- almost a split when its all top leaders including (self styled) Vice president Kamini Debbarma, general secretary Mantu Koloy, finance secretary Bishnuprasad Jamatia a ka J Bosong, assistant finance secretary Dhanu Koloy , chief of army staff Binoy Debbarma, deputy chief of army Sanjit Debbarma along with other surrendered before the Governor DN Sahaya on May 6, 2004. Altogether 72 militants including 22 females – many of them were fake and most the females were simply spouses or lovers of the militants.

Fake or genuine the militants, this was a brilliant police operation which left the NLFT-Biswamohan group truncated. Those top guns who surrendered were already old enough to run a militant organization and it was reported that they had been given the option to leave the organization. The surrender was done to help them get the NE Surrender Package.

This surrender coupled with many other factors –displacement of huge Bengali population from the remote areas who had been their prime target,  barbed wire fencing along Indo-Bangla border severely preventing their movements from across the border, proactive counter insurgency operations, improved communication network , wholesome police modernization, introduction of armed village guards ( SPOs), massive inflow of rubber money, offensives of Bangladesh authorities on their camps in their territory etc – served a severe blow to the NLFT Biswamohan which despite several attempts failed to revive its strength. The NLFT’s strength kept on reducing and its movement and activities died out, virtually. In some remote pockets they off and on carried  out some extortion etc but mostly remained holed up in the bases silently in deep interior of Sajek range in Chittagong Hill Tracts –Bangladesh.

Only recently , the NLFT suffered yet another jolt when its first generation leader Atharababu Halam, and two young militants Wathai Debbarma and Keating Debbarma surrendered before the DGP K Nagraj on May 9 with pistol, grenade and country made guns. This surrender evidently unsettled the NLFT which is now almost quarantined the militants leaders suspected to be prone to surrender. Atharababu Halam’s son in law Bankim Debbarma is one among them.

It is at this juncture the central government’s initiative to bring the NLFT –virtually a defunct organization and almost at the verge of natural death- to mainstream following peace talks, may be considered an interesting development.