DIMAPUR, July 11 ? Contradicting the the NSCN-IM charge of ?provocative? deployment of troops near the latter?s council headquarters, the security forces on Saturday said that on the contrary the strength has been thinned out from the area owing to heavy engagement in anti-ULFA operations in neighbouring Assam. ?It is clarified that no additional troops have been stationed in the vicinity of the Hebron camp of NSCN-IM at Mangalamukh,? the spokesperson of the Jakhama-based IGAR HQ said yesterday. There was no deviation from the routine activities of troops in Nagaland, he said adding that there had been no change in the security forces? policy with regard to monitoring of the ?ceasefire ground rules? (CFGRs).
The security forces expressed concern at the unilateral order passed by the NSCN-IM to ?nationalise? the Intangki and Rangapahar Reserve Forests. ?The recent azha (directive) by NSCN-IM ordering ?nationalisation? of Intangki and Rangapahar Reserve Forests without consulting the Angami Tribal body is a disturbing step as reserve forests are the wealth of the entire Naga populace and not the domain of any particular faction or segment of the society?, the spokesperson maintained.
Terming as a ?a blatant lie? the allegation of the NSCN-IM that the security forces are conniving with NSCN-K, the spokesperson said, ?The security forces are not conducting joint operations with NSCN-K as stated by the faction in the media. There is enough evidence to prove the non-partisan approach of SF in implementation of CFGRs.? The forces have apprehended 10 cadres of the Khaplang faction in the last three months, and nabbed its cadres suspected to be involved in the cold-blooded murder of Tinumeren Ao in Mokokchung on July 5, immediately after the incident, he said.
Citing instances of the neutrality of security forces, he said they do not hold any grudge against any faction. Recently, troops of 9 Assam Rifles at Piphema provided medical aid and all help to NSCN-IM?s SS Tatar Woungkhai, after an accident which has also been acknowledged through the media by NSCN-IM, he said. He also made it clear that in keeping with the ground rules of the ceasefire, the security forces maintain a distance of at least one km for patrolling near NSCN-IM designated camps. Further, he pointed that establishment of checkpost with a Light Machine Gun by NSCN-IM ?approximately four kilometers ahead of Hebron Camp at Hajidisa, is a gross violation of CFGRs?. The post was dismantled on the order of the chairman, Ceasefire Monitoring Group (CFMG), Lt Gen (retd) R V Kulkarni during his visit to the location recently, disclosed the official who further said that ?the NSCN-IM had reportedly established a number of satellite posts/camps between CHQ and GHQ.?