Randomrandom: Camp Hebron

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Inside Camp Hebron

So we're back in Camp Hebron--headquarters of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland ( Isak-Muivah) faction. Formed in 1980, they are in a struggle with the Indian government for a greater Nagaland. Their primary demand is the formation of a Greater Nagaland with areas that has Nagas in the Indian states of Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and also some portions of Myanmar. NSCN-IM considers these areas to be part of Greater Nagaland or Nagalim.

Singing for the cause of Nagalim--Greater Nagaland.

This is an NSCN-IM military training session in progress. And that is Azeno looking into the camera. A 22 year-old cadre, she is here to "serve the nation".

As I have mentioned in my previous post, the NSCN-IM has been in a ceasefire with the government of India for the last 13 years. Other than minor technical yes or nos not an inch has moved forward in the Indo-Naga peace talks in all these years. And no one seems bothered about it, other than the occasional statements. Since 1997 there have been sixty rounds of talks that have been held in Paris, Bangkok, Zurich, Geneva, some unspecified location, Amsterdam, Hague, Dimapur and New Delhi. As I write this post, the present round of talks is being held in New Delhi.

The cadres go through a full training cycle for our cameras. They repeat, some sections of the drill for our filming. Don't know how many cameras they have faced before. Inside the camp the cadres seem trapped in time fighting for a sixty three year-old cause that probably holds little meaning in 2010.

These are some of the cadres at the camp. I don't know if they have much of an option but to stay with the "council".

Young cadres of the NSCN-IM at Camp Hebron. " We are serving the nation and NSCN-IM is the right choice" --that's their line. Everyone in the camp believes in this.

After an extensive shoot, once we are done, the cadres are allowed to go back to their camps. They are most happy and relieved to be over and done with this sudden filming session.

Almost at the end of the filming. Self-styled Lt Rex with my cameraman Mukut Medhi.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Still Talking

On March 2, Thuingaleng Muivah, Chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland is supposed to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Muivah reaches Delhi from Amsterdam tonight ( 11.30 pm IST/27th Feb). What are we expecting? Nothing probably. There have been 50 rounds of talks between the Government of India and the NSCN-IM, in Amsterdam, Paris, Bangkok, Geneva among other locations. So far, no one has been able to achieve anything. The ceasefire between NSCN-IM and Government of India ( signed in 1997) is still on. Everything seems to end there. Asia's oldest insurgency or movement for recognition of the Naga identity still continues in Nagaland. I took this photograph at the NSCN camp in Nagaland, few years back. I will be visiting this place again on Monday ( March 1), just to get an idea what people are thinking not just inside the camp, but also in Nagaland about Muivah meeting the Prime Minister. How much relevance does a Muivah visit still have?

The photograph above was taken at the NSCN-Unification faction camp in Nagaland. It was a faction formed by Azeto Chopy. I visited this camp in 2008--the year of state elections. Lack of unity among different groups is also one reason why the Naga talks have often failed. (NSCN-Khaplang is another prominent group that needs mention.) But lack of unity is of course not the main reason for failure to arrive at a solution. The games played by the Indian government, Intelligence Bureau, Indian Army for votes and making one faction fight another are well known.

Link to an old post when I visited this Camp in 2008

http://orijitsen.blogspot.com/2008/04/nagaland-elections.html

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Inside Camp Hebron

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Still Talking

Randomrandom

listening to

Currently Reading/ Not Reading/ Re-reading

About Me

Fellow travellers

Blog Archive

My Blog List

Composting