National Politics

Assam: Centre & State To Sign Peace Accord With 8 Adivasi Militant Outfits Today

Himanta Biswa Sarma

The peace accord will be signed in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: The Centre and Assam government will sign a tripartite peace accord with eight Adivasi militant outfits of Assam in New Delhi today, 10 years after the peace process started.

The peace agreements will be signed in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The eight rebel groups are Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi Peopleโ€™s Army (APA), All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) and Santhali Tiger Force (STF) and the remaining three outfits are splinter groups of BCF, AANLA and ACMA.

Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Adivasi Peopleโ€™s Army (APA), All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam (ACMA) and Santhali Tiger Force (STF) have been in a ceasefire with the government since 2012 and since then the cadres of the militant outfits are staying in designated camps.
โ€œI am sure signing of the agreement will usher in a new era of peace & harmony in Assam,โ€ Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

On January 27 this year, a total of 246 insurgents of two militant groups of the state laid down their arms and returned to the mainstream.

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In an arms laying ceremonial function held at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati, 169 insurgents of United Gorkha Peopleโ€™s Organisation (UGPO) and 77 insurgents of Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) laid down their arms before Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, Chief Executive Member of BTR Pramod Boro, CEM TAC Jibon Chandra Konwar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) 

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International

India Hits Out At Chinese Ambassadorโ€™s Views On India-Sri Lanka Ties

ANI
India

Colombo: In a hard-hitting response to the remarks of Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said on Saturday that his views were a violation of basic diplomatic etiquette and may be a personal trait or reflect a larger national attitude.

The Indian High Commission also said that Qiโ€™s view of Sri Lankaโ€™s northern neighbor may be colored by how his own country behaves. The High Commission, which made a series of tweets, also referred to Qiโ€™s remarks on the visit of a Chinese spy vessel to Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and said his imputing a geopolitical context to the visit of a purportedly scientific research vessel is a giveaway.

The High Commission also referred to reports of Chinaโ€™s debt-trap diplomacy and said โ€œopaqueness and debt-driven agendas are now a major challenge, especially for smaller nationsโ€.
It said Sri Lanka, which is facing an unprecedented economic crisis, needs support, not unwanted pressure or unnecessary controversies to serve another countryโ€™s agenda.

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โ€œWe have noted the remarks of the Chinese Ambassador. His violation of basic diplomatic etiquette may be a personal trait or reflect a larger national attitude. His view of Sri Lankaโ€™s northern neighbor may be colored by how his own country behaves. India, we assure him, is very different. His imputing a geopolitical context to the visit of a purportedly scientific research vessel is a giveaway,โ€ the Indian High Commission said.
โ€œOpaqueness and debt-driven agendas are now a major challenge, especially for smaller nations. Recent developments are a caution. Sri Lanka needs support, not unwanted pressure or unnecessary controversies to serve another countryโ€™s agenda,โ€ it added.

India had earlier rejected insinuations by China that it had exerted pressure on Colombo to defer the visit of a high-tech Chinese research vessel to Hambantota port and said Sri Lanka is a sovereign country and makes its own independent decisions.

โ€œWe reject the insinuations in the statement about India. Sri Lanka is a sovereign country and makes its own independent decisions,โ€ Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said at a media briefing.

Bagchi said India will make the best judgment about its security interests and it takes into account the prevailing situation in the region, especially in border areas.

The Chinese Ambassador had, in a statement, made adverse remarks about India. He also talked about scientific research activities of the vessel โ€˜Yuan Wang 5โ€™ and said โ€œexternal obstruction based on so-called โ€˜security concernsโ€™ but without any evidence from certain forces is de facto a thorough interference into Sri Lankaโ€™s sovereignty and independenceโ€.

A report in Ceylon Today said Sri Lanka is currently negotiating a loan from the IMF said to be to the tune of USD three billion to get over its foreign exchange crisis but while the โ€˜G7โ€™ (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the USA) countries have agreed to restructure Sri Lankaโ€™s debt, not so China.
Responding to Sri Lankaโ€™s request for China to change its tune on debt relief, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy said the ball is in Sri Lankaโ€™s court, not Chinaโ€™s.

The spokesman told Daily Mirror China communicated to the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry three months ago about its readiness to discuss how to address the debt issue with the Chinese banks.
Sri Lankaโ€™s total bilateral debt was estimated at $6.2 billion at the end of 2020 by the IMF.
Japan and China hold the largest shares. India has provided around USD 4 billion to help keep Sri Lankaโ€™s economy afloat, mainly through credit lines and swaps this year. Sri Lanka also has $14 billion of international sovereign bond debt. Chinaโ€™s strategy to lure countries into its debt trap beguiled Sri Lanka to be dependent heavily on China for economic support, and military equipment. Sri Lanka also took loans in bulk for various development projects.

But during the recent crisis in the country, when for months, Sri Lanka has been pleading with China for more support, but to no avail, Channel News Asia reported.
Beijing has done little to help the country through its devastating economic meltdown, providing far less aid than India.

India moved in to alleviate Sri Lankaโ€™s desperate food and fuel shortages with over USD 3.8 billion of assistance. Beijing, by contrast, provided a relatively paltry USD 74 million.
While India extended a currency swap arrangement with Sri Lanka in April, the Peopleโ€™s Bank of China has suspended its own swap line because the country lacks sufficient foreign exchange reserves.
China has also expressed a reluctance to write off its Sri Lankan loans, playing into accusations of stinginess when it comes to debt renegotiations. Chinaโ€™s record in this area has shown a refusal to negotiate debt relief with other creditors and a preference for engaging in secretive, bilateral loan restructurings.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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