Peace Coalition of Northeast India Launched

Dimapur, Dec 14 : The Peace Coalition of Northeast India (PCNI) has been launched with its headquarters at Dimapur and hosted by PRO RURAL, during the four days training on “Conflict Transformation”, which just concluded on December 10 at the AIDA training centre, Don Bosco, Dimapur.

The four days training on conflict transformation was facilitated by a team of trainers from the Ploughshares Institute, Connecticut, USA. Paul Lokho, Director of Pro Rural and a veteran development activist in the Northeastern Region is the convener of the coalition which has members comprised of NGOs, Governmental agencies, churches, academic Institutions, civil society organizations, peace movements and individual activists.

PCNI will bring together front runners in communal peace and harmony, conflict participants/ leaders, negotiators/ mediators (church, government, organizations and activists) and media workers to promote peace and communal harmony in the Northeast India, stated a press note.

It also stated that a selective group of 32 participants from Nagaland, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have undergone the four days training on personal, inter-personal, inter-community and societal peace skills.

The resource team, lead by Prof. Dr. Robert Evans and included Dr. Alice Evans and Yan Yan Yip of Hong Kong, China, bringing with them a wealth of global experiences to conduct an engaging and absorbing training that evoked good response from the participants of the training. The trainees were awarded certificates of completion from the Ploughshares Institute, USA.

Moreover, the note mentioned that the Ploughshares Institute is a catalyst for social change that has been proactively addressing social concerns and conflicts through education, research, and service for nearly twenty five years. 

In partnership with an international Advisory Council and collaborative agencies on five continents, the Institute staff designs and implements replicable projects to address emerging social needs and promote a more just, sustainable, peaceful world community.

via Morung Express

Talks With Kuki Rebels on PC’s Manipur Agenda

Imphal, Dec 14 : Union home minister P. Chidambaram will visit Manipur for two days from tomorrow to review the law and order and the progress of the ground work for holding talks with the Kuki militant groups that signed a tripartite suspension of operations with the state government and the Centre.

The home minister will arrive at the Tulihal airport here by an air force plane from Guwahati in the afternoon. On arrival, he will meet chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, senior leaders of security agencies and civil officials at the secretariat to review the law and order situation in the state.

He will call on Governor Gurbachan Jagat at Raj Bhavan in the evening, following which he is scheduled to address students at G.P. Women’s College here.

On Wednesday, Chidambaram will visit Sendran near Moirang in Bishnupur district by helicopter. The place provides a bird’s eye view of the sprawling Loktak Lake.

He will then head for Churachandpur district where he will visit the designated camps of the 19 Kuki militant outfits, which signed the suspension of operations. The construction of the camps is almost complete and the militants have moved into them.

The home minister’s visit to the designated camps is expected to herald the start of a political dialogue that the 19 Kuki militant groups are pressing for. The have been demanding the creation of a Kuki homeland (state) under the purview of the Constitution.

Chidambaram is expected to get first hand information about the aspirations of the Kuki groups when he meets them.

The home minister will leave Imphal for Delhi the same day in the afternoon.

Chidambaram’s visit comes in the wake of the tripartite talks held among officials of the Union home ministry and state government and a delegation of the United Naga Council at Senapati, the district headquarters, on December 3.

The meeting discussed the UNC’s demand for “an alternative administrative arrangement” (outside the administrative purview of Manipur) for Nagas living in the state.

Sources said officials present at the meet had briefed the home minister about the talks. V.K. Bansal, secretary (internal security) in the Union home ministry, who led the Centre’s team in the talks, had told reporters immediately after the meeting that he would convey the UNC’s demands to the higher authorities.

Chidambaram is expected to take up the tripartite talk issue during his security review meeting with the chief minister tomorrow. However, the Ibobi Singh government had clarified after the Senapati meeting that his government would not compromise on the state’s boundary.

Irresponsibility On Assam Wildlife Preservation

By Nava Thakuria

Two investigations into the devastation of some of the world's most endangered species in Northeast India appear to be stalled. Although India's Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh himself has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe of the smuggling of tiger parts, so far nothing has happened. The minister's concerns were raised after the seizure of 20 kg of tiger bones worth Rs 50,00 thousand by customs officials at the Guwahati international airport in Assam.

In the second case, the Assam government has ducked a CBI investigation into continuing one-horn rhino poaching in the state. Two years ago, following a huge public outcry, the Assam state government, led by Tarun Gogoi, said he had no objection to such an enquiry. But both probes, preferably by the CBI, are yet to get started.

In the meantime, October and November brought worrying news for wildlife lovers. Four elephant died in central Assam, apparently from grazing on pesticide-laden plants in tea gardens. In another incident, a group of villagers were suspected of torturing of an elephant baby to death.

The first incident provoked Ramesh to write an Oct. 12 letter (to Gogoi asking an immediate investigation. His concern was carried by the State Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain and ordered a probe (not by the CBI).

Meanwhile, the death of an elephant calf in the last week of October shockingly in front of forest officials alarmed the situation. The video footage, telecast through various news channels, showed a group of villagers of Gubah in Morigaon district surrounded the calf and finally the baby elephant died due to injuries. Initially it was understood that the villagers were responsible for the slaughtering. Even the State government asked for a detailed enquiry into the incident and already declared that those found guilty would be punished under the law. Later however found that the incident was reported in the media with distorted facts. The baby elephant was actually ill and so it was left out from the herd. The local people wanted to catch the baby elephant following the direction of forest officers. The motive was to provide treatment to the calf. But it was reported in such a way that the local villagers of the region turned beasts and they showed no sympathy or love to wild animals.

"Even some NGOs have made irritating comments against the people of Assam as not being passionate to wildlife, which we strongly condemn. The Assamese people have proved their love and high admiration to wildlife beyond doubts since time immemorial," said Soumyadeep Datta, an Assam based environment and wildlife activist.

Speaking to this writer, Mr Dutta, who is the director of Nature's Beckon, also added that they had already started a separate investigation into the incident, outcome of which would be made public on time.

There was good news as well. The local police in early November could break a racket of elephant smugglers and seized two wild elephants. Following the tip-off from a conservation group Green Heart Nature, the Kokrajhar district police could even arrested five persons involved the illegal business.

The district police chief PK Dutta suspected that nearly 100 wild elephants had already been smuggled out of Assam in the last five years. He also informed the media that the smugglers caught the wild elephants and after taming them, those were transferred as domestic elephants, which are later used for various purposes. "An adult elephant can bring around Rs. 30-40 lakh to the group," added Dutta.

Assam is home to nearly 5,500 wild elephants (the national count is not more than 10,000). The last elephant census in Assam in 2007 shows that the State has around 1,500 tamed elephants. These tamed elephants are either in the possession of State forest department or some local businessman, who nurture the passion as a status symbol.

The wildlife activists of Assam earlier played an important to stop a hurried attempt by the State forest department to burn down over thousand rhino horns. Initially it was believed to be a historic decision of the State forest department to destroy the stored rhino horns in its custody as a message to the world that rhino horns do not have any aphrodisiac value.

Alemla Jamir, An Aspiring Model From Nagaland

Alemla Jamir, an aspiring model from Nagaland, is passionate about her profession and wants to be a top-notch model.

Alemla is 20-year-old and belongs to a tribe and hails from Dimapur.

She recently participated in the Naga Fashion Week that was held in Dimapur. I feel more confident walking on the ramp and have done shows even at national level. My dream is to walk the ramp for Lakme Fashion Week," said Alemla. long with modeling, Alemla is also pursuing her studies.

"I see a lot of potential in Alemla and she has got lots of talent," Naro, a friend of Alemla.

Taking an example of successful models and fashion designers like Moikangana Dutta, Atsu Sekhose, Sangeeta Phukon from the northeast, parents in the region are more open to letting their children opt for modeling as a full time career.

"If she likes to go for this industry, I am in support of her decision. And I will support her morally, financially and in every possibility to help her become a successful model," said Lepdem Jamir, Alemla's father.

Manipur Students Promote Integration

Imphal, Dec 13 : Over 600 students from 9 districts of Manipur participated in the meet held at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, the main objective of which was to promote integration among many tribes of the State.

The 4-day long event kicked off with a colourful parade by the student contingent that comprised of students from Kuki, Hmar, Meitei and other tribes.

The interaction helped bring the youth of different districts closer to each other.

"Through this annual school meet, an opportunity has been given to the students to feel integrated as they all stay in Manipur. They live together here and eat together, so they feel united and can work towards the development," said T. Ranjit Singh, the Manipur Civil Service (Education) director.tudents participated in various sporting disciplines like football, kho-kho, mukna, athletic, badminton, and marathon.

Many non-sporting events like elocution, quiz, cultural events, painting and symposiums were also held.

"I feel nice to come here and meet our brothers and sisters and get their fellowship," said Shimrei Khan, a student from Ukhrul.

"I feel very happy and thank authorities for initiating such a program and I am in total support of such activities," said LUCY, another student from Senapati.

The 3rd Annual School Meet-2010 organised by the Manipur Education Department in coordination with various schools of the region here recently.

385 Development Projects Delayed in Northeast India

New Delhi, Dec 13 : As many as 385 development projects have been delayed in the northeast due to reasons ranging from weather to the law and order situation. Of these, 177 have been delayed by three years or more. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region

B.K. Handique said a total of 909 development projects were underway in the northeast, of which 385 were delayed.

Out of the 909 project, 208 have been delayed by more than a year but less than three years.

"The main reason for the delay includes limitation of technical and professional expertise, the restricted working season due to prolonged rainy season in the northeastern region and the prevailing law and order situation in some areas of the region," Handique said.

"The projects are implemented by state governments," he added.
The northeastern region comprises the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

U.S. Woman Trademarks The Word 'Hon'

Cafe Hon owner defends herself against criticism that she trademarked the word 'hon' for financial gain

Dense Whiting says she'll sue those who use her oval logo

By Larry Perl

Denise Whiting, owner of Cafe Hon and founder of the annual HonFest celebration in Hampden, said she thinks controversy about her branding the word 'hon' -- including registering it as a federal trademark -- is being blown out of proportion by merchants and the media. Whiting is pictured here at last June's HonFest. (2010 File photo by Kitty Charlton)

Denise Whiting, owner of Cafe Hon and founder of the annual HonFest celebration in Hampden, said she thinks controversy about her branding the word ‘hon’ — including registering it as a federal trademark — is being blown out of proportion by merchants and the media.

“Am I going to go after everybody that uses the word ‘hon’? No,” she said.

But she said that if people try to sell merchandise with her trademarked oval logo on it, “I’ll sue their pants off.”

She also said the trademarking is “old news,” because she began to register “hon” in various categories, known as classes, nearly 10 years ago. She said she has registered the word as a trademark when it is used on merchandise such as T-shirts, coffee mugs and bumper stickers, among other categories.

“I have done nothing wrong,” she said.

Whiting was responding to criticism by some merchants and users of the word “hon” that she is monopolizing a word in the public domain for her own financial gain.

The outcry followed a story in the Messenger on Thursday about Whiting taking over Hometown Girl, a gift and novelty store on The Avenue, and renaming it HONtown.

Whiting said in the story that HONtown — which is now partly a purveyor of old-style candies — would help brand the ‘hon’ name.

She also said in the story that she had trademarked the word and had entered into a licensing agreement with the Maryland Transit Administration to allow the MTA to use the ‘hon’ logo in advertisements for the MTA’s new fare card, the Charm Card.

She said her licensing agreement with the MTA in July is the newer news.

But Whiting’s mention of having registered the word took many in the community by surprise Thursday. Some regular users of the word were irate; others called their attorneys.

William Tandy, who publishes a longtime zine called “Smile, Hon, You’re in Baltimore!” said the publication has been registered with the Library of Congress since 2004.

“I’ve spoken with my attorney and I have no concerns regarding the good standing of the publication,” Tandy said in an e-mail.

But Tandy criticized what he said is Whiting’s “appropriation of a common, colloquial term of endearment, used by countless Baltimoreans for as many years, for no reason beyond personal financial gain.”

“While I do not begrudge Ms. Whiting her right to pursue a comfortable living,” Tandy went on, “she has clearly overstepped her bounds in her pursuit of proprietary lordship over common language.”

Benn Ray, president of the Hampden Village Merchants Association and owner of the store Atomic Books, said facetiously he might try to register the words “atomic” and “Hampden.”
“A hon is a type of person,” Ray said. “It doesn’t even belong to Hampden.”

But Elissa Strati, owner of Avenue Antiques, sided wth Whiting.

“I’m not concerned in the least,” Strati said. “From my standpoint, it makes perfect sense that she’s trying to protect something she built.”

That was Whiting’s point in telling an anecdote about confronting someone who was selling hon-themed merchandise at the BWI airport. They reached  a deal that resulted in her removing the merchandise, then giving much of it away to people in the Inner Harbor.

But she said she used some of the merchandise to show people in a speech she gave to the group National Main Streets. The topic of the speech, she said, was “protecting what you have.”

Although she pooh-pooed the controversy, she said it has an upside.
“This really brands the city with ‘hon’,” she said.

Swedish Band 'Meshuggha' to Open 14th Rock Festival

New Delhi, Dec 13 : Swedish metal masters 'Meshuggah' will headline the 14th edition of 'Fuel Great Indian Rock' festival.

Other than Meshuggah, the other bands performing at the event are TesseracT (UK), Purified In Blood (Norway), and Norwegian metal giants Enslaved.

The festival is scheduled in Delhi on December 18 and 19.

Meshuggah, named one of the ten most important hard and heavy bands by Rolling Stone, is known for its innovative musical style, complex, polymetered song structures and polyrhythms.

Some of its famous numbers include 'Destroy erase improve', 'Nothing', 'Thirtythree' and 'Contradictions Collapse'.