Indian NE rebels pay protection money to Myanmar army

NE rebels pay protection money to Myanmar army
Seven Sisters Post

A file photo of PLA cadres undergoing training inside a thick jungle on the Indo-Myanmar border. Photo: David Mayum

Pankaj Borthakur, Guwahati (May 30): The Myanmar government’s fresh commitment to drive out Northeast militants from its soil is likely to come a cropper once again.

Radio intercepts by an Intelligence agency have revealed that Northeast rebel groups regularly pay security forces in Myanmar with cash or kind as some sort of protection money. In return the neighbouring country’s army stays away from the rebel bases.

Highly-placed Intelligence sources told Seven Sisters Post — which is in possession of transcripts of the radio intercepts — that the presence of Northeast rebels has been a source of financial largesse for different sections of the Myanmar government including the civilian populace. The sources also pointed out that the financial benefit was one of the reasons for Myanmarese army’s reluctance to initiate sustained action against camps of Northeast militants.

During his just-concluded visit to Myanmar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh managed to elicit a ‘firm commitment’ from President Thein Sein that Naypyidaw will not allow its soil to be used by Northeast rebel groups.

However, intercepts of radio communication between rebels and local Myanmarese army and police officials beam a different picture: Manipur-based groups have been shelling out money regularly to keep their protectors in good humour. The sources said that donations are given on a monthly or annual basis and sometimes to commanders when they are transferred out of their units.

In September, 2009, the rebel outfits based in Mintha — which included PLA, UNLF, KYKL, Prepak and KCP — were each ordered to pay 50000 kyats per month by the army. In the same month, PLA’s 252 battalion and UNLF’s 292 battalion rewarded the outgoing commander at Phaisat with two lakh kyats and a camera. In Myanmar, almost all camps of Northeast militants are located in Sagaing Division, the region adjacent to Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Often called a ‘no man’s land’, Sagaing is the least-developed in Myanmar with hardly any infrastructure and facilities for health and education. Army and police battalions posted in this region are also not adequately equipped and it’s no wonder that rebel groups have also been forced to supply sundry items at times.

On one occasion, UNLF had to supply a huge quantity of uniforms to the army units in Taka Gumsa and Thanan. On another, both PLA and UNLF provided electrical equipment and assistance in the construction of a playground for the army in Tuambual. Not to be left behind, Myanmarese police in the border town of Tamu and local villagers came up with their own demands on the rebels which ranged from motorcycles to construction of roads.

The sources added that the demand in Myanmar has a ripple effect in the increasing extortion by insurgents in Manipur and also the spread of other ingenious methods like ‘Phunga Marup’ (micro finance) by the UNLF to generate additional resources.

Informed sources said that the pressure on the groups is not ‘unbearable’ since there is a huge gap in the exchange rates between the Indian and Myanmarese currencies. One rupee is equivalent to approximately 15 Burmese kyat.

Camps in Myanmar were set up by Northeast rebels as early as the 1950s when Hijam Irabot resigned as a minister in Manipur and floated the Red Guard Army.

Subsequently, the Naga National Council also established camps but the first big training facility was in Kesan Chanlam (Challam Basti) by the NSCN which emerged in 1980 and where other groups like the Ulfa and PLA also trained. Government officials are of the view that the demand by the Myanmarese officials on the militants has been steadily increasing over the years.

“The rebels and the officials are in need of each other. Militants need to retain their bases in Myanmar and the officials would never want to lose such a lucrative source of income,” a highly-placed official said.

Not surprisingly, another intercept of a conversation between a high-ranking Myanmarese army official posted at Chikka and a senior cadre of PLA exposed the commitment given to the rebels that they would be informed beforehand if the Indian army were to attack their camps.

Camps and training facilities continue to thrive and it remains to be seen if the recent commitment given to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by Naypyidaw actually makes a difference.