Sowing the seeds of maim and minds of sorrow

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E-Pao! Opinion - Sowing the seeds of maim and minds of sorrow

By: Donn Morgan Kipgen *

Over the past five months or so, gory incidents pertaining to land-mines, deadly booby-traps and other IEDs bloody returns in god forsaken areas of southern parts of Churachandpur district have taken miserable tolls. Scores of blissfully innocent CHIKIMS' villagers have been killed or seriously wounded and maimed on monthly basis in these far flung areas.

Most unfortunately, many (claymore) mines and IED traps have been planted reportedly by valley-based militants as a defensive or deterrent purposes to inflict heavy casualties upon the advancing or raiding army/AR troops.

Apart from Naga UG outfits, no other hill-based tribal UG militant, groups have an access to those costly anti-armour and anti-personnel land mines. Yes, indeed, booby-traps and land-mines are a part and parcel of full-scale jungle warfare to ambush SF personnel or warning system against sneak attacks upon UG militants' hide-outs in unpopulated jungle areas.

The main problem for CHIKIM's villagers in Churachandpur interior and its bordering areas is the very fact that anti-personnel mines and IEDs are being planted around the vicinity or near villages, without the knowledge of unwarry villagers. All the approach roads and jungle trials have been systematically mined as defensive weapons by the valley-based militants, as reported by many village authorities repeatedly, ever since the fall of Sajik Tampak.

We all have heard and read grisly tales day in and day out in the newspapers and radios. The death tolls is still counting. Whosoever planted such lethal devices ought to keep in mind that the use of landmines is inhumane.

Any right thinking UG militants should not try to compete with or out do the brutal atrocities committed by rogue units of armed forces establishments. In a shockingly bizarre news reports, an innocent CHIKIM villager was just about killed when he was forcibly used as a 'smart deminer' by central SF personnel when the mine exploded as he tapped upon a planted booby-trap bomb.

Landmines are primed to be exploded with a weight-pressure. So inhumane are the badly mines, especially anti-personnel mines, that most of the western world's regular army have restricted its usage. The anti-personnel mines (APM) have not been used by the coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Indian army engaged in CIOPs are not issued with landmines and APMs since UG militants have no battle tanks nor armoured personnel carriers (APC) and cannot be used as offensive weapons. Yes, Claymore mines might be used in special circumstances during CIOPs while laying and ambush upon a large column of armed militants. The strict restriction was one of the most noble achievements of the late Lady Diana.

Even with sophisticated mine-detectors, casually rates of experts military deminers are quite high. Now, do the UG militants have keep gridmaps on the exact placements of landmines in CCpur district, especially in Lungthulen-Senvon-Thanlon areas where no farmers nor hunters dare to venture out because of haphazard laying of mines?

Are they of paramount and strategic importance to defensive security measures for 'mobile' UG militants? Are they, i.e landmines and IED booby traps in farming areas, the ultimate answers to counter or contain the advancing movements of SF personnel in the deep interiors of the Churachandpur district?

However, ever since the flushing-out semi-covert military operations at the Sajik Tampak safe-havens, the majority of the innocent victims of APM/booby traps have far outnumbered that of the Army/AR according to various news reports. Units of Madras Regt took part in the said operation.

Since, the Army and Central Paramilitary forces are not given APMs/ Claymores, they are not experts in handling landmines. Moreover, the SF personnel automatically are not issued with mine-detection devices and are not trained to handle or defuse any detected APMs. This led to the using of 'reluctant' innocent village as mine-sweepers with a long-handle broom or sticks etc. by the SP personnel which is most inhumane than the UG militants who planted them where they should not be laid at the first place.

The banning of using landmines or APMs in peace time armed operations all over the world by the UN must have to be honoured too by all UG outfits, especially in inhabited areas. The APMs and hollow-bullets are the most inhumane devices, other than nuclear bombs and gas-warfares, and thus 'banned' internationally.

The pitiful and woeful tales and sickening images of Claymored CHIKIMS of Churachandpur district, plus the rising unnecessary dead tolls must have to address unitedly by one and all. And the Army/AR authorities must also have to call out the fame Madras Sappers with mine-detectors and defusing equipments for their own safety too before things get worsen.

In offensive military operations like the CIOPs in Manipur, there is no need for planting mines and booby-traps since they have to be left behind if the reports of SF personnel laying mines are to be believed. Even if the Army/AR resort to laying mines or any sophisticated booby-traps as a fail-safe security measures or deadly warning system, then they need to have expert or trained sappers to defuse them whenever they advance from one secured areas to another ones.

Actually, using of landmines is a big disadvantage for the SP personnel themselves since they would not only endanger their own lives while retreating but dangerous too for any reinforcement troops in hilly areas. The most important measure against randomly laid landmines by the UG outfits is to provide a mine-detector to each rifle squad along with expert deminers.

The interior or unadministered areas Churachandpur district and its adjoining areas are said to be little Vietnam of the 21st century. How could thousands of hapless CHIKIM folks be wrong in the face of hundreds of APMs limb shattering victims?

The stark communication gaps and suppressed informations by the law enforcement authorities on this near unbelievable count for so long a period can only be compared with the diplomatic and doctored accounts sent to the White House and the Congress from US military advisors stationed at Saigon, Vietnam.

The American general public came to realised the stunning death tolls inflicted upon the innocent Vietnamese victims, i.e over 10 lakhs civilians, as a direct results of APMs and Claymore Landmines planted haphazardly by the Communist Viet Congs as defensive purpose, only 10 years after the death of President JF Kennedy in 1963.

Of course, the Americans did planted thousands of APMs and booby-traps which claimed round about 2 lakhs innocent Vietnamese while suffering not less than 20,000 to 30,000 GI casualties.

Another example of sowing the deadly seeds of haphazardly but methodically planted assorted landmines, most of which have been banned now, is the blissfully volatile land called Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot, the invading Vietnamese soldiers and pro-democracy forces had laid over a million landmines which were similar to the ones used in interior Churachandpur district; along with the same vintage M-16s, AK-47s and G-3 rifles used by some powerful UG militants operating in Manipur.

Now, who where the UN military task-force unit given the honour of demining inhabited areas of Cambodia after the fall of both Pol Pot-Vietnam regimes in early 1990's?

This specialised search and demine or destroy task was given to none other than the proud Col Howman's Assam Regiment of the Indian Army. Now, with proper training and mine-detectors, the Army/AR can sanitise or demine hostile areas of Churachandpur district and elsewhere for it is their professional duties to give real sense of security to the CHIKIM folks.

If the ARC boy could do it with success in war torn Cambodia, why couldn't the 57th Mountain and AR boys do it with their own limbs and detecting devices!

Naturally, it should be the expert-jobs of the 21 Paras (SF) of Pastor Jamkholet Khongsai fame who ought to detect, neutralise, demine or defuse APMs and other well-laid booby-traps in the highest tradition of airborne brigade.

Yes, of course, the retreating or defending UG militants would not have prepared the regulation 'plantation' maps but that does not mean that the SF personnel should ignore the hazardous threats of landmines laid during the course of 'Operation All Clear'.

It is their job to ensure security for innocent civilians. Moreover, it is the undeniable fault of the State Govt and its law enforcement agencies for neglecting deeper parts of hill areas which gave UG militant outfits safe-havens, especially in CCpur areas.

No proper medical facilities have been so far provided to the landmine victims, nor full compensations have given to all the unfortunate victims.

The State Govt needs to address this gory landmines issue on war footing, before it becomes an emergency.

Donn Morgan Kipgen wrote this article for The Sangai Express.
This article was webcasted on February 04th, 2006

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