Too many cooks …
Sir: This has reference to the Opiate, titled `Too many cooks…’ (OP, June 13). Insurgent camps are known to be located in Myanmar along the border and as per the Indian Army spokesperson, the raids were on the Indo/Myanmar border.
Though it is true that militant camps were inside Myanmar, the Army was being very careful in its briefing, obviously not to ruffle Myanmar’s sensibilities. It was the electronic media and the statement by I &B minister Col RS Rathore which played up the cross-border aspect. This might have had political clearance. And that was enough for the electronic media to go gaga over what happened.
Insurgent groups especially NSCN (K) — the Khaplang group — have camps inside Myanmar as their cadres are mainly from the Konyaks (tribe) who are present inside Myanmar as in Nagaland. It is known that they grease the palms of the Myanmar military at the local levels to permit them to have camps. In the past, when the India-Myanmar relations were strained, it was our officially approved policy to bolster these insurgent groups. Myanmar army, at the request of India, had in the past, also destroyed militant camps inside Myanmar.
The operation to bust two camps inside Myanmar was well- planned and executed by the Army and the Air force. Excellent real time intelligence might have been available. The operation could not have been launched without political clearance. Indian armed forces have full capabilities, but political will was often lacking. Myanmar would have been informed of the operations; the current warmth in relationship would have helped. But it was a folly on the part of the government to have given it so much publicity. Myanmar was thus forced to make a public statement denying such an operation inside its territory.
The operation speaks volumes for the professional capabilities of our forces and for the inter services cooperation and coordination.
Operations have been carried out in the past across the borders; some of us have led raids into Bhutan against Bodo militant camps and to rescue abducted tea garden officials. We never sought permission even from our government for such limited cross border tasks. Those were not given publicity too.
It is also reported that an ex Col of the Peoples Liberation Army located in Myanmar was active to get the insurgent groups together as also supplying arms. India needs to get to the bottom of this, is it officially China backed or is it a surrogate mercenary? If it is the former, then it is back to days of the 80s and earlier when China propped up the NE militants. If so, this has to be nipped in the bud.
Brig Suresh Nair (Retired), D 30 NALCO Township, Damanjodi, KORAPUT
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