Violent protests over Naga ceasefire

Anger has been rising over the ceasefire with the rebels

By Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta

The authorities in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur say more than 100 people were injured in protests over a ceasefire with ethnic Naga rebels.

The state police chief, AS Siddiqui, told the BBC that the situation in the state's capital, Imphal, worsened on Sunday night when more than 30,000 protestors took to the streets in defiance of a curfew.

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They tried to break through the security cordon around the Governor's House, prompting police to fire teargas shells and rubber bullets.

Nearly 20 policemen were injured in the clashes.

Several hundred Manipuris also staged a protest in Delhi on Monday, burning an effigy of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The government said earlier this month that it would reconsider its decision to extend a four-year ceasefire deal with separatist tribal rebels in Nagaland to include Manipur and other north-eastern states.

Strike

People were back on the streets in Manipur on Monday to enforce a 24-hour strike called by the United Committee for Manipur (UCM).

Many fear the rebels will extend their hold

The house of Manipur's former power Minister, K Thoijam, was set on fire.

The strike paralysed life throughout the state including some of the hill districts, where thousands of frightened Nagas are taking shelter after the agitation against a ceasefire intensified last month.

Nagas flee

A Naga human rights leader, Aram Pamei, told the BBC that more than 15,000 Nagas had already fled the Imphal Valley to take shelter in the hills after the protests intensified.

But UCM leaders say their movement is not directed against any community and they claimed no Naga has been attacked so far, despite what they described as very provocative statements by the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

In a separate incident, three Indian paramilitary personnel were killed and two others injured in a landmine explosion in Lacu village in north Cachar district on Sunday night.

Police suspect the involvement of the NSCN, which has warned that its fighters will return to the jungles if Delhi goes back on the ceasefire.

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