From correspondents in India, 01:37 PM IST

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has urged New Delhi to declare the continuing separatist insurgencies in the northeast as a national problem and adopt a holistic approach to the tackle the region's conflicts.

'The chief ministers of the seven northeastern states have been demanding that the insurgency problem be declared a national problem considering the fact that the region is surrounded by many countries with several anti-India forces active,' the chief minister said.

'The central government needs to take up the issue with the neighbouring countries very seriously,' Sarkar told IANS in an interview, while stressing the need for harnessing the abundant natural and human resources available in the region as a means to combat insurgency.

'There is need for a comprehensive strategy by the states and the central government to tap these resources in a bid to create an atmosphere of peace and development.'

According to Sarkar, the success of peace talks with two of the most influential separatist groups in the region - the outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) - could have a bearing on the overall insurgency scenario in the region.

'If the peace talks with the ULFA and NSCN-IM produce success, this will undoubtedly provide opportunity in tackling the complex problems of insurgency in the other affected states,' the chief minister said.

He said some 850 tribal militants belonging to the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have surrendered to the government in the past three years.

'The militant outfits are plagued by financial crisis and internal dissensions, which have acted as major dampers on recruitment of new activists,' the chief minister said.

Claiming that insurgency in Tripura had shown a downward trend in recent years, Sarkar said his government's pro-people policies had alienated the rebels from the masses.

'The ceaseless ideological and political campaigns coupled with all out efforts for the development of the tribal and remote areas have been encouraging people to isolate the extremists from their base areas,' the chief minister said.

Insurgency related violence in Tripura has claimed the lives of 21 people this year compared to 228 killed in 2003. Likewise, incidents of kidnappings have also come down from 62 last year to 20 this year. Insurgents killed 10 security personnel this year compared to 39 troopers in 2003.

Sarkar said Tripura rebels have training camps in the Moulovi Bazar and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) areas in Bangladesh that shares a 856 km long border with the state.

'Mutual understanding and alliance between the extremist groups in the northeastern region and the ISI (Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence) based in Bangladesh have added another dimension to this problem,' Sarkar said.

- Sujit Chakraborty

(Staff Writer, © IANS)