Despite the declaration of two-thirds of the state as a disturbed area, induction of the Army and the imposition of curfew, the state suffered mass killing, looting, arson and assault.
Tripura Violence
The disturbed state of Tripura today witnessed death and devastation on a scale unparalleled in the history of independent India. Despite the declaration of two-thirds of the state as a disturbed area, induction of the Army and the imposition of curfew, the state suffered mass killing, looting, arson and assault. The magnitude of the frenzy can be gauged from the fact that the riots among tribals and non-tribals claimed 308 human lives and resulted in injuries to 268 others during the last 24 hours.
NE Governor Exit
The governor of Northeastern states, L P Singh, is relinquishing office by the end of this week. Singh is understood to have addressed a communication to New Delhi expressing his desire to be relieved of his responsibilities immediately. The Centre has reportedly conceded his request. It is learnt that henceforth the Northeast will have two governors instead of one: Assam and Meghalaya will have a common governor while there will be a separate one for Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura. H C Sarin will replace Singh as governor of Assam and Meghalaya.
OPEC Prices
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to set its oil price at $32 a barrel but left individual countries free to wait to raise their price to that level, Iranian oil minister Ali Akbar told reporters. Exporters selling high-quality oil for prices above $32 a barrel would have to “freeze” their prices for the remainder of 1980 under the proposal. The quality of oil depends on several factors including sulphur content, lightness and the freight charges. Persian Gulf Arab exporters selling at about $30 a barrel would raise their prices two dollars, sources said. The package would raise average OPEC oil prices by almost 7 per cent. It would be more costly for consumers because under the plan, sellers of high-quality oil would freeze prices rather than lower them.
Fresh contingents of the army, the Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Police were airlifted from Gauhati to Agartala to reinforce the security forces to quell the riots among tribals and non-tribals. The riots have claimed about 400 human lives, resulted in injuries to 528 others, reduced 25 villages to ashes, rendered over 30,000 homeless, compelled over one lakh to take refuge in 50-odd makeshift camps and affected practically half of the 18-lakh population of Tripura. A battalion of regular troops, three battalions of the BSF and several companies of the Assam Rifles and the CRP were airlifted to help the authorities in restoring law and order in the state.
Loco Strike Spreads
The loco STAFF of the Delhi division claimed that their counterparts in three more divisions — Ferozepur, Allahabad and Muradabad — had joined the strike. Three more divisions — Lucknow, Jodhpur and Bikaner — are expected to join later. However, R K Nateshan, general manager of Northern Railway, denied the claim and said the strike was confined to the Delhi division. Meanwhile, there has been no improvement in the passenger services in the Delhi division on the fifth day of the strike by the loco staff.
Kabul Under Siege
Kabul has been sealed off by Russian troops but the city itself is quiet, BBC reported. The Radio said that a massive military operation had been launched against the Afghan rebels, a few miles north of Kabul. Radio Pakistan had reported earlier that some 40,000 Soviet troops had ringed Kabul amid reports of mounting tension. “Troublemakers”, the Radio said, had entered the capital city and were distributing leaflets. Earlier reports had spoken of fierce fighting between insurgents and government troops in the mountainous areas around Kabul. AP adds that acts of civil disobedience were mounting in Kabul as rebel moves and Soviet counter-attacks north of the Afghan capital raised tensions among residents.
Although the disturbances in West Tripura were described by Zail Singh, Union home minister, as a “massacre”, the magnitude of the tragedy that befell thousands of people in half a dozen villages was hardly revealed. It was a planned attack by the militant group of the Upajati Yuba Samiti of Tripura on the Hindu villages where thousands of refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan had settled down some 20 years ago. The carnage followed an incident in which a tribal boy was assaulted by some shopkeepers in Lembuchara Bazar. Within minutes, a mob of a few thousand tribals attacked the bazar, ransacked shops and killed a few persons.
No President’s Rule
Union home minister, Zail Singh, dismissed rather curtly a demand by his party colleague, Eduardo Faleiro, that the Centre should dismiss the Marxist government in Tripura, and impose President’s rule following the widespread killing and arson there. “It is not a good thing to weaken an elected state government at a delicate time like this, let alone dismiss it,” he said. “On such occasions we have to rise above party loyalties. The party may sometimes have to suffer but the national interest should not be harmed.” The Union government had not even considered imposing President’s rule in troubled Tripura, he said. Singh was replying to supplementaries to a calling attention motion on the Tripura mass killings.
Cambodia Violence
Khmer Rouge guerillas have massacred 150 to 200 rail passengers and wounded at least 300 more in a daylight attack on an overcrowded train about 70 kilometres northwest of Phnom Penh, Thai press reports said. The reports quoted survivors of the attack as saying that guerillas, hidden in a bush, blew up the locomotive with a rocket and opened heavy machine gun fire on passengers clinging to the sides and top of the 70-car train. Occupants of the train compartments were also among the victims, the witnesses said.indianexpress