The forests of India are now under a novel threat posed by the extremist outfits. Starting from the Hizbul Mujahideen to Naxals (the Left-wing extremists), all find the forest their safest hideouts to continue their anti-social and anti-national activities including planning and deployment. According to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), half a million crimes are reported from India’s forest areas every year and about 30% of it, is related to militancy in these areas.

After the Thailand government’s rejection of civil rights groups demand to soften emergency decree in the three restive southern provinces, the security situation has been deteriorated further and tensions remain at all time high. The decree in question has become a source of growing fear and hostility between the populace in these violence-hit provinces and government forces since a state of emergency was clamped in July last year.

After months of investigations, authorities in Bangladesh slapped a 40 year jail sentence to three militants of the outlawed Islamic outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) blamed for series of bombings in the country in 2005. Two convicts— Mohammad Awal and Ataur Sunny— have confessed their involvement in the 17 August countrywide bombings that killed three people and left over 150 injured. They also confessed that two British nationals financed the August serial bombings.

The fragile truce, effective from February 23, 2002, between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE was finally shattered after the Tamil Tiger rebels blew up a Sri Lankan navy Dvora class gunboat outside Trincomalee harbour on January 5, 2006. The suicide attack was the work of an LTTE owned explosives-packed fishing boat that rammed into the naval vessel resulting in 13 sailors missing and presumed dead. Earlier, three sailors aboard a smaller naval patrol craft were killed more than two weeks ago in a sea battle with rebels off the northwestern town of Mannar.

Chhattisgarh played second fiddle to neighboring Andhra Pradesh in the lists of worst affected Maoist or Naxalite states in the year 2005. The state experienced an escalation of violence since the beginning of the euphemistically called Salva Zudoom (peace initiative) in June last year. Data on Maoist violence compiled by the State police revealed that during 2005, 130 villagers, 39 police personnel lost their lives and 70 more were injured in Maoist attacks.

Bhutan’s King is to hand over power to the elected government in 2008. First ever new Constitution, drafted in March 2005, aims to set up a two party democracy after a century of absolute monarchy put in place with British help in 1907. Leaders of Bhutan’s political parties set up in exile (in neighboring India and Nepal) have welcomed King Jigme Singye Wangchuk’s announcement to abdicate the throne in 2008.

The recent announcements by Madhav Kumar Nepal, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal – United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), that Maoists are willing to give up arms and join the mainstream necessitates neighbouring India to have a fresh look at the crisis. According to him the Maoists are ready to lay down their arms under UN supervision if there is a consensus for the election to a constituent assembly.

Wasting no time after the ban was imposed in Andhra Pradesh, Naxals launched an attack in Chhattishgarh early this month by triggering a landmine, which left at least 23 security personnel dead. This blast which took place near Padeda village in Dantewada district was powerful enough to awake the State government from deep slumber and complacency. A ban on the Communist Party of India –Maoist (CPI-Maoist), the perpetrator, and its front organizations followed after an emergency meeting of the Cabinet in the State capital Raipur.

It took not less than thirteen months for the Andhra Pradesh government to realize that its much-publicized honeymoon with the Naxal groups was a damp squib. Instead, the Naxals used the period as an opportunity to regroup, rearm and consolidate in new areas.

Of late, Sambalpur district of Orissa becomes a hot bed for Naxal activities. After a period of silence the rebels have again managed to strike terror and this time they have struck hard killing civilians. Late last month, on May 27, the Maoists went on rampage and killed three villagers and injured several others in the Burda village under Jujumura police station. Prior to this the Maoist activities were only confined to abductions followed by ransom. The incident came as a shock as the Maoists generally target the police, forest officials, contractors and other businessmen.