Author:
Publication: Agence France Presse
Date: December 31, 2002
Hindu villagers in India's restive
northeastern state of Tripura have pledged to fight alleged extortion demands
by a Christian separatist group, community leaders said. Militants of the
outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have served extortion
notices to hundreds of Hindu tribals and threatened them with death if
they do not pay up. "The demand notes were served only to tribal Hindu
villagers with warnings of capital punishment to those who violated their
diktat," said Aswathama Jamatia, head priest of the Jamatia Hoda, an influential
tribal Hindu group. Police have confirmed the extortion demands by the
NLFT, which is a predominantly Christian group fighting for an independent
tribal homeland. Community leaders say the NLFT has demanded three percent
of the annual earnings of all government employees as tax, besides charging
anything between US$40.00 to $90.00 from farmers and businessmen. Tribal
Hindus also accuse the NLFT of converting people to Christianity at gunpoint.
