Northeast insurgents shifting base to Myanmar, Bangladesh; Indonesian Red Cross Organisation (PMI) sands aid to Myanmar; Thousands displaced in Myanmar floods; US cancels anti dumping import duty and countervailing duty on paper products from Indonesia;
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  • According to the reports, India’s Assam Rifles have said that terrorist outfits of the northeastern region have shifted their bases to neighbouring Myanmar following crackdown by the Bangladesh security forces. Tripura's two militant secessionist outfits - NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) and the ATTF (All Tripura Tiger Force), both banned by the Indian authorities - have set up bases in Bangladesh along with the outher outfits of the northeast region, and receive support from other separatist outfits of the northeast. According to an official document, currently the number of NLFT cadres is 150 to 155, and the ATTF has 10 to 12 guerillas. 1
    In another development, according to reports, the Indonesian Red Cross organization (PMI) sent personnel and humanitarian aid from Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in East Jakarta on August 25, 2012 to assist refugees of the deadly conflict between the Rohingya and Rakhine ethnic groups in Myanmar. The PMI sent eight personnel and aid comprising 500 hygiene kits, 3,000 blankets and 10,000 sarongs by cargo plane BAE 146-200/PKJKC. The PMI had decided to send non-food aid based on the assessment of a team lead by PMI chairman Jusuf Kalla when the latter visited Myanmar at the beginning of August. The government of Myanmar recently allowed the PMI, along with other international humanitarian agencies, to send aid to refugees of the conflict between Rohingyas and Rakhines in Myanmar. 2
    According to reports, in worst monsoon flooding in years in Myanmar, hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice fields have submerged. At least 85,000 people in Myanmar have fled their homes. Around 70,000 people have been displaced in the delta and are being housed at 219 emergency relief centres set up at schools and monasteries. Another 15,000 people have been displaced elsewhere in the country, and more than 240,000 hectares (600,000 acres) of rice fields have been swamped. However, no casualties have been confirmed during the recent floods, which have affected 200,000 people nationwide. Some families who have not fled have moved to the upper floors of their dwellings. 3
    Reports noted that the US has announced its final decision canceling anti dumping import duty and countervailing duty on paper products from Indonesia. According to media reports, the decision on August 2, 2012 was a result of "sunset review" of dumping charges against Certain Lined Paper School Supplies (CLPSS) from Indonesia as the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) decided that imports of CLPSS from Indonesia have caused no injuries to the US industries. 4
    In other developments, according to reports, Indonesia may soon sell weapons and military supplies to Iraq and Uganda. Deputy Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, who recently returned from a visit to Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, said that he met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who instructed his deputy defence minister and military chief to follow up on the Indonesian offer. During the meeting, Sjafrie presented Al-Maliki with an SS-2 assault rifle and a model of an Anoa armored personnel carrier (APC) produced by state arms manufacturer PT Pindad. Sjafrie said that both Iraq and Uganda had shown interest in procuring Indonesian-made weapons. 5

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