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Assam : Army intensifies anti-insurgency operations

	October 09, 2006

The Unified Command of the central security forces which resumed its operations after the breakdown of peace talks, has intensified its operations against the militants who have intensified their violent activities resulting in the killing of over a dozen persons in different incidents.



The peace process that began in September last year with the formation of the People’s Consultative Group all but collapsed when ULFA militants killed a tea garden manager in Tinsukia district, prompting Delhi to order the resumption of Army operations after a 42-day hiatus.



The uneasy calm is nowhere more palpable than in Upper Assam, where both the Ulfa and army’s presence is strong.



A source in the Chief Minister’s office said the meeting of the strategy group of the unified command, a three-tier structure comprising the Army, police and paramilitary forces, would review “how to get the best result with very little collateral damage”.



Apart from reviewing internal security, the meeting will explore ways to stop ULFA militants from using the neighbouring states as launchpads for subversive operations. Dispur is understood to be in touch with the governments of other northeastern states to devise a strategy to stop trans-border movement of militants.



Security along the Indo-Bhutan border has been beefed up to prevent ULFA militants from sneaking back into the Himalayan kingdom, from where they were flushed out through a military operation in December 2003. Delhi has decided to increase the number of Sasashtra Seema Bal (SSB) battalions on the border from five to 15 over the next two years. The number of border outposts along the international border will go up from 35 to 132.





ULFA endorses PCG’s decision



Meanwhile, the ULFA has endorsed the People’s Consultative Group (PCG)’s decision to walk out of negotiations with Delhi but decided not to disband it, leaving a small opening for a dialogue with Delhi.



The latest issue of the militant group’s mouthpiece, Freedom, explains the PCG’s hasty exit from negotiations in protest against what it called the “colonial mindset” of Delhi.



“ULFA has not yet disbanded the PCG. The faith and responsibility bestowed on the PCG remains intact,” the article in Freedom states.





ASDC raises pitch for state



Meanwhile, another regional extremist outfit, ASDC, has again raised its demand for an autonomous state comprising Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills. A joint team of the Autonomous State District Council (ASDC) and the CPI (M-L) will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next week to seek an immediate solution to the “burning problems” of the two autonomous hill districts. Only two months back the two groups ended six years of rivalry to come together on a common platform to jointly lead the statehood movement.



ASDC general secretary Somang Kro said on October 4 that their basic demands included an immediate solution to the decadelong autonomy issue, political settlement of the demands of militant outfits UPDS and DHD, immediate election to the two district councils and a high-level inquiry into the misrule and corruption of the Congress-led councils.



“Representatives of the Karbi Students’ Association, Dimasa Student Union, Karbi Nimsou Sinthur Asong and Dimasa Women Society will also be part of the team,” Kro said. He threatened to launch a mass movement if Dispur failed to respond to the demands.



“The problems of the two hill districts will remain unless we have an autonomous state under Article 244 (A) of the Constitution.” He criticised Delhi and Dispur for not taking enough initiatives to end insurgency in the two districts. “To bring permanent peace, the only option is an end to insurgency,” he said.



“It isn’t a merger. We will call it an understanding with ASDC for the greater interest of an anti-Congress government in district council next time,” Jayanta Rongpi of the CPI(M-L) said.

He blamed the Congress for “ruining the economy” of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.