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North East

	October 11, 2004

Separatists up in arms again

No clean chit to Pakistan

The sudden outbreak of violence in India’s north-east that left scores of people dead and over 200 wounded since early this month has proved that separatist forces, reportedly supported by foreign elements, could strike with near impunity.

The states of Assam and Nagaland were in the spotlight over the weekend with militants striking at ease — bombing markets, gas pipelines and railways, besides gunning down unarmed civilians.

The orgy of violence started on October 2 (a national holiday to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi) when three powerful blasts went off simultaneously in Nagaland’s commercial hub of Dimapur, killing 28 and wounding 86.

Around the same time, a string of explosions and militant attacks were reported across Assam, forcing Home Minister Shivraj Patil to rush to the region for an on the spot assessment.

Though neither the security agencies nor Patil hazarded a guess as to who could be behind the triple blasts in Dimapur, the needle of suspicion is directed at the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), a rebel army fighting for an independent homeland in Assam.

“It is very likely the ULFA carried out the Dimapur blasts to derail the peace process in Nagaland as people in Assam were appealing to ULFA to come for talks with New Delhi like their mentors in Nagaland, the Isak-Muivah group of the NSCN (National Socialist Council of Nagaland),” a security analyst said.

That the ULFA could be behind the attacks in Nagaland is further strengthened by the NSCN-IM group’s admission that attempts were being made to sabotage the peace talks the outfit has been having with the central government.

The timing of the attacks in Nagaland and Assam is also important. The attacks came two days after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi offered a ceasefire to the ULFA and the NDFB, another rebel group, and urged them to respond to the truce offer by Oct 15. The NDFB has reportedly agreed to the proposal for the ceasefire.

In recent months, the north-east has been showing some signs of normalcy with many rebel armies talking of peace, raising hopes for development work taking center-stage.

However, terrorist attacks since early this month have once again shown New Delhi’s lack of proper handling of the situation with Patil’s two-day visit failing to instill local confidence. At least 30 insurgent groups in the northeast are pushing demands ranging from independent homelands to autonomy within the nation.



ISI role not ruled out

Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said that the government is not blaming Pakistani intelligence for the recent bloodshed in the north-east but is not giving it a clean chit either. Stressing that the situation in the north-east, where terror attacks in Assam and Nagaland have killed 81 people in four days, was under control at present, the minister said: “Neither do we blame the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for the violence in the northeast nor deny its involvement.”

“We know the reality. We will keep that in mind and take future steps,” he said.

Talking to reporters in the Madhya Pradesh capital, Bhopal, he said the insurgency problem in the northeast was five decades old.

“Earlier there was only one state. When problems arose it was divided into seven states. At present the Centre and the state governments are doing everything possible to end insurgency,” Patil said.

“Blaming any other country for the insurgency will not end the problem. We know the reality and steps will be taken accordingly,” he said.

Patil said the Centre was holding talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar about the presence of insurgent camps in both the countries.

“New Delhi has already conveyed its concerns to neighbours diplomatically, without mincing words,” he asserted.

Referring to the offer of help from US Ambassador David C. Mulford to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to probe the recent incidents of violence, Patil said: “The US ambassador has expressed his sentiments and one should understand the basic emotions behind it while interpreting it.”

Asked to comment on former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s statement that the country was paying the price for repealing the Prevention Of Terrorism Act (POTA), Patil said: “Advani is playing the role of an opposition leader.”



Carnage blamed on terror bases across borders

India needs to deal urgently with Bangladesh and Myanmar to check terrorist violence in the north-east as the perpetrators of the carnage operated from bases in those countries, officials and terrorism experts said on October 5.

They, however, drew a sharp distinction between the two eastern neighbours. While Indian insurgents operated from Myanmar without that country’s support, the experts alleged that Bangladesh “protected and assisted” the ultras in their anti-India activities.

“While in Bangladesh they are actively protected and assisted, in Myanmar they operate from areas where the government has little control,” Ajay Sahni, Director of the Institute of Conflict Management (ICM), a New Delhi-based think tank, said.

Security officials dealing with the region concurred with Sahni’s assessment that the problem with Bangladesh was different.

Dhaka has vehemently denied the charge and accused New Delhi in turn of harbouring criminals fleeing Bangladesh.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi urged New Delhi to mount pressure on Bangladesh and Myanmar to dismantle the bases of insurgent groups such as the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in those countries.

Said an official familiar with anti-insurgent operations in the region: “In Bangladesh, these groups are under the active protection of the government. They are given safe havens and given logistical and material assistance to carry out anti-India activities.”

He noted that the ULFA, which had its ideological origin on the issue of alleged illegal immigration by Bangladeshis into Assam, now maintained that there is no problem of illegal migration in the state.

“It is a curious situation. A group which started on an anti-foreigner campaign is now dependent on that country from which the illegal immigrants came,” he said.

Officials said unlike the ULFA, most of whose top leaders are living in safe houses in Bangladesh, few NDFB leaders had taken sanctuary in that country.



Centre to send more troops

Over 2,000 paramilitary troops and some helicopters will be sent to India’s violence-hit northeast as part of a multi-pronged strategy to counter insurgency, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said on October 6.

Patil, who chaired a high-level meeting to assess the security situation in the north-eastern states, said a probe would identify those responsible for the terror attacks in Assam and Nagaland.

He kept open the option of availing a US offer to help in probing the attacks, saying the External Affairs Ministry would decide on the issue.

Patil refused to rule out the possibility of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency being behind the recent spurt of violence in the region.

The Home Ministry’s Special Secretary Anil Chowdhury, who attended the meeting, said the government would strengthen and coordinate intelligence gathering in the northeastern region.

Indian Army chief Gen. N.C. Vij, Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh and other senior officials attended the meeting.