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North East : Assam : All out war against ULFA terrorism

	January 15, 2007

Stunned by the massacre of Hindi-speaking people in Assam by ULFA extremists early this month, Governments both at the Centre and in the State, have launched an all out war against the terrorist outfit. Security forces supported by the Army and Air Force have launched a massive crackdown on ULFA hideouts. At least 4,000 extra troops have been deployed to combat separatists in the wake of the attacks targeting immigrants from neighbouring states.



A high level multi-disciplinary review meeting was held by the UPA Government in New Delhi on Jan. 12 to discuss the law and order situation in Assam. The meeting focussed on evolving a new strategy aimed at intensifying the offensive against the ULFA which has resorted to the sinister design of creating a communal divide. The meeting also discussed providing security cover to the migrant workers in Assam.



Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal told newspersons after the meeting that the Centre has asked the State Government to immediately give compensation to the families of those killed and take steps to instil confidence among people of all communities.



Going by the “sensitivity” of the situation and the “larger issues involved,” Assam’s joint anti-terror mechanism would now be chaired by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi instead of the Chief Secretary, he said.



“The situation is fairly under control. Nevertheless operations are on. We have also intensified patrolling. I am satisfied with the arrangements. If required, we will send more forces.”



Denying that there was “lack of political will” in tackling militancy in Assam, Duggal said the political and the strategic objectives were precisely defined. The Government would deal “strongly” with the perpetrators of the violence through combined operations by Central and State security forces.



The Union Government was prepared to “welcome” those who wished to sit across the negotiating table, provided they abjured violence and agreed to unconditional talks.



Flanked by Chief Secretary P. C. Sharma and Director-General of Police R.N. Mathur, Duggal said the flight of migrant labourers had virtually stopped.



“Initially we thought all of them would leave. With the implementation of confidence-building measures, this had slowed down. Many of them were seasonal workers who were about to leave anyway. Otherwise, there is no exodus. Of the 8,000 people in relief camps, nearly half had returned,” the Union Home Secretary said.



Defence Minister A.K. Antony accompanied by the Army Chief, Gen. J.J. Singh rushed to the troubled state to oversee the fresh drive against ULFA insurgents



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in the Upper House of Parliament, is visiting the state tomorrow (Jan.16) to express his sympathies over the blood-shed caused by ULFA violence.



Apart from the Prime Minister’s visit, Home Minister Shivraj Patil would also travel to Assam to review the situation, especially in view of the National Games scheduled in Guwahati next month. After the contractors finish their job early next week. the Government would begin the exercise to sanitise the venues.



Reports say there was a brainstorming session on ways to plug the entry points on the border with Myanmar through which the ULFA militants are believed to be slipping in.





Peace talks not ruled out



Answering a query on the peace process with ULFA, the Defence Minister said, “Peace talks with the ULFA could be possible only if the outfit shuns violence.”



“It has been our policy since the time of Panditji (India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru) to bring to the mainstream all peace-loving forces. The same policy continues in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and also in Jammu & Kashmir.



“The government of India is willing to talk to anyone if they abjure violence and come for unconditional talks,” Antony said.



Asked if the government was willing to accept ULFA’s preconditions for talks by releasing five of their jailed leaders, he said the outfit must first show its sincerity by agreeing for talks.





Cong slams Opposition stand on ULFA



The Congress on Jan. 13 trained its guns on the Opposition, accusing it of playing petty politics over the killing of innocent civilians in Assam.



After touring the trouble-torn areas of Upper Assam, All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Chandan Bagchi said at a time when so many people have been killed by extremists, some of the Opposition parties are using the issue for their political gain.



Coming down heavily on former Defence Minister George Fernandes and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Bagchi said, “Some forces do not want a peaceful Assam.”



He criticised Fernandes for meeting ULFA leaders in jail and visiting ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah’s residence instead of meeting the victims of the carnage.



“What message he is trying to convey?” questioned Bagchi. Bagchi, who is in charge of the Assam AICC, criticised Amar Singh for attacking the Congress government in the state.



“Amar Singh should first see what is happening in Uttar Pradesh where his party is in power,” he said.



Bagchi said Amar Singh should sympathise with the victims of the Nithari killings instead of shedding crocodile’ tears in Assam.



“Amar Singh visited Assam with Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan, as he has no identity without heroes and heroines,” Bagchi added.

He described the killing of Hindi-speaking people of Assam as a conspiracy to malign the image of the state.



He said he had visited the affected areas and reviewed the situation, including the rehabilitation of the victims, under directions from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.



During his visit, Assam Congress president Bhubaneswar Kalita, Congress MLA Akon Bora and Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi accompanied Bagchi.



On the ULFA threat to Congressmen, Kalita said such threats were not new to the party and they are ready to sacrifice their lives in the interests of the country.



Kalita, however, added that they are still in favour of a negotiated solution to the ULFA problem.





Army crackdown



Details of the Army crackdown on ULFA are not immediately known. However, an Army commander said soldiers were in “hot pursuit” of the rebels in both Assam and in adjoining Arunachal Pradesh where the ULFA have set up bases to carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes in the region.



“A brigade of 4,000 troops has been moved to areas in Sibsagar and Dhemaji districts in eastern Assam for operations. The operations are on and we shall do whatever else is required to meet the challenge,” Army Chief Gen. J.J. Singh told journalists at the northern Assam’s garrison town of Tezpur on Jan 9.



“The Army will extend whatever support is required to meet the challenge. We cannot allow the ULFA to continue with such attacks,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony said.



The Defence Minister and the Army Chief, who arrived in Tezpur to assess and review the situation in Assam, held a closed-door meeting with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt also present.



“The situation has definitely improved with the security offensives across the state. We are sure of restoring normalcy and instilling a sense of confidence and security back among the people very soon,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.



“The ULFA militants are on the run and it is a matter of time before we get to see visible results,” said an Army official, who wished not to be identified.



“There is total coordination between the police, paramilitary and the Army,” the Chief Minister said. With the situation showing considerable improvement and no major rebel strikes reported in the last few days, the rush of Hindi-speaking migrant workers leaving the state out of fear has declined.



“People are beginning to feel secure and hence there is no fresh reports of exodus,” an Assam government spokesperson said.





BSF sends troops to Assam, Meghalaya



The Border Security Force (BSF) has rushed four of its battalions to Meghalaya and Assam to man the sensitive border between the two states as well as the international border with neighbouring Bangladesh.



The force has conveyed to Meghalaya police its willingness to join regular patrolling in and around the Garo hills, besides being a part of the Rhino II flushout operation that has been launched against the banned ULFA along the Assam-Meghalaya and Bangladesh borders. The Army’s 4 Corps division is heading the anti-insurgency drive.



BSF inspector-general, (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland frontier) Jyoti Prakash Sinha, said troops have been despatched to Upper and Lower Assam to assist the police and the Army to tighten the noose around ULFA militants who have been on the rampage in the state since last week. Additional forces have also been deployed along the state’s border with Bangladesh in the wake of Emergency being declared there.



Sinha claimed that ULFA had been given fresh assurance of safe sanctuary in and around Dhaka by the Bangladesh Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and Pakistan’s ISI. He said the outfit had been asked to lie low till the conclusion of general elections in the neighbouring country.



In view of the civil disturbance brewing in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel have fanned out along the border.



“Most of the senior officers have been rushed to the border areas to monitor the situation,” Sinha said. The BSF has instructed people living in the border areas not to venture out at night.