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North East: Assam : Plan to expand Army bases, ULFA gets hot |
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A plan to expand Army bases at two places in Assam has drawn a sharp rebuke from the United Liberation Front of Asom ULFA chief and put up another hurdle in the way of the slow-moving peace process.
ULFA “commander-in-chief” Paresh Barua said in an e-mailed statement on Sept. 15 that expansion of the Army bases at Misa, near Nagaon, and Changsari, on the outskirts of Guwahati, would displace a large number of “our people” from their land.
He said the plan was also against the spirit of New Delhi’s decision to suspend Army operations against his organisation, fraught as it was with the possibility of “more militarisation”.
“Despite extending the olive branch to the toiling and oppressed masses of Assam, colonialist India has planned to displace hundreds of our people to create space for another military installation. Once completed, the project would force eviction of peace-loving people, destruction of tea gardens, destruction of habitation of innumerable flora and fauna and widespread destruction of the ecosystem of the area,” the statement said.
Describing the Army’s move as a “new aggression against the freedom-loving people”, Barua said New Delhi was even planning to extend the broad gauge rail track to the Misa military station to facilitate the movement of troops.
The ULFA chief, who is suspected to be in Bangladesh, said New Delhi had sought land from Assam through a communiqu to the Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) of Assam. He said New Delhi had even invoked the “hated Land Acquisition Act, enacted in 1894 during the British colonial days”.
“The government is already occupying thousands of acres of fertile land since the British left. This land, if cultivated, could provide food to thousands of people. Also, the government would set up a nuclear research centre on the land it has decided to acquire. The Centre would process and enrich uranium found in the state of Meghalaya. Once set up, the project would deprive Meghalaya of its resource and create the possibility of another Chernobyl disaster. The government has no concern for nature, life and livelihood of the people of Asom,” the militant leader added.
The statement came two days after New Delhi extended the period of suspension of Army operations against ULFA till Tuesday.
The five-day extension was the third since the “cessation of hostilities” by both sides. The third extension followed a letter from mediator Mamoni Raisom Goswami to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting him to take “personal interest” in bringing the ULFA to the negotiating table.
“I sincerely believe the prime minister would do something positive and not allow the peace process to get derailed,” Goswami told IANS over the phone.
Goswami and fellow-mediator Rebati Phukan have held three rounds of talks with Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan since last month.
New Delhi said during the last round of discussions that it would not hesitate to ask the Army to resume the operations against the ULFA if there were any more reports of extortion, violence or “anything indicative of violence”.
The main issue now blocking the start of formal face-to-face talks between the ULFA and Indian government negotiators is the rebels’ demand for the release of five of their jailed leaders.
New New Delhi on Aug 13 announced a 10-day suspension of Army operations against the ULFA which was later extended by another 25 days. This was extended by another five days. The ULFA, too, reciprocated the government’s “goodwill gesture” by announcing cessation of hostilities for an indefinite period.
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