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North East : Assam’s ethnic bloodshed : Gogoi’s preventive measures

	October 24, 2005

Shaken by the recent ethnic bloodshed in the Karbi Anglong district, the Assam Government has drawn up a comprehensive strategy to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the districts inhabited by tribes.



Karbi Anglong, reeling under the impact of a Karbi-Dimasa turf war that has claimed over 80 lives in just over three weeks, the adjacent North Cachar Hills and the areas administered by the Bodoland Territorial Council have been identified as the main trouble spots.



A highly-placed source said the incidents in Karbi Anglong had created extra pressure on the Tarun Gogoi government to come up with a preventive strategy that would succeed. “It (the plan) was on the drawing board. The orgy of violence in Karbi Anglong hastened its preparation.”



The government will forward the plan to Delhi for ratification soon.



“The focus is on prevention. Our experience shows that once the fire (of ethnic violence) is lit, it spreads very, very rapidly and by the time fire fighting begins, the damage is already done and is huge, too”, the source said.



The blueprint identifies the need to strengthen village defence parties as a priority. It also recommends regular all-party meetings in these areas, given the fact that politics is seen as fuel for the flames of ethnic mistrust.



The source said the government had also taken a long, hard look at the rules governing ceasefire with militant groups, which are known to incite or directly participate in ethnic clashes, as is the case in Karbi Anglong. “The government has decided to recommend amendment/framing of ground rules that will discourage them (militants) from indulging in these acts and keep them confined to their designated camps.”



The Governor, Lt Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh, has suggested that the United People’s Democratic Solidarity and the Dima Halam Daoga, which are suspected to be the catalysts of the Karbi Anglong clashes, be disarmed.



The new plan also recognises the potential of land disputes snowballing into major conflicts between tribes. “Small irritants can develop into full-blown problems, which then might become difficult to control. This is something that the government has realised”, the source said.



On the efficacy of village defence parties, he said most of these existed only on paper. “They operate at the grassroots level and are, therefore, well-placed to play a more proactive role in resolving disputes. If required, they can even be provided with arms to convey to troublemakers that they will not be tolerated.”



Apart from this, the blueprint recognises the positive influence of social organisations like the sahitya sabhas of different communities in times of crisis. “Right now, these organisations only react...we envisage for them a continuous role,” the source said.







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Karbi Anglong violence : Tribes at loggerheads



* In the history of troubled North East, the month of October, 2005, goes to Karbi Anglong tribes who in their communal frenzy ran after each other’s blood, and killed over 100 people.



* The two tribes involved are Karbi and Dimasa mainly inhabited in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam. United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) is the political arm of Karbis and the Dima Halam Daoga (DHD) is the defender of Dimasas



*. Both UPDS and DHD have been after eachother’s blood to establish their supremacy over the other.



* To avoid bloodshed between the two, both the Central and the State Governments have been striving hard to restore peace and have urged them to adhere to the ground rules of the ceasefire to which they have agreed. But the ceasefire is being violated frequently.



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Political blamegame : Gogoi points finger at George and Red Army



Meanwhile, nearly a month after the outbreak of violence in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has identified George Fernandes as the inciter and the “Red Army” of CPI (M-L) activists as the perpetrator of the ethnic carnage.



The Chief Minister’s accusation contradicts the police and the district administration’s versions, which point to rivalry between the militant groups representing the Dimasa and Karbi tribes as the root of the clashes. The joint secretary (Northeast) in the Union Home Ministry, Rajiv Aggarwal, backed the police’s report.



But Gogoi chose to look in a different direction during his first news conference on the Karbi Anglong crisis, accusing former MP and CPI (M-L) leader Jayanta Rongpi of using his “red army” in the clashes.



“The CPI (M-L) does not believe in democracy and its constitution favours armed struggle. The police report also points towards the involvement of the red army in the Karbi Anglong violence,” he said.



Assertive initially, the Chief Minister toned down his statement on facing a barrage of questions. “I am actually quoting the allegations leveled by the people in Karbi Anglong against the CPI (M-L). As for Fernandes, he visited the hill district twice before the riots started. Questions are being raised about Fernandes visiting a district where his party (Janata Dal-United) does not have any base,” he said.



Gogoi said the government had instituted a judicial inquiry into the riots that have claimed over 70 lives since September 26. “The government is also examining the possibility of banning the red army.”



Rongpi refuted the allegations and appealed to “all, including the Chief Minister, to rise above petty politics” and focus on resolving the core issue behind the conflict.



“The chief minister is contradicting the report of the Governor, central team, his own Chief Secretary and district administration, and is echoing the baseless allegations leveled against me and my party by the BJP. I don’t know why the BJP has become more trustworthy for the Chief Minister than his own officials” Rongpi asked.



He insisted that there was no “red army” in Karbi Anglong, as claimed by Gogoi.



On the other hand, the AGP (Progressive) blamed the ruling Congress for the carnage after a party team toured the affected areas.





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Dance of Death goes on : Toll reaches 100



Even as both the Central and State Governments are striving hard to restore peace in the Karbi Anglong district, there is no let up in bloody violence. Militants belonging to rival camps continue to indulge in revenge killings.



A day after the Ministry of Home Affairs asked both the militant outfits - United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) - to strictly adhere to the ground rules of ceasefire, police on Friday (Oct. 21) recovered bodies of nine militants from a Dimasa village in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong hill district. With this, the death toll in the latest wave of ethnic frenzy has crossed 100.



State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters that affected villagers alleged that the “Red Army” of the CPI-ML and the Black Widow, the anti-talk faction of the DHD could be behind the ongoing violence.



On Thursday (Oct. 20), MHA joint secretary Rajiv Agarwal told both the outfits in separate meeting of the Joint Monitoring Groups held at Dispur to strictly adhere to the ceasefire agreement. The UPDS entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in 2002 and the DHD in 2003.



JMG meet



The UPDS publicity secretary said the JMG meeting could not arrive at any decision over the outfit’s demand for shifting of the DHD designated camp from Karbi Anglong. DHD publicity secretary Daoraja, on the other hand, said the issue of shifting the designated camp did not come up for discussion.



However, both the militant outfits denied violating ground rules of the ceasefire.



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