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North East : Assam : ULFA denies Track-II negotiations

	February 19, 2007

Wants plebiscite under global eye



The beginning of the National Games in Assam early this month on a satisfactory note following the withdrawal of a boycott call issued by the militant outfit, ULFA, had raised speculation in New Delhi and Guwahati that negotiation process the with militants may be resumed after the conclusion of the Games. But all these hopes were dashed to the ground last week when the banned organisation on Feb. 16 denied to have entered into any sort of “Track-II negotiations” with the Government.



In a statement issued in the latest Internet issue of the ULFA’s mouthpiece, Freedom, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the outfit Paresh Barua, said : “ULFA has not entered into any negotiation with the government. Our only condition is that the issue of restoration of Assam’s sovereignty should be on the agenda for talks.”



“In principle, ULFA is ready for a plebiscite, not referendum, under international supervision,” Barua added.



The militant group clarified: “The ULFA called off a ban on holding of Indian National Games showing respect to the appeal of legendary sports personalities and sport-loving people of Assam. However, a section of people have misled the masses terming this gesture as reflection of ULFA’s weakness. Since the day ULFA had imposed a ban on the National Games, the flatterers of India started condemning ULFA. They left no stone unturned to derive public opinion for holding the Games by stating it as a great event to uphold Assam’s dignity.” The ULFA regretted its cadres being killed by Indian security forces despite its gesture to call off the boycott of the National Games.





Threat to resume attacks



Feeling frustrated by what it calls the “arrogant attitude of Delhi and Dispur”, the banned militant outfit has warned that it will again kill Hindi-speaking people as well as target Congress leaders and workers.



A senior leader of the outfit’s 28th Battalion called up a section of the media and claimed that the Centre and the state government had not “responded positively to the ULFA lifting the ban it had imposed on the ongoing 33rd National Games. They have continued their operations, which had once again prompted the outfit to take to the path of violence”.



“It seems that Delhi and Dispur have interpreted our latest stand on the National Games as one of weakness. If the Indian occupational forces think that they can finish off ULFA through their military might, they are living in a fool’s paradise,” the leader said, calling up from an undisclosed location.



According to reports, four ULFA rebels have been killed by security forces during the past week in Upper Assam as well as in Arunachal Pradesh. Several ULFA activists and their link men have been arrested during the past couple of weeks.



The outfit is miffed by the fact that New Delhi had “chosen to intensify operations against ULFA not only in its territory but also in some neighbouring countries”.



The army on Feb. 14 put its elite 21 Para Special Force Battalion on the ULFA’s trail in the forests of Lathao in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. The deployment of special forces, according to experts, paid dividends almost immediately. An ULFA militant, Oben Moran, was shot dead during the operation. The army team found some ammunition on the slain militant.



“Today’s operation was the outcome of several days of planning, based on specific inputs provided by our intelligence wing. The decision to use special forces was taken because of the vast swathe of forests in the area,” a senior army officer said.



Apart from its infantry units, the army has been using choppers for surveillance and all-terrain scout cars in its operations against the ULFA. The army has decided to specifically target the 28 Battalion of the ULFA, which dominates the Upper Assam districts.



Air surveillance for rail tracks



Targeted by militants at frequent intervals, rail tracks in Assam could get a second line of defence in the form of air surveillance. Dispur has already received a “generally favourable response” from New Delhi to its proposal, official sources said.



A senior official said air surveillance has its “distinct advantages” and could go a long way in minimising the chance of sabotage. “Air surveillance may not actually lead to detection of bombs, but the watch from the skies will surely be a deterrent. At night, thermal-imaging technology can be used to detect abnormal movement of people on tracks,” he added.



The North East Frontier Railway, which had suspended night trains for several weeks and blocked the Guwahati-Rangia section after receiving the news of bombs being planted, has since restored “normal services”.





Bodo leader reiterates his demand for a state



Even as the Government continues battling with the ULFA problem, another militant leader-turned-politician of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), Chairman Hagrama Mohilary, has set off alarm bells by declaring that a “Bodo state” remains the ultimate dream for his community.



In a statement on Feb. 10, Mohilary, whose party is now the Congress’s partner in the government, said the aspiration for statehood would be fulfilled without resorting to a violent campaign like the one the BLT was engaged in. But officials in Dispur said any such move, even if “non-violent”, would certainly trigger a law and order problem.



“The Bodos have been engaged in agitation for several years for a separate Bodo state within Assam. In return, they have got an autonomous council under the Sixth Schedule.



Speaking at a function, Mohilary said: “I am confident that we will get the Bodoland state without any agitation by diplomatically fighting for it.” He, however, clarified that a Bodoland state did not mean a state only for the Bodos.



The rebel-turned-politician became the chief of the BTC, which was created under the amended Sixth Schedule of the Constitution in 2003. The BTC accord had been signed the same year between the Centre, the Assam government and the now disbanded BLT after the militant agreed to scale down their original demand for separation from Assam.



Reacting to Mohilary’s statement, a senior state government official pointed out that even if the Bodo groups wish to adopt a peaceful approach in their pursuit of a Bodoland state, they may not be able to sustain it.