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North East : Republic Day: ULFA blasts in Guwahati

	January 31, 2005

Violence marred Republic Day celebrations as blasts triggered by militants injured nine persons in the North-East, while soldiers hunting for insurgents gunned down two civilians and wounded eight on Wednesday. ULFA insurgents set off two explosions during the official R-Day function in Guwahati, leaving two officials injured. The first blast took place at 8.47 am when Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s convoy was entering the parade ground. Exactly 18 minutes later, another blast occurred.



Yet another blast took place at a railway yard in the city’s Noonmati area, while a bomb went off in Bongaigaon district of Lower Assam. No one was unjured in the two incidents. The attacks came as part of ULFA’s R-Day boycott call.

At Chandrapur village in neighbouring Manipur, militants attacked an Army convoy with an impoverished explosive device. The bomb missed the target and instead injured five civilians. Another IED exploded in a nearby area, injuring two security personnel. Two civilians were killed and eight injured after Army troops fired to quell a violent mob at Hajo village in Lower Assam’s Kamrup district.



Sources said the banned militant group saw the invitation to King Jigme Singye Wangchuk as an attempt by New Delhi to rub salt into its wounds. Bhutan had launched a military operation in December 2003 to flush out Northeast militant groups, mainly the Ulfa, from its territory.



The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) has reportedly told the Ulfa, which shares camps in Myanmar with the Naga militant group, that it does not subscribe to the strategy of killing innocents to settle scores with the Centre or the State Government.



Assam police set-up may be revamped

Tarun Gogoi said on Thursday that he had convened a Cabinet meeting to take a final decision ton the revamping of the police establishment, which has failed to contain violence in Assam.



Talking to reporters, the Chief Minister said that there was a lapse in the security arrangements at the Republic Day’s parade ground. He did not rule out that the blast was an assassination attempt on him by the banned ULFA militant group. Gogoi, however, could not reply as to why no action has been taken against the Government officials responsible for this serious lapse.

Admitting that the State machinery has not been able to contain insurgency, the Chief Minister said that no one can contain insurgency within such a short time span.



Infiltration biggest problem : Governor

Assam Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) Ajai Singh said with militant outfits such as the ULFA and NDFB losing their mass base, it was infiltration rather than insurgency that was biggest problem dogging the state.



Talking to mediapersons at Raj Bhavan on the eve of Republic Day, the Governor said “The State is more concerned about the problem of unabated infiltration across the border, burgeoning unemployment and floods rather than insurgency. Development is a priority for the state at present”. He also said that it would be difficult to solve the problem of infiltration, which is changing the State’s demography unless the IMDT Act was repealed and the Indo-Bangla border in Assam fenced and guarded by a rapid action force. The Governor said: “On infiltration and the IMDT Act, I stand by the views aired by my predecessor Lt. Gen. (retd) S.K. Sinha”.



Centre-Naga talks from Feb. 2

The Naga peace talks are slated to start in New Delhi from February 2. Officials said while the issue of sovereignty has been largely worked out, the government will have to take a view on the integration of Naga inhabited areas. A three-member Central team comprising Minister of State for Programme Implementation, Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chauhan and Minister of State (Home) S. Regupathy would be briefed by officials on the Centre’s strategy. Special Advisor to Prime Minister M.K. Narayanan and Narasimhan will also be involved in this process and are likely to assist the Central team during the week-long talks from behind the scene, sources said.

Naga leaders are willing to consider the issue of sovereignty apart from the key areas of defence, foreign affairs, communication and currency. Both the parties understand the limit within which the talks can progress, a Ministry official said. Sources said the overall strategy of the Centre would be to leave the contentious issues for later stages, and work out the issue where an agreement can be arrived at right away. While the talks are expected to last a week, the center is keen to work out a solution for permanent peace in Nagaland and other North-Eastern States.



BSF chief visits Tripura

The Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) R.S. Mooshahari on Tuesday visited Tripura to get direct information on the State’s international border with Bangladesh, in view of the increasing rebel activities in the region. According to official sources, the DG held detailed discussions with the senior BSF officials on the security arrangements along the international border and on progress of the barbed wire fencing. He also visited some strategic locations along the border areas.

India’s eastern region shares a 2000-km long border with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Different insurgent groups of the North-East including Tripura’s two main outfits – the National Liberation Front of Tripura (Biswamohan Debbarma faction) and the All-Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have taken shelter across the border. Several Muslim fundamentalist groups are also active in the Bangladesh side of the border and abetting secessionist activities in the North-East.



Tripartite talks on Gorkha Hill Council

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council chairman Subash Ghisinh came out smiling after over two hours of talks with officials from the Union Home Ministry and the State Government in North Block in New Delhi on January 28, seemingly pleased with the outcome. Earlier this month, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee conceded the GNLF chief’s demand for “tripartite” talks on the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, whose elections are due. Ghisinh said: “Our primary demand was to strengthen the powers of the Gorkha Hill Council. I know that all this will take some time and more tripartite meetings would have to be held before the issue is settled”. However,, no date has yet been fixed for the next round of talks.