ULFA Makes Democratic Forces Retreat

ULFA Makes Democratic Forces Retreat

Indian Holocaust My father`s life and time - SEVENTY Three

Palash Biswas

(Pl Publish with latest update and send a copy. Contact: Palash Biswas, c/o Mrs Arati Roy, Gostokanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. phone: 91-33-25659551

Hundreds of Hindi-speaking migrant workers in Assam are beginning to return to their workplaces 10 days after the genocide. On the other hand,The ULFA on Thursday warned Hindi-speaking people to stay away from Assam during its "conflict" with security forces, saying there might be an upsurge of violence against them during this period. A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Hindi-speaking people that they were safe in Assam, a blast rocked Ganeshguri, a local wholesale vegetable market run by traders from north India, killing a child and injuring over a dozen people. Killing of migrant workers and refugees manifests failure of ULFA in pin pointing the real problem.It is time for ULFA to stop and denounce violence. It is time for people of Assam to resist exploitation and not kill innocent Bihari workers.ULFA is wrong in targetting Hindi speaking people - violence do not solve problem - the root cause lies in exploitation of people inNorth East andEastern India. In northeast and why northeast, all over India , masses suffer for the antipeople reprressive measures and exploitation by thye ruling classes. Civil war between the already victim masses won`t solve any problem until the supremacy of the feudal, imperialist and corporate pro imperialist and pro capitalist ruling classes sustained. If Ulfa is leading a nationality movement, this disgusting terrorist attack would certainly isolate it from the people as it was happended during the survey, in which the people rejected the demand for sovereignity. ULFA has committed another mistake and invited the statepower to deal with it by every force. No democracy may stop this. ULFA could not respect Mamoni Indira goswami`s initiative, peace talks and truce.This anarchy won`t help ULFA whatsoever may be its ideology and aims. Iraq and Afganistan are the best examples that any type of terrorism, however national it may sound, may not resist The Strike force from within or outside. Rather this type of self annihilation leads the democratic forces to retreat who demand to end Army Rule In North East.

The hunt has begun after the recent wave of attacks targeting Hindi-speaking migrant workers that killed 72 in Upper Assam and then a tough talking prime minister visiting the area.Thousands of Indian troops are fighting the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) in upper Assam, but the banned group’s chief lives far away and safe from capture. Paresh Barua, commander-in-chief of Ulfa, is believed to be living in Dhaka under the care and patronage of Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Field Intelligence. The Centre on Thursday vowed to protect all law-abiding citizens at any cost in the face of a fresh threat from the ULFA to the Hindi-speaking people living in Assam.In a threat posted on its online magazine Freedom, the ULFA appealed to the Hindi-speaking people to stay away from Assam during its 'conflict' with security forces, saying there might be an upsurge of violence against them during this period.The ULFA also appealed to the Assamese people not to cooperate with security forces in their operations.

"Many times we appeal to the Hindi-speaking people that the conflict is running in Assam. So go away from here as soon as possible," the banned group said in the latest edition of its newsletter Freedom. "In this regard, raise of action (sic) may happen at any time," the ULFA said, adding the security forces "instigate these people to ignore our appeal and they stay in Assam."


Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday visited eastern Assam and said the government would deal with terrorism firmly. He promised all sections of people, including migrant workers would be given security."The prime minister’s statement did boost our confidence a lot," said Hari Prasad Yadav, another brick kiln worker.At least 7,500 migrant workers were huddled into makeshift shelters in eastern Assam as precautionary measures to prevent the ULFA from striking at ease.

"More than 50% of the workers have returned to their workplaces in the last few days," said Assam government spokesman and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The Centre reacted to the threat immediately, saying it will ensure safety and security of all citizens at any cost. "It is the duty of the state to protect every citizen," Home Secretary VK Duggal told CNN IBN.


The Army along with various wings of paramilitary forces have already launched a massive drive against the militant outfit and the rebels are believed to be on the run. Counter-insurgency operations, patrolling and combing have been intensified and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi along with the Unified Command were monitoring and supervising security measures. The Army has shifted its brigade headquarters to Dibrugarh in Upper Assam to deal with terrorism in the wake of the recent ULFA carnage in the area, in which 70 Hindi-speaking people were killed.The 311 Mountain Brigade based at Bomdilla in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh was shifted under the command of Brig I P S Gill, defence sources said. Brig Gill was stated to be an expert in anti-insurgency operations. The Centre has already deployed an additional 30 companies of Central paramilitary forces to help the state government in its security measures.


Meanwhile, the ULFA, along with the outlawed Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, Manipur People's Liberation Front and Tripura People's Democratic Front, also called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations on January 26. In a joint statement, they asked "all freedom-loving people of the Northeast to boycott the day and prevent any such celebrations from being held in the region."

a's northeast, joined to the rest of the country by a thin strip of land, is home to dozens of tribes and ethnic groups, and several major separatist rebellions.Although most Assamese are Hindu, most speak the Assamese language. ULFA has tried to bolster its flagging popularity by targeting migrants from other parts of India, whom they accuse of diluting their culture, analysts say.

The statement comes only days before India's Jan. 26 Republic Day celebrations when the group, along with three other rebel groups in the northeast, has called for a regional general strike.

More than 20,000 people have been killed in the ULFA rebellion since 1979.The rebels also accuse the central government of exploiting the rich forest and mineral resources of the state.
The rebels denied they were responsible for the killings of the 72 people, mainly poor migrants, from Hindi-speaking Indian states.

"Over the years the Indian colonial rulers are venturing the tactics of bombing in public places, buses, trains and blame ULFA for anything going wrong in Asom," the statement said.

"Just before every operation, the colonial Indian authority devises an atmosphere of unrest by organising planned massacre blaming ULFA for this to initiate army offensive," the rebel statement said.

Since the attacks, thousands of troops have scoured the mountains and jungles in three of the eight northeastern states to hunt down ULFA guerrillas.

India and ULFA representatives have held peace talks through intermediaries but ULFA walked out of negotiations last September after the government called off a truce the same month, saying the rebels had violated it.
The Army has started fresh operations against the United Liberation Front of Asom or the ULFA. 28-year-old Jan Barua's surrender to the army last week was a major blow to the ULFA.Barua was not a key member of the rebel group, but he fled with information and firepower from inside Burma, where ULFA's hit squad, known as the 28th battalion is located. And the Army has drawn the first blood.The Army's elite commando unit has been operating along Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border to cut off the ULFA's transit between the border area and Burma.The Army wants the area to be sealed because the 28th battalion is the only real firepower left with the ULFA to carry out their hit-and-run guerrilla strikes inside Assam.The basic aim of intensifying this (the attack) along this border area is that we want to stop people from crossing over to into Assam in the initial stages itself,” said 29 Assam Rifles Lt Col Vivek Razdan.


But this time the intelligence sources claim, the killing of Hindi-speaking migrant workers was a just precursor to one of the most ambitious plots that the ULFA had ever launched.


The 28th battalion was entrusted to carry out an operation codenamed Operation Saraighat, the plan was to either to eliminate the Governnor of Assam or carry out a series of bomb blasts in the oil refineries of Upper Assam.Army commandos these days are precisely laying an ambush on the tracks supposedly used by the ULFA rebels to transit between the border area and Burma to stop them from carrying out their plans.

In NEW DELHI, Bharatiya Janata Party here on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for suggesting that while the Government was prepared to talk to those leading the United Liberation Front of Asom it would simultaneously take strong action against it.

"The recent attacks on migrant labourers, mostly Biharis, was a conspiracy ... strong action against ULFA cannot go hand-in-hand with offer of talks," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

The BJP blamed the Congress for the earlier ceasefire understanding with ULFA, which gave it time to consolidate itself. Mr. Javadekar said a similar strategy of buying naxal support during elections in Andhra Pradesh and offering a truce had backfired. That had also allowed naxals the time to consolidate their position. The party blamed the upsurge of naxal violence in Chhattisgarh also on the Andhra Government's policies. The party took exception to a Finance Ministry circular it claimed had been sent to all nationalised banks through the Indian Bank Association asking banks to disburse a certain percentage of loans to Muslims. Mr. Javadekar demanded that the circular be withdrawn.

InLUCKNOW, Samajwadi Party has opposed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's invitation to the ULFA for holding talks. The party has said that separatist organizations have to be dealt with firmly. Addressing a joint press conference with state general secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav, transport minister Naresh Agarwal said that the stand of the SP vis-a-vis separatist organizations was very clear. The organizations had to be dealt with firmly and efforts made to put a complete end to them. Referring to the invite to ULFA, he said at this pace the PM could also extend invitation for talks to Lashkar-e-Toiba and the al-Qaida.

Even Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is believed to be helping him. Barua uses several aliases, including Kamruj Zaman Khan or Zaman Bhai, in Dhaka. His wife, Bobby, is known as Sufia Begum and they have two children named Tahsim Khan and Akash Khan.

Intelligence officials said that Barua keeps changing his homes in Dhaka and his last know address was: 25/2 Green Road (Fifth Floor) Dhanmondi Dhaka —1205.

The patronage Barua and Ulfa get from Bangladesh means that the Army operation against the rebels in upper Assam and the Arunachal-Myanmar border could at best be a short-term solution. Sources said that documents available clearly prove that the Ulfa, which has killed at least 67 migrant workers in Assam in January and carried out bomb explosions, gets support and encouragement from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Intelligence sources said that since 2002 at least 38 Ulfa militants, mainly from its dreaded 28th Battalion, have attended camps in Batrossi Hills in Mansera district in Pakistan to receive arms and explosive training there.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar too alleges that Bangladesh is supporting the militants. “They (rebel groups) have their camps in Bangladesh. Our relationship with Bangladesh is friendly, and they also claim so. If that is the state of affairs, why doesn’t the Govt of India doesn’t take up this matter with its counterparts to pursue them (the rebels) and demolish all their camps,” he says.

Meanwhile, seven ULFA militants, including two women, have been rounded up in Mon district bordering Upper Assam where the security forces have launched a crackdown on the cadre of the banned outfit.

The ultras were arrested by personnel of the Assam Rifles on Monday while they were trying to sneak into Myanmar via Mon district, defence sources said on yesterday.

Five of the arrested belonged to the outfit's dreaded 28th battalion which recently carried out the killing of non-Assamese migrant labourers in upper Assam. The two women cadre were handed over to the police.

Equipments, including radio sets, dictaphones, SIM cards, radio transistor and knives were recovered from them, they said.

Indian FM to visit Burma, seek joint army operation

Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

January 17, 2007 - Keen on seeking military cooperation from Burma to flush out Indian insurgents, the Indian External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee will leave for Burma tomorrow.

The Minister is looking at joint operations to provide an edge to India's ongoing offensive against insurgent groups along the Indo-Burmese border.

Mr Mukherjee, who will be on a three-day visit to Burma will request Burma for "all possible assistance" to flush out Indian insurgent groups operating from its territory, sources in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs told Mizzima.

The visit comes days after the Burmese Prime Minister Soe Win assured his Indian counterpart of cooperation in its operation against the United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA militants during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN meet in the Philippine's city of Cebu.

A source in Guwahati, the capital of Assam told Mizzima while India is gearing up to send an additional 30 companies of troops, some 20,000 combat soldiers and paramilitary personnel are currently engaged in operations against the ULFA.Critics, however, say heavy military deployment in the state will not help India crush the ULFA, which has been fighting New Delhi for over two decades.

Dileep Chandan, Editor of the Guwahati based local newspaper - ASSAM BANI - said, "It's high time the government of India started to think of another solution other then military means."

Chandan added that the ULFA, which is engaged in guerilla warfare, is well versed in eluding the massive operation targeted at it.

ULFA, formed in April 1979, has been fighting New Delhi to establish an independent Assam.

According to the rebel group, which considers itself a "revolutionary political organization", the people of Assam are confronted with the problem of national identity. And it claims to represent the "independent minded struggling people" irrespective of race, tribe, caste, religion and nationality.

ULFA, which nurses a xenophobic attitude towards non-Assamese residing in the state, has been engaged in guerilla hit and run tactics targeted at "outsiders".

However, the latest round of violence, which is a part of its campaign against the so-called "Hindi Speaking" migrants from other states, has come in for much flak from the people of Assam.

India, which is keen on military cooperation by Burma in offensives against the ULFA, is ready to set up an Army Brigade Headquarters in violence stricken Upper Assam. According to reports, at least two ULFA cadres have been killed and more than 10 have been apprehended by the Indian army during the ongoing offensive.

Meanwhile, the Indian Foreign Minister, who is scheduled to return to India on January 21, is expected to bring home a positive response from his Burmese counterpart in conducting joint military operations against the ULFA, which is crucial for India to crush ULFA militancy.

Following the visit to New Delhi by Burmese Military supremo Sr. Gen Than Shwe in October 2004, India and Burma have exchanged a number of state visits and maintained regular home secretary level meets annually.

And as a part of the bilateral agreement on military cooperation, India is currently training Burmese military officials. However, with the current surge in violence in northeastern India, immediate joint army operations seem to be the need of the hour for India.

Migrants Began Returning
Hundreds of Hindi-speaking migrant workers in Assam are beginning to return to their workplaces 10 days after separatist guerrillas killed 61 of them in a wave of deadly attacks.

Amongst them are Subhas Jha and his nephew Surinder Tiwari who finally decided to get back to work after staying at a government-run shelter for over a week.

"We have decided to go back to work with the situation calming down and no violence reported in the past one week," middle-aged Jha, a brick kiln worker from Bihar’s Kishanganj district, said.

Jha and his nephew were working near Moran in Dibrugarh district, 410km east of Guwahati, for the last seven years. "We cannot stay forever in relief camps. We have to work and earn; how else do we feed our families back home in Bihar," Tiwari asked.


The serial attacks prompted New Delhi to launch a massive military crackdown on January 8 against the ULFA - five rebels were killed and at least a dozen were captured in separate raids.

"There is a lot of security presence now in the area and we feel secure," said Madhukar Singh, a daily wage earner. "Maybe in a day or two I shall go back to work."

Most of the victims were from Bihar who have made Assam their home doing odd jobs as brick kiln workers, fishermen, and as daily wage earners.

In 2000, ULFA militants killed at least 100 Hindi-speaking people in Assam in a series of well-planned attacks after the rebel group vowed to free the state of all ‘non-Assamese migrant workers’.- IANS

Truce with ULFA was a blunder, admits Tarun Gogoi
Monday, January 15, 2007

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Monday admitted that his government's six-week ceasefire with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was a blunder because it helped the rebels to take advantage to regroup and spread out their cadres across the state.

'In retrospect, I admit the judgment may be a little wrong when we offered a ceasefire to ULFA,' Gogoi told IANS in an interview.

'Our intentions were positive and done in good faith thinking that ULFA would come for peace talks. But they utilised the truce to regroup, collected arms and then spread out their cadres to different parts of the state,' Gogoi said.

The Indian government Aug 13 announced a unilateral ceasefire initially for 10 days for ULFA to shun violence and come for talks. The group reciprocated the gesture by announcing an indefinite truce.

'It is true that the security operations were slow during this ceasefire period as we sincerely believed that ULFA would come to the negotiating table. It was a gambit, but then ULFA belied our trust,' Gogoi said.

On Sep 24, the central government called off the ceasefire and resumed military operations blaming the outfit for stepping up violence and extortions. 'ULFA definitely lacks sincerity in holding talks,' the chief minister said.

The ULFA, fighting for an independent Assamese homeland since 1979, went on a killing spree for four straight days beginning Jan 5 by targeting migrant workers in eastern Assam.

'The operations are going on in full swing, but then the hostile terrain is proving to be an advantage for ULFA. They are not located in one particular area where the soldiers can go and just capture them,' Gogoi said.

'ULFA militants are now on the run and crossing over from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and even Nagaland and our troops cannot enter all the places.'

The ULFA has training camps in Myanmar's northern Sagaing division. But despite the geographical disadvantage, security forces have managed some early success.

'You cannot expect instant results although we have managed some results already in the early operations,' the chief minister said.

TENSIONS IN THE SEVEN SISTERS

Myriad violent insurgencies have beset India's northeastern states for decades. Some 50,000 people have been killed since India's independence in 1947. There were thought to be around 285,000 displaced people in 2006.

Some of the battles are campaigns for autonomy - whether for an entire state, a district or a tribal homeland. Other violence arises from warfare between tribes, often over access to land. There have also been vicious anti-foreigner campaigns, often against Bangladeshi migrants.

The conflicts have many root causes. One factor is the states' isolation from the rest of India. Another is the multiplicity of tribes, cultures, ethnicities and religions that pepper the region.

International and humanitarian access to the states, known as the "seven sisters", is poor so precise information about atrocities and victims is hard to come by.

KEY FACTS

Population of the seven states 38.5 million (2001 census)
Number killed since independence 50,000 (Center of Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, 2004)
Violent incidents in 2005 1,332 (Ministry of Home Affairs)
Deaths in 2005 868 (Ministry of Home Affairs)
Internally displaced people (IDPs) in Assam 200,000 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, estimate for 2006)
Mizoram IDPs in Tripura 31,000 (IDMC 2003-5)
Other IDPs in Tripura 50,000 plus 10,000 further families (IDMC 2003-5)
IDPs in Manipur 6,000 (IDMC 2006)
India's Assam rebels threaten attacks on politicians
13 Jan 2007 11:04:50 GMT
Source: Reuters


Cache of arms seized in Assam
Kokrajhar, Jan. 18 (PTI): A cache of arms and ammunition was seized and two Adivasi Cobra militants, suspected to have links with the ULFA, were arrested today by the army during an operation in Assam's Kokrajhar district.

Defence sources said troops of the Maratha Regiment seized the arms and ammunition from Telipur in Kachugaon area this afternoon during a combing operation.

An AK-56 rifle, two magazines, 30 rounds of AK-56 ammunition, two single barrel rifles, 40 rounds of SLR ammunition, a pistol and ammunition for .303 rifles were seized during the operation.

The arrested militants were identified as Sanju Singh Tudu and Jovell Soren. They are suspected to have links with the ULFA, the sources said.

In another incident, a ULFA militant was apprehended at Sapkata in Gossaigaon area of Kokrajhar district last night and a pistol and some ammunition were seized from him, they said.