No talks on sovereignty of Assam

R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Jan 29 - The Government of India is keen on bringing an end to insurgency in the North East region as soon as possible and with all the factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) signing a peace pact with the Central and State Governments, only a few Manipur based outfits and the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) remained as active outfits. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told The Assam Tribune that if any outfit comes forward for talks by abjuring violence and surrendering weapons, the Government would be ready for talks. But the Government would not talk with any outfit if it tries to use the threat of gun to talk, sources added. On the possibility of ULFA(I) coming to talks, sources said that it would depend on the outfit. If the outfit surrenders weapons and comes for talks, the Government would be ready for talks. But at the same time, sources said that the Government of India would not accept talks on sovereignty of Assam as a pre-condition. It may be mentioned here that Paresh Baruah, the commander in chief of the ULFA(I), has been maintaining that he would come for talks only if the Government agrees to talk on the sovereignty of Assam. Meanwhile, security sources pointed out that it would not be possible for any insurgent outfit to survive without a foreign base. Sources pointed out that most of the insurgent outfits of the region have already lost the mass base and they would require a foreign base. But it would be difficult for them to survive as they do not have a strong foreign base now. Sources pointed out that the striking power of the ULFA and NDFB came down drastically in the lower Assam districts after the operations against the outfits in Bhutan in December, 2003, in which all the camps of the outfits in that country were wiped out. The militant outfits became weaker when they lost their bases in Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh not only wiped out the camps but also arrested the senior leaders of the outfits and handed them over to India. The militants continued to operate from their bases in Myanmar, but from the first part of last year, following persistent request from India, Myanmar Army started operating against the militant groups of North East staying in that country. Most of the camps have been wiped out and the militant outfits are in disarray in the neighbouring country. Under the circumstances, security agencies feel that the members of the militant outfits who are still in Myanmar, would not be able to last a long time.