Assam’s Forum for Terrorist Victims Family met the Union home secretary in New Delhi recently and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate seizure of weapons from the pro-talk members of the banned outfits, including the Ulfa and the NDFB to ensure free and fair Assembly polls. It also demanded that more designated courts should be set up in the state and all the cases should be reinvestigated with proper protection to the witnesses.
In two separate terrorist attacks in Assam within an hour and 10 minutes on March 14, five ruling Congress workers were injured at the party headquarters in Guwahati and eight Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and five more injured in Kokrajhar.
While the anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), led by its elusive commander Paresh Baruah, claimed responsibility for the attack at Rajib Bhavan, located on the busy G.S. Road, the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) ambushed a bus carrying 20 troopers around 8 pm near Ultapani in Kokrajhar district, about 220 km west of Guwahati. The bomb exploded at 6.50 pm when the party office was teeming with workers and leaders. The people injured included Congress Party spokespersons Mehdi Alam Bora, Akshay Rajkhowa and party general secretary Ranjan Bora.
The fact that both the attacks were executed 70 minutes apart on the same day and selectively targeted gives courage to the doubt that they were jointly planned and executed. And this should not have come as a surprise, because in February the Ulfa’s anti-talk faction sent an email statement threatening to attack Congress leaders and warned people against participating in party rallies in the run-up to the Assembly elections. The Ulfa statement blamed the Congress party for dividing the outfit and luring some leaders into holding peace talks with the government. Accusing the Congress of attempting to create a rift within the outfit, the Paresh Baruah faction threatened to launch an “armed struggle” and called for boycott of meetings by party leaders.
Moreover, the Ulfa and the NDFB have always had close links; both enjoyed sanctuary in Bangladesh during the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s long tenure and after fleeing from there are currently supported by China and both reportedly have links with Al Qaeda. They have also been included in the United Nations scheduled list of terrorist organisations. The two outfits have factions which are engaged in talks with the government and both have often been reported to have links with Assam’s ruling party.
It is strongly believed that chief minister Tarun Gogoi’s New Year gift to the Ulfa’s “pro-talk” faction by releasing its “chairman” Arabinda Rajkhowa and others was aimed at using them to influence voters. Rajkhowa’s repeated statements that he and his group members will in no way involve themselves or interfere in the upcoming elections needs to be taken cautiously.
This newspaper’s earlier reports about Paresh Baruah trying steadfastly to revitalise Ulfa with a recruitment drive are now substantiated by recent reports in the Assam media of “promotions” in the echelons of the outfit. Senior hitman Jiban Moran is promoted to the status of “lieutenant colonel” by Paresh Baruah; which makes him the number two chief in the outfit, while Drishti Rajkhowa and Bijoy Chinese have been promoted from the rank of “second lieutenant” to “major”, giving them a favourable jump in the hierarchy.
Shortly after the first round of Ulfa-government peace talks on February 10 in New Delhi, some members of the group headed by Rajkhowa came to the Press Club of India for a press conference. Considering the Ulfa’s great penchant for the media and that the central publicity secretary, Mithinga Daimary, alias Deepak Das, was the main spokesperson at the press conference, the group adroitly left in a hurry after a bland statement, hardly giving any opportunity to the large number of mediapersons present there to ask questions.
While the pro-talk Ulfa leadership led by Rajkhowa has gone on the record saying the decision to hold talks with the government had the sanction and approval of the Ulfa “general council”, however, the fact is they were caught and handed over to the Indian security agencies and were in the clink with no chance to escape that they “agreed” to hold “unconditional” peace talks.
Perhaps, if chief minister Gogoi had not released Rajkhowa and the company from jail, they would have been under constant watch and would not have been able to hold meetings with people freely. By releasing them, he has allowed them to develop a wave of popularity at a time when the Ulfa’s stock and reputation are down. In fact, if going by the reports following the release of the “pro-talk” leaders from jail, the Ulfa’s symbol of the rising sun began to be visible in villages. This is a development which has the potential of boosting Paresh Baruah’s efforts to recruit volunteers to make good the loss of at least two battalions. Some news reports cite intelligence sources as having informed that many young boys, who disappeared recently, had left for Kachin Hills and with the employment scenario continues to be going down the drain, more youth may follow suit.
Then there is the contradiction about the vertical split because Rajkhowa has stated to the media that there are no two factions and that Baruah is in touch with him and that he may even join talks some time later in the future.
An Assam media report on February 20, 2011 quotes the Ulfa’s official mouthpiece rejecting the claim of any existence of Rajkhowa and Baruah factions in the organisation and states: “Without knowing (the facts) regarding the armed struggle and the struggle for social change, the people vested interests have commented on independent Asom and the armed-struggle by the Ulfa. Similarly, they have spread rumours against the talk between the Ulfa and the government of India too. It can be positively said that there has been no difference of opinion and split in the party on the issue of talk as rumoured by the so-called puppets of ruling class. There is no existence of Rajkhowa and Paresh Baruah factions in our party as stated by the lobby with vested interests. Ulfa has not started its journey and is yet to join the diplomatic talk designed by Mr P. Chidambaram, the former law adviser of multi-national companies. It’ll not (join the talks) in future also. Because we can’t disregard the principles and the ideology of our party. It will not participate in the talk humiliating the birth tragedy, its history of struggle for three decades and sacrifices by thousands of martyrs. But we are also not against talks too.”
The media report adds, “Stating their willingness for democratic solution by “lateral talk”, the organisation also stated that they are neither looking for an agreement like the Shillong Act, 1975, nor the Assam Accord of Aasu (All-Assam Students Organisation), 1985.
During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Assam he is reported to have asserted that peace talks with the Ulfa hold a “good future” and downplayed the threats to the Congress issued by the Baruah faction before the Assam Assembly polls. “Both, the government and the Ulfa, are committed to take the peace process forward and the process is on to bring other underground outfits of the Northeast to the negotiating table,” the PM said in a brief interaction with journalists at the Circuit House, Johrat.
He also expressed that his meeting with the Ulfa leadership, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, in New Delhi “had a very good beginning and its future will also be good”. When asked about the threat to the Congress by the anti-talk Baruah faction, Dr Singh is reported to have said that those who are “now issuing such threats are away from India and are not aware of the ground realities. If they have given threats, necessary steps and precautions will be taken by the agencies concerned but I don’t think they will carry it out.”
While the PM expressed his satisfaction at the Ulfa chairman’s assurance that there would be no such incidents or disturbances during the Assembly elections in May, the attacks in March at least do not indicate so. Again, had these leaders confined to the prison and talks held there, then there would be no doubt about their having nothing to do with the recent violence.
Since the 1996 Assembly polls, the Ulfa has killed at least a dozen Congress leaders.
Peace must be pursued relentlessly, but not as a ruse. The released leaders must be kept under sharp scrutiny and it is reiterated that for ensuring peace and security vis-à-vis the Ulfa, not only in Assam, but all over the Northeast and even in Naxal-affected regions. Paresh Baruah must be caught and his “battalion” disabled.
Anil Bhat, a retired Army officer, is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi