New Delhi, December 04: The chairman of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Arabinda Rajkhowa, was not arrested by Bangladesh authorities but “detained” and turned over to India.The return of Rajkhowa, the ideologue of the banned militant group is giving hope to the people of Assam that violence and terror attacks may now come to an end.
But there is a big if. Rajkhowa is the head of the political wing and has been known for sometime to be eager for talks with the government of India. But New Delhi will be cautious, because in 1992 the Ulfa leader had come in for talks and absconded to Bangladesh. The Ulfa has been considerably weakened in the past few months by army action and may also be using the talks as a fig leaf to re-group. Home minister P Chidambaram has made it clear that he is waiting for a political statement from Rajkhowa before any movement takes place.
The writing on the wall has been there for all to see for sometime now. The increasing attacks on civilians had put off the people of Assam on whose behalf the ULFA had taken up arms. Assam is well integrated with the rest of the country and no one there wants independence from India, except the ULFA and its now dwindling cadre.
“We do not want our revolution to end but there should be a peaceful solution to it, preferably in a constitutional way.I want peace talks to restart and conclude…That is why I have come forward to carry on my agenda,” Rajkhowa told TV channels.
But the military commander of ULFA, Paresh Baruahis still holding out. He does not want peace. According to intelligence reports, Baruah has fled to the jungles in Myanmar with around 500 armed men.In lower Assam, the 709 battalion is intact. But their main strike force, the 28 battalion, has surrendered to the government. Baruah’s army is depleted, but still capable of carrying out terror strikes. People in Assam are bracing themselves for stepped up attacks as Baruah is said to have ordered his cadres to get cracking.
The proposed peace talks with ULFA was not a result of a well-thought out strategy by the government of India, but had more to do with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s decision to crack down on north-eastern militant groups operating from Bangladesh..
Since last month, the Bangladesh authorities have been rounding up and handing over ULFA cadres to India, including biggies in the outfit like Sasha Chowdhury and Chitbron Hazarika. But since Tuesday evening, intelligence agencies in India were talking about a big catch by Dhaka. By Wednesday, it was clear that person was Rajkhowa.
The Centre and the Assam government were both in a fix about what to do with the Ulfa chief. Initially, the home ministry thought he would be arrested as soon as he landed in Delhi. But Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi , scenting a political opportunity, pleaded with Delhi that Rajkhowa should not be arrested, instead the Centre must offer talks. He said that “signals” were encouraging and things were moving in the right direction.”A good development is taking place. That’s the signal I’m getting.” Asked whether his government will offer safe passage to top leaders if they come for talks, he said, “I am for it.”
–Agencies–