written by Nava Thakuria printable version send your friend

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

The militant outfits from northeast India, who are operating from the jungles of northern Burma (Myanmar), have a tough time ahead. As India and Burma have strengthened their strategic relationship, it is understood that Indian separatist groups will face more attacks in Burmese soil. Moreover, it may become intensive in the next few weeks as Burmese President Thein Sein is visiting India in October 2011.



One of the active armed groups of India, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has admitted that their camps in Burma are facing offensives from the Burmese soldiers. The news cannot be confirmed by the Burmese government at Nay PieTaw, as it has little visibility in these remote areas which in reality have been ruled by the arms and drugs mafia for decades now. Of course, the version of the story ULFA leaders indicate is that some kind of confrontation between the Burmese forces and northeastern militant groups may be occurring there. Even the unconfirmed media reports suggested that the Burmese authority maintained its offensive against the separatist militants for many weeks, and that the ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah received bullet wounds.



The Sagaing division of Burma is used for shelter by many militants including the ULFA, SS Khaplang (Burmese-led) National Socialist Council of Nagaland, Manipur People's Liberation Army, UNLF, and Prepak. They have nearly300 trained cadres in their hideouts inside the jungles of northern Burma. 



A recent statement from the ULFA camp revealed that their hideouts inside Burma were attacked by the government forces, but it claimed that all of their cadres escaped unhurt. Later, another statement from ULFA claimed that Paresh Baruah had not received any injuries in the offensive. To prove their claims, the statement added a photograph of the illusive ULFA leader. It is the second photograph of Paresh Baruah, which has been released by the militant outfit itself in the last few months. Indian intelligence reportedly has no recent photographs of Paresh Baruah except some pix taken in Bhutan camps before December 2003.



The email statement, issued by Paresh Baruah’s close associate Arunoday Dahotiya, went on to allege that that the Indian central government in New Delhi had supplied a huge amount of arms and money to the Burmese regime to go on the offensive against the ULFA militants.



It is noteworthy that the Indian government had recently supplied 52 military trucks load of arms and ammunition to the Burmese government. India maintained its strategic and military relationship with the Burmese regime even after receiving brickbats from the international community. Expressing resentment at New Delhi's continued military relationship with Nay Pie Taw, hundreds of pro-democracy Burmese activists and various Indian civil society groups demonstrated in New Delhi on July 22, 2011 arguing that “supplying arms to the most brutal military dictatorship may have grave consequences for millions of innocent lives.”



The demonstrators also sent a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh urging him to renew New Delhi's support to the Burmese people's movement for the restoration of peace and democracy in Burma. Until the early nineties, the Indian government supported the democratic movement led by Daw Aung San SuuKyi. But later, it changed its course and started engaging the then military regime, named the State Peace and Development Council.



"We believe that India is a nation founded on sound democratic principles and time and again India has proven to uphold the principles of constitutionally elected governments. Further as a nation committed to playing an important, if not pivotal role in maintaining peace in the region, it is unbecoming of a responsible nation to supply arms to countries known for abusing military power," stated the memorandum, which was signed by nearly a hundred Indian civil society groups and individuals with many Burmese organizations.



ULFA, which was born in 1979 to make Assam independent from India three decades back, is a divided house today, as its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and his followers have joined the peace process with New Delhi. However, ULFA’s commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah continues sticking to the primary demand for a Swadhin Asom. The hardliner leader is understood to have left Bangladesh recently and is now somewhere in the Burma-China border areas, from where he and his followers are maintaining their so-called armed struggle.



Arunoday Dahotiya’s letter claimed that New Delhi “paid a special economic package worth as high as Indian Rupees 20,000 crore (1 USD = 45 Indian Rs) to flush out the rebel camps” from Burmese soil. Additionally, the statement added that the Burmese government was offered (by the Indian government) Rs 100 crore  to kill Paresh Baruah within this September. It further stated that New Delhi maintained the practice of paying neighboring countries in need since long ago. The Indian government provided an Rs 1000 crore package to Bhutan to destroy ULFA, following which Thimphu flushed out the ULFA camps inside southern Bhutan in December2003, Arunoday Dahotiya claimed.



The Indian government had recently offered money to the Bangladeshi government led by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, with a request to take action against ULFA leaders and cadres taking shelter in that country. Accordingly, Dhaka handed over many militant leaders, including ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, to Indian authorities. Though India and Bangladesh donot have an extradition treaty, the Bangladesh authorities arrested the militant leaders and secretly handed them over to India. No official statement was issued by the Bangladesh government on the matter, and even Bangladeshi newspapers had to depend on India’s media to gather reports regarding the important issue.