ULFA: A Ray of Hope

JP Rajkhowa
The unilateral declaration of ‘ceasefire’ on June 24, by the Alpha and Charlie companies of the 28 Battalion of the outlawed ULFA, did not come as a surprise, in view of media speculations of such a possibility. The leaders of the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the outfit further appealed to the central committee of the outfit, the Centre and the State Government to take positive steps in restoring peace to Asom. “Significantly, commander of the outfit’s 28 Battalion and a close confidante of ULFA c- in-c Paresh Barua, Bijoy Chinese, distanced himself from the pro-talk leaders of the battalion. 'B' company commander Sujit Moran has also kept himself away from the peace overtures.” [The Sentinel, Wednesday 25 June, 2008] It appears that captive ULFA leader Mrinal Hazarika, who was instrumental in motivating Jiten Dutta and other top leaders of the two companies to go for unilateral ceasefire, must have received an assurance from the State Government agencies that there would be no operation against the pro-ceasefire groups by the security forces, the Army in particular. Otherwise, the Assam Police would have certainly opposed the bail petition of Hazarika, tooth and nail. So, on release from jail custody, Hazarika had a ‘meaningful conference’ with top leaders of the two companies at a village in distant Sadiya. Obviously, Hazarika and his compatriots could not impress upon the top leaders of ‘B’ company to join hands for the ceasefire.What compelled the leaders of this faction of the ULFA’s 28 Battalion to declare a unilateral ceasefire, bypassing their central leadership whose commands they had been carrying out with religious fervour till the recent past? How did the sudden transformation from brutal ULFA commanders to ambassadors of peace and protectors of the ‘indigenous people’ against foreigners come about? If the latest cry for peace has its origin in the recent killing of many able-bodied Asomiya youths at the hands of the army, in encounter or otherwise, and to relieve the unnecessary harassment of family members of ULFA cadres and linkmen by the security forces, the changed position of hard-core ULFA commanders like Mrinal Hazarika is understandable. Earlier, the Asom Chief Minister had indicated that an attractive ‘economic package’ would be provided to the ULFA militants if they would come forward to surrender. It was also reported in a section of the media that prior to the ‘ceasefire’ under discussion, some top functionaries of the State intelligence and the Army had a secret parley with Mrinal Hazarika and former commander of the 28 Battalion Prabal Neog in Dibrugarh jail. As both these ULFA leaders were facing criminal charges for heinous offences like murder, causing bomb-blasts, including the much condemned Dhemaji blasts, and killing of innocent Hindi-speaking people etc, it is quite understandable that they could have been prevailed upon for revolting against their central leadership, as a bargain for freedom and leniency.After the ceasefire by ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies, it was widely believed that the 'B' company, as also the other battalions of the ULFA — 709, 209, 27 — mainly responsible for operation in Central and Lower Asom, would also join their ranks and declare a similar ceasefire, thereby totally isolating Paresh Barua, Arabinda Rajkhowa and other top leaders of the outfit. But, this hope is yet to materialize though signs of some pro-talk developments have emerged, if one goes by a media report. It is reported that the Asom Government has invited the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of ULFA’s 28 Battalion for a meeting, in order to “lay ground for a formal bilateral truce between the Government and the ULFA units”. Rebel commander Jiten Dutta alias Moon Bora reportedly said, “We have asked for two days so that we can have discussions among ourselves”. He added that ULFA c-in-c Paresh Baruah had asked him to lay emphasis on the sovereignty issue during the talks with the Government. If what Jiten Dutta told the media is true, it seems Paresh Barua has not given up his hold on some key leaders of the splinter groups favouring talks with the Government and wants to use them to push forward the ‘sovereignty agenda’. This stand of Paresh Barua appears to be quite intriguing, if one goes by his statement on June 24, when he denounced the ‘ceasefire declaration’ as a conspiracy of the Government of India and held that none of ULFA’s battalions had the authority to start any dialogue with the Indian State. Is it possible that, in view of the lack of success in carrying forward the ‘peace process’ through the PCG and arrest of one of its key members, Hiranya Saikia , the ULFA leadership is now trying to explore discussion on the ‘sovereignty issue’ through Jiten Dutta? If that is so, the PCG would have no role to play in the ‘peace process’ and would soon be defunct on its own.No one can deny that with the unilateral declaration of ceasefire by the two splinter groups of ULFA, the rebel outfit has suffered the biggest-ever blow in 29 years of its chequered history. This has posed the greatest ever challenge to the ULFA leadership, its commander-in-chief in particular. So, as a damage-control exercise, Paresh Barua, on the anticipated lines, has disbanded all the three companies of the 28 Battalion, and reconstituted the battalion, with the ‘B’ company and cadres of the ‘C’ company who have not joined the pro-ceasefire groups and by reinstalling his loyalist Bijoy Chinese as the battalion commander. As of now, there is no indication that commanders of the three battalions in charge of central Asom, including the hills districts and Barak valley, and lower Asom regions would also join the pro-ceasefire group. On the contrary, they have reportedly caused bomb blasts at a number of places, killing and wounding a number of innocent people. As per the usual pattern, ULFA top brass would, in all probability, now concentrate on committing acts of terror in the areas outside the jurisdiction of the erstwhile ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies — Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts — as well as Sivasagar and Golaghat districts which fall under the erstwhile ‘B’ company. So, more sabotage activities as well as bomb-blasts/grenade attacks etc are likely to take place in the operational areas of the 27, 109 and 209 battalions, which would divert the attention of the security forces and thereby enable the beleaguered 28 Battalion to re-group. If we judge by the extent of public support given to the ‘ceasefire groups’ at Sadiya and other places in their strongholds, this task of re-grouping is not going to be an easy affair, unless opportunities are provided by overzealous members of the security forces, by committing excesses on innocent people, in the name of apprehending anti-ceasefire ULFA cadres.According to a media report, the leaders of the pro-talk ‘ceasefire groups’ have asked the Government to release six jailed ULFA leaders — Bhimkanta Burhagohain, Pradeep Gogoi, Mithinga Daimari, Prabal Neog, Pallab Saikia and Pranati Deka — so as to utilize their services for expediting ‘peace dialogues’ between the ULFA and the Government. In a statement, commander of ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies Moon Bora alias Jiten Dutta had reportedly said that the talks should be held with the Central leadership, not with him or Captain Mrinal Hazarika, in an honourable manner and that all issues concerning the future of Asom, including the demand for sovereignty, should be discussed in the course of the proposed ‘peace dialogue’. [Asomiya Pratidin, July 2, 2008]. If one goes by the spirit of this statement, one would feel that the ULFA is now interested in a direct dialogue with the Centre and not through an intermediary like the PCG or an interlocutor, as was done earlier. Secondly, one would also feel that the unilateral declaration of ceasefire by the two companies of 28 Battalion had been declared after consultation with Paresh Barua, who could have his own tactical reasons for such a move. Well, if what Jiten Dutta has told the media is indicative of a genuine change of mind of the ULFA leadership, one and all should welcome the ceasefire and press for complete ceasefire by the outfit as a whole, as the first step towards direct ‘peace dialogue’. The Government should also reciprocate without any reservation and create conditions for long-term peace, by putting in all efforts, to involve the central leadership of ULFA in ‘peace dialogue’ directly.It must be borne in mind that any short-sighted policy and short-cut methods to divide the ULFA and hold talks with leaders of two splinter groups of one battalion is unlikely to be a harbinger of peace, if we go by living instances of militant groups divided into pro-talk and anti-talk factions in Asom as well as Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, etc. This is the time our political leadership must behave like statesmen and not just politicians, for the simple reason that by brushing off the large majority of the ULFA cadres and leaders to the sidelines, no meaningful ceasefire or for that matter, ‘peace dialogue’ would be a feasible proposition. The ULFA leadership currently holed up in foreign lands should be bold enough to appreciate the ground realities, feel the pulse of the people whose cause they claim to be espousing for, and declare unilateral ceasefire for the whole outfit, as the first step for a direct ‘peace dialogue process’ with the Government. Let them prove their real love for Asom by fighting for the Asomiyas, not bolstering the cause of the foreigners, who have already devoured six districts of ‘Xonar Asom’. Would the all-powerful Central Government also listen, and make a serious attempt to bring the ULFA to the negotiating table, on the same lines that has been done with other militant groups across the country? source: sentinel assam