ULFA: urges Dhaka to 'stop crackdown’

[Al-Zakir]

"A party like the Awami League, which fought for Bangladesh's freedom, should try and understand our passion for independence. We are fighting against Indian colonialism


Saturday December 12 2009 02:51:52 AM BDT


The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has appealed to Bangladesh's Awami League (AL) government to stop its ongoing crackdown against the insurgent organisations of northeastern India.(bdnews24.com)

"A party like the Awami League, which fought for Bangladesh's freedom, should try and understand our passion for independence. We are fighting against Indian colonialism much the same way they fought against colonialism of Pakistan," the ULFA 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua said in a joint statement e-mailed to bdnews24.com.

Four other insurgent outfits of the troubled region have also echoed the ULFA.

"We know that the spirit of freedom has always prevailed, even against the strongest power on earth. And we believe that in the spirit of freedom the people of Bangladesh will have sympathy and support for our liberation struggle transcending their government's contrary policies," the outlawed Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) said in the joint statement with ULFA.

The ULFA has been pursuing an armed struggle since 1979 with the professed objective of liberating the hydrocarbon-rich northeastern Indian state of Assam from New Delhi's 'colonial rule'. Thousands have died during its insurgent campaign.

Barua heads the armed wing of the outlawed organisation. The NDFB too is fighting for an independent homeland for two million Bodos, who live in parts of western Assam and are among the early settlers of the State. The MPLF is a conglomeration of three secessionist rebel organisations of another northeastern Indian state Manipur.

The NLFT and ATTF are also fighting against the Indian government with the objective of liberating Tripura from colonial rule of India.

"The people of northeast India wholeheartedly supported the Bangladesh liberation war, so why should Bangladesh not support our struggle," Barua said in the communiqué from an undisclosed location.

The ULFA military chief's appeal to the AL government came a week after New Delhi announced the arrest of the outfit's chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa by the Border Security Force (BSF) near the India-Bangladesh border at Dawki in northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.

Raju Barua, the deputy commander-in-chief of ULFA's armed wing, was also arrested along with Rajkhowa on December 4 last

Sources in the Indian government's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), however, had said that Rajkhowa had been picked up from somewhere in Bangladesh and was unofficially handed over to the BSF.

Dhaka has categorically denied that Rajkhowa was detained in Bangladesh.

But Rajkhowa, himself, indicated that he had been arrested in Bangladesh. "Bangladesh has betrayed us (ULFA)," he had told journalists when produced in a court in Guwahati, the main city of Assam, on Dec 5.

The five insurgent outfits in their joint statement said that the "arrest and hand-over" of Rajkhowa and other leaders of ULFA by the Bangladesh government had deeply hurt the sentiments of the peoples Assam, Manipur and Tripura, who had contributed in no small way to the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.

"It may be recalled that our region served the much needed rear base of the Bangladesh liberation war. The peoples of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura provided generous shelters to hundreds of thousands of freedom fighters of Bangladesh. And now our Region provides shelter for livelihood to hundreds of thousands of migrant Bangladeshis," the proscribed organisations stated.

"It is, therefore, only natural that the peoples of our region now engaged in liberation struggles feel betrayed in their hour of need by this act of the Bangladesh government."

The ULFA military chief Barua also strenuously denied Indian media reports that his organisation was aplnning to launch attacks in Bangladesh to avenge the handover of Rajkhowa and other leaders.

"We are not waging war against any other country, we are only fighting India, but we appeal to Dhaka not to fall prey to Indian colonialism," he said.

India and Bangladesh have not yet inked any bilateral extradition treaty. Delhi has also long been conveying to Dhaka its concern over Indian insurgents and terrorists having bases in Bangladesh.

But some sources have suggested that Dhaka has recently accepted Delhi's proposal for a tacit understanding to track down and catch the fugitives of India illegally taking shelter in Bangladesh.

Amid speculation of a peace-process between the government of India and ULFA, Barua said if India was a people's democracy, it should allow the "voice of the people of Assam to be heard."

"Negotiations must be free and unfettered. Or else, India should hold a referendum or a plebiscite and let the people of Assam express themselves freely. If they say they want to be part of India, so be it. We will accept the people's verdict but the conduct of the plebiscite should be free and fair and nobody should try to influence it," said Barua.

http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=296599

[vinod2070]

"A party like the Awami League, which fought for Bangladesh's freedom, should try and understand our passion for independence. We are fighting against Indian colonialism

Is he nuts? Why should Bangladesh betray the very country that helped it during its worst period and help in it's very birth!

[Al-Zakir]

We Bangladeshi have moral right to support those who seek separate identity for better life for their future generations. La-Hasina’s extreme pro bharati stand could shatter a log-waited dream of indigenous people of NE, which could create adverse effect on Bangladesh. If UFLA failed in bharat due to Bangladesh action than they will bring terror in to Bd out of frustration. It’s not a good idea to create unnecessary enemy in friendly neighborhood. I hope La-Hasina and Awami understand this before too late.

I personally do not care the outcome of UFLA’s movement but I hate to see Bangladesh take a negative role against these oppress people's inspiration for separate land.

[vinod2070]

I see that the Bangladeshi patriots did not really finish the job after getting the freedom in 1971 with India's help.

The betrayal by Pakistan and their failure to to take in the Biharis and other razakaars hurts, doesn't it? That after doing so much in it's name!

[Al-Zakir]

Bangladesh will pay dearly -

Illustration: Hadimani
INVESTIGATION

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW/Paresh Baruah, Commander-in-chief, ULFA

The man who meticulously plans all of ULFA's strikes, commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, is not one to mince words. He is said to have set up base in Myanmar's Kachin Hills bordering China's Yunnan province, running guns for the Chinese. On December 4 morning, even as the Bangladesh authorities were preparing to hand over Arabinda Rajkhowa and his family to the BSF at Dawki outpost in Meghalaya, he called up Sarbari Bhaumik to insist that there was no question of negotiations with India unless Delhi agreed to include the issue of Assam’s sovereignty on the agenda for talks. Excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Will Arabinda Rajkhowa bow to pressure and start negotiations with India?
ULFA is always keen to start negotiations and sort out the problems through dialogue. But any such negotiations, any talks, will have to have the issue of Assam’s sovereignty on its agenda. Otherwise we are not talking. I will expect our chairman to remember that 11,000 of our fighters, young Assamese who dreamt of freedom, have laid down their lives for sovereignty. We will dishonour their souls if we quietly drop the issue of Assam’s sovereignty from any negotiations.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has made it clear that India will only talk to ULFA if the demand for sovereignty is dropped.
We will not talk to India if the issue is not included on the agenda. That is our position as an organisation and my position as an individual and as the leader of our movement.

But there are reports in the Indian media that Rajkhowa might start talks by dropping the demand for Assam’s sovereignty.
I don’t think it is true. The Indians have turned it into a huge drama but I think our chairman will not betray the sentiments and feelings of all our freedom fighters and the freedom-loving people of Assam. At the end of the day, organisations matter, leaders don’t. If an individual leader betrays the feeling of the collective, he should be prepared to face the consequences

The media is talking of a split in your organisation.
That is a huge nonsense. I have a very poor opinion of the Indian media, specially the so-called national media. They are jingoistic, they don’t see the reality on the ground. They write what the intelligence or the administration tells them to.
There is no split in ULFA. Most of our central committee members and founders are in jail and you must have seen them telling journalists in Guwahati in no uncertain terms that there cannot be any talks without sovereignty being on the agenda and without me being a part of the negotiations. There is total consensus on this issue right across ULFA, within our central committee and from top to bottom.

So there is no split in ULFA?
I repeat, there is no split in ULFA. Some self-styled security analysts are also suggesting there is a three-way split in ULFA. They are shamelessly working for the Indian state and saying what they are told to. The reality is that from time to time, some of our people have walked out from the organisation and called it a day because they had lost hope in our struggle. Any struggle for freedom, specially against a powerful state like India, cannot be a road without thorns. We will have to face many challenges. But some of our people at times lose hope and go away. That is fine so long as they don’t become lackeys of the Indian state and work against our national movement.

If Rajkhowa walks away and starts talks with India by dropping the sovereignty demand, how would you react?
Let us not talk about ifs and buts. Our senior leaders will not betray the movement but, as I said, if someone does that, it will be at his own peril.

Why is the Bangladesh government after your group?
I really don’t understand why the new government of Bangladesh is succumbing to Indian hegemonist designs. They will pay dearly for what they are doing.

Are you threatening violent action against Bangladesh?
I am not threatening anyone. But if Bangladesh has expectations from India and are doing all this to make Delhi happy, they will be quickly belied. They will get nothing for what they are doing.

There are reports that you are seeking, and perhaps getting, Chinese help.
China is upset with India for its growing strategic relationship with the US. A major confrontation between India and China is in the offing.

But what if that happens? How does it help your cause?
Small people like us may either benefit from such a huge conflict of titans and gain our independence or get sandwiched and crushed between the two giants. It is worth taking a risk, is it not?

Bangladesh will pay dearly