Author: Anil Bhat
Publication: Himalayan Affairs
Date:
URL: http://www.himalayanaffairs.org/articledetails.asp?id=370
Incidents in Assam and Manipur in 2007 yet
again blew the lid on the nexus between politicians and insurgent-turned -terrorist
groups. Guwahati based Samudra Gupta Kashyap wrote in The Indian Express of
March 06, 2007 that less than a month after the outlawed United Liberation
Front of Assam (ULFA) 'allowed' the Congress-led government in Assam to peacefully
hold the much-delayed 33rd National Games, L K Advani, senior BJP leader and
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha once again reopened the issue of an
alleged nexus between the government and the militant group virtually stirring
a hornet''s nest with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi daring the veteran
BJP leader and former Union Home Minister to prove his charges. "But
it remains a fact that political parties have by and large tried to get the
"blessings" of the ULFA and other militant groups from time to time,
the most favourite time being during elections. Even the militant group has
admitted that political parties make use of the ULFA during elections. The
ULFA had a few weeks ago complained that the Congress government made its
peace moves and held a few rounds of discussions with an ULFA-nominated body
only to tide over the state assembly elections", wrote Kashyap. He also
referred to that famous report saying politicians (and bureaucrats) not only
help divert development funds in the Northeast to militant groups, but also
that some politicians even take their assistance during election times. An
expert group appointed by the Union Home Ministry a few years ago had prepared
this report. No wonder political parties in the state do not openly criticize
or oppose the ULFA.
On November 10, 2007 Manipur Chief Minister
Okram Ibobi Singh warned of stern action against lawmakers if they were found
hobnobbing with separatist militants. The warning followed a series of police
raids on official residences of state legislators in the capital city of Imphal
in recent months and arrests of hardcore militants sheltered by politicians.
"The government would immediately withdraw personal security guards from
the house of any MLA found providing shelter to militants. Legal action would
also be initiated against anybody found aiding or abetting militancy,"
a senior government official said. A week earlier Manipur police had raided
the official residence of Borajao, a sitting CPI MLA, in Imphal and arrested
a hardcore militant of the outlawed People''s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak
(Prepak). Similarly, on Aug 11, the police raided the official residences
of Congress party MLAs Brajabidhu Singh, Bijoy Koijam and K. Meghachandra
and apprehended 12 militants, mostly of the Kanglei Yawoi Kanna Lup (KYKL)
group and seized a huge cache of arms and ammunitions from them.
Politician-militant nexus in Manipur is not
new. The state has been home to about 19-odd rebel groups whose demands range
from secession to greater autonomy to the right to self-determination. As
usual, the politicians denied the charges when questioned by the police. "They
were all construction workers from my constituency brought to Imphal for renovation
of my official residence," Brajabidhu Singh told the police when asked
how the KYKL rebels entered his residence. Bijoy Koijam too had an excuse.
"The militant arrested from my residence is my driver and he had since
long joined the mainstream after shunning insurgency," Koijam was reported
to have told the investigators. Another set of incidents which brought out
the nexus and politicizati on of the State police was the attacks on Hmar
and Kuki tribals by United National Liberation Front (UNLF), in connivance
with Myanmar Army as well as replacement of Assam Rifles with India Reserve
Battalions, in connection with these incidents.
Despite operations against these groups in
both States, militants have been able to launch one of the worst attacks so
far and at least seven people were killed and 25 injured when a packed passenger
bus hit a landmine in Manipur in December 2007. Manipur has 19 active insurgent
groups, almost all of them seeking separate homelands, but none claimed responsibility
for the attack. On March 08, 2008, an explosive device was lobbed inside the
assembly building in Manipur''s State capital Imphal, damaging the building.
While no one was reported injured there is no sign of the culprits.
In Assam, according to South Asia Intelligence
Report, quoting Home Ministry and Assam Police, with 439 insurgency-related
fatalities in 500 incidents of violence, the State remained the most violent
theatre of conflict in India's North East in 2007. The year 2006 had recorded
a marginal decline in total fatalities over the previous year, heralding hopes
of 'stabilization' in the State . While the army has been making a concerted
effort to prevent ULFA from regrouping, with about 900 ULFA operatives or
linkmen either captured or surrendered in the past 15 odd months, its uncapured
ones, or those on the run have been able to strike here and there. If 2007
was a bad year for these two States, there are no indications of 2008 being
any better.
The author, a strategic analyst, is Editor,
WordSword Features & Media.
