(January 22, Assam-India, Sri Lanka Guardian) When they took shelter in Bangladesh, the militant leaders could not see a single illegal Bangladeshi in Assam. But once the government of neighboring country handed over them to India after their arrest in Dhaka, they start remembering that Assam is full of illegal citizens from Bangladesh.
At least Shasha Choudhury, the foreign secretary of United Liberation Front of Asom, has made an official statement that there may be more Bangladeshis in Assam than indigenous Assamese population. Choudhury, who was released from Guwahati Central Jail as the government paved way for a proposed talks with ULFA, arrived in his home district Nalbari in western Assam on January 11.
Addressing a crowded meeting in Nalbari town, the intelligent banned outfit leader warned that India would face a major trouble from the East (read Bangladesh) as well as from the West (read Pakistan).
“If I get the opportunity to represent our delegation to the talks with the government (Union government of India), I would first raise voice against the Bangladeshi immigrants taking shelter in Assam,” Choudhury asserted.
Choudhury was imitated by ULFA’s finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, who was released from the same jail next day. On his way to home district Nagaon, Hazarika too expressed serious concern at the influx from Bangladesh to Assam in the last few decades.
Mentionable that Choudhury with Hazarika and some top ULFA leaders were arrested in Dhaka in separate incidents by the Bangladesh authority in 2009. Those arrested included ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy military chief Raju Barua with their spouses and children, who were handed over to Indian agencies and finally everyone has already received bail from the concerned courts.
At that time, neither Dhaka nor New Delhi initially confirmed the news. Even the Bangladesh media was in complete dark about the development. The Assam (Indian) media broke the story and discovered that within few weeks all these heavy weights of ULFA went under the custody of Assam police. The Indian security agency came out with a statement that both Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika had surrendered to Border Security Force (of India) jawans along the Indo-Bangladesh border (onthe night of November 4).
Choudhury who was known as Rafiqul Islam in Bangladesh used to posses a Bangladeshi passport and he visited many countries with the Muslim identity, as he was in charge of international communication for the banned outfit.
Earlier the ULFA leader, who joined the outfit in 1983, was arrested by the Indian armed forces during the 1995 Operation Bluebird at Saiha of Mizoram. Choudhury was released on bail next year, but jumped bail to rejoin the armed group.
The Indian intelligence agency continues claiming that the ULFA with few other militant groups from Northeast India running training camps and hideouts inside Bangladesh. Moreover, the militant groups used to enjoy adequate support from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (the military intelligence wing of Bangladesh) under the direction from the Inter Services Intelligence (of Pakistan).
The ULFA military chief Paresh Barua, the only top leader loose at large, is understood to have already left Bangladesh for somewhere on China-Myanmar border areas. After getting his name involved in the Chittagong arms seizure case, the rebel leader reportedly arrived in the southern part of China.
The Indian intelligence agency believes that Paresh Barua has been trying to seal an arms deal with a Chinese company somewhere in the Yunnan province and also the possibility of alternate hideouts in those areas as Bangladesh government turned hostile towards the outfit. The armed group has reportedly few camps inside Myanmar too, which has been revealed by some surrendered ULFA cadres time to time.
The Naga insurgents are supporting the rebels in getting training and shelter in the jungles of northern Myanmar. But with the sustained improvement of New Delhi-Nay Pie Taw strategic relationship, ULFA has now found the military ruled country also unsafe.
The Bangladesh government always tried to deny the fact that Bangladesh soil was used by many northeast Indian militants, but the present Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina changed the scenario. Soon after her return to Dhaka as the head of the government, the Bangabandhu daughter initiated for improvement of bilateral ties with New Delhi.
In fact, during her first term as the Prime Minister, the ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia was arrested in December 1997 from Dhaka under the Foreigners’ Act and Passport Act of Bangladesh. Anup is still behind bars in Dhaka Central Jail.
Even after repeated requests from New Delhi, the Bangladesh government has not handed over Anup to India (the cited reason is the absence of an extradition agreement between the two countries).
Later, the ULFA leader had requested the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to grant him a refugee status and political asylum in a third country. It may be mentioned that ULFA was formed on 7th April 1979 with an aimto establish a Swadhin Asom (Independent Assam) with the help of armed
struggle.
The founders of the outfit were unanimous that all the foreigners, including the Bangladeshis, must leave Assam. But in the course of time, the outfit became so much dependent on Bangladesh (and also Pakistan) for shelter, training and arms that it lost its moral courage to stand against the illegal Bangladeshis in Assam and that way lost the base for propagating themselves as liberators of the indigenous Assamese people.
There are reports that the ULFA leaders had invested a huge amount of money (which had been extorted from Assam) in various avenues including the local media of Bangladesh.
However, ULFA leaders never voiced against the large-scale infiltration from Bangladesh to Assam (India). They always put deaf ears to the alarming situation because of large scale influx from Bangladesh. The ULFA leaders continued their argument that all foreigners (read Nepali, Hindi speaking people from mainland India with Bangladeshis) must leave Assam and the Northeast.
They never distinguished the hundred thousand illegal Bangladeshis with the mainland Indian population living in the alienated region.
 When they took shelter in Bangladesh, the militant leaders could not see a s...){kind=link}
Post a Comment