Unilateral Ceasefire | SilverScorpio.Com

One Turkish soldier killed in PKK attack

June 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

June 20 (Reuters) – One Turkish soldier was killed and one injured in a Kurdish rebel attack on a military outpost in the southeastern province of Elazig overnight, military sources said on Sunday.

The attack followed clashes on Saturday which killed 11 soldiers and 12 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas in the region, near the border with Iraq. The attacks marked an escalation in separatist violence in the region.

The sources said the militants threw a hand grenade at the base before opening fire with rifles in the Palu district of Elazig.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was due to attend a ceremony in the southeastern city of Van on Sunday for the soldiers killed in Saturday’s clashes.

The PKK, branded terrorists by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, said this month they had scrapped a year-old unilateral ceasefire and resumed attacks against Turkish forces because of military operations against them.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the country’s southeast. (Writing by Daren Butler)

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Gogoi sets Sept.15 surrender deadline for Black Widow terror group

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, Sep.1 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday set a September 15 deadline for the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) a.k.a. the “Black Widow” terror group to surrender.

Talking to reporters here, Gogoi said that the state government would not extend the cease-fire deadline set earlier for the group.

“No extension of cease-fire deadline with Black Widow beyond September 15,” Gogoi tersely said.

Gogoi’s tough stand was reiterated three days fater he had undertaken a four-hour whirlwind tour to Haflong, the headquarters of North Cachar Hills district where the DHD (J) is active.

Gogoi, who reviewed the ground situation in the insurgency-hit district and held key meetings with top administration and security officials, stressed that the DHD (J) must stop all kinds of insurgent activities and extortion campaigns as a precondition to talks.

He said “the group must also hand over all the arms before coming forward for talks.” The arms will be deposited in an armoury, to be supervised by both police and the outfit.

The Calcutta Telegraph had earlier quoted Gogoi, as saying that the government had been receiving feelers from the DHD (J), expressing the outfit’s willingness to sit for a dialogue. But it would not accept any such offer unless the outfit’s leadership, and not a section of its cadres, came forward for talks.

DHD (J) chief Jewel Gorlosa, was arrested along with another leader, Partho Warisa, from Bangalore in June this year, forcing the outfit’s lower ranked cadres to declare a unilateral cease-fire.

Dispur, however, continued its operation against the outfit. The unilateral ceasefire, declared by the DHD (J) in North Cachar Hills for three months, will expire on September 7.

Gogoi also made it clear that Dispur would not agree to the demand of renaming North Cachar Hills into Dima Hajao Raji and that the district would not suffer any vivisection in future.

The chief minister expressed satisfaction over the “visible improvement” in law and order in the district in the past three months.

He assured tribal leaders that measures would be taken to usher in peace, rehabilitate violence-hit people and chalk out a special development package for the district. (ANI)

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Military push for last rebel area in northern Sri Lanka

May 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Colombo – Government forces have stepped up operations to capture the last rebel-held area in northern Sri Lanka after rejecting an unilateral ceasefire offered by the Tamil insurgents, a pro-rebel website said Monday.

Troops have launched operations from the north, west and south on Mullivaikkal area, a narrow strip on the coast area of the Mullativu district, 395 kilometres north-east of the capital Colombo, the Tamilnet website said.

The report said the operation had been launched around 3:45 am Monday (2215 GMT Sunday), and heavy gunfire was reported in the area.

Military officials confirmed they were continuing their operations but declined to comment whether they had stepped up the attack.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels have claimed that an estimated 160,000 civilians are pinned down in the coastal area, but the government says there are only 20,000 civilians still trapped. Other sources say there may be around 40,000 people in the war zone.

“If the expected offensive goes forward, there will be more than 10,000 casualties as the area is densely populated and there is no cover from bombs, shells, and bullets,” the Tamilnet quoted a press statement issued by the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a front organization for the LTTE.

Civilians trapped in the area face severe shortages of food and medicine, as the last aid transport, a ship sailing under a Red Cross flag, reached the area on April 2.

Last week some 109,000 civilians fled from the combat zone into into the government-controlled areas raising the total of number of refugees to 170,000 since January.

Tamil rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday, but Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rejected the offer saying the rebels must surrender.

The defence secretary, who is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, vowed to fight until the LTTE is crushed.

Visiting UN humanitarian chief Sir John Holmes also called for a humanitarian pause enabling civilians to leave the combat zone, but his call was so far ignored by the Sri Lankan government.

Holmes is due to meet with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama Monday to further discuss the trapped civilians’ plight as well as measures to assist those who have already fled the area and are living in government-controlled camps.

Meanwhile foreign ministers from Britain, France and Sweden are to visit Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

“Foreign Secretary David Miliband, together with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner and Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt, will visit (Sri Lanka) on Wednesday,” a statement from the British High Commission said.

On Sunday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned President Rajapaksa to express his concern about the plight of the civilians trapped in the rebel area.

The military says they are on the final phase of crushing the LTTE who have been fighting in the north and eastern parts of Sri Lanka for an independent homeland for minority Tamils from the Sinhalese majority for the last 25 years. (dpa)

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Lanka Government announces temporary cease-fire

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

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Colombo/Chennai, Apr.27 (ANI): The Sri Lanka Government has announced a temporary cease-fire to allow for the evacuation of nearly 20,000 Lankan Tamil civilians from a no-fire zone deep in rebel LTTE territory./pp
Sources in Colombo said that there would be no use of aerial weaponry or artillery while the temporary cease-fire is on, and added that this was being done to enable humanitarian organizations to pursue their rescue efforts and evacuate refugees./pp
In a statement Monday, the government said it concluded that combat operations had reached their conclusion and its troops would no longer use heavy machine guns, air strikes or artillery in the battle against the Tamil Tiger rebels./pp
The statement came amid heavy international pressure for a cease-fire to protect the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone. The government rejected a rebel truce appeal on Sunday as a desperate bid to stop the offensive./pp
The announcement of the temporary cease-fire came a day after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) announced a unilateral ceasefire, saying that that the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka’s war zone can only be overcome by a truce./pp
The Sri Lanka Government then quickly rejected the offer and asked the rebels to surrender. /pp
All of LTTE’s offensive military operations will cease with immediate effect. As the first step we have now announced this unilateral ceasefire and call upon the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to reciprocate it, the LTTE said in a statement. /pp
Reacting to the Tigers truce offer, Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa said then there was no question of ceasefire with the LTTE. /pp
Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said it is an incredibly unbelievable joke. Who will take them seriously when they are down on their knees and then announce a ceasefire, he said. /pp
The LTTE truce offer came on a day when the Sri Lankan forces captured the strategic Vlayarmadam area and encircled remaining six sq km strip of land that is the possible hideout of its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and his top aides. /pp
Union Home Minister P. Chidamabaram conveyed the news of a reported cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who immediately called off his indefinite hunger strike./pp
I have the government’s assurance over the Sri Lankan issue, Karunanidhi said on ending his fast./pp
He was on an indefinite fast under the memorial of late C N Annadurai early Monday morning. His son M K Azhagiri was also observing a fast./pp
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi called Karunanidhi. /pp
Dr. Singh assured Karunanidhi that his government is in touch with Colombo.
Sonia Gandhi also called the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo from Murshidabad in West Bengal and expressed her concern about the plight of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. /pp
The telephone calls to the ailing 84-year-old Karunanidhi came as DMK supporters launched road blockages in Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Erode, besides other Tamil Nadu cities. /pp
Public transport was disrupted and some DMK cadres hurled stones at buses. /pp
Police deployment was in place to prevent a breakdown in law and order. /pp
Karunanidhi had clarified that the priority was not to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but to save the lives of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils./pp
In a telegram to Dr. Singh, Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Karunanidhi had urged the Indian Government to issue a warning to Colombo to halt the war in Lanka immediately./pp
He had also asked the UN and the international community to intervene in the matter./pp
Last week, National Security Adviser M.K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon visited Sri Lanka and urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government to work towards declaring a truce in the closing chapter of a 25-year war in which nearly 6,500 civilians have lost their lives since February 2009./pp
The meeting between Rajapaksa and the Indian envoys took place even as the international community continues to demand that Sri Lanka stop its offensive and the LTTE surrender to avert rising civilian casualties. /pp
India’s move is seen as a swift reversal by its Congress party-led ruling coalition, which backs efforts to wipe out a group India lists as a terrorist organisation, but faces election pressure in Tamil Nadu to protect Tamil civilians. (ANI)/p

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Karunanidhi on fast over Sri Lankan issue

April 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chennai, Apr 27 (ANI): Pushing forward his demand for an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has gone on an indefinite fast here on Monday morning.

The 84-year-old Chief Minister sat on fast at the memorial of late C N Annadurai.
“Let me be one of Sri Lankan President Rajapakse’s victims. This is my sacrifice on behalf of all Tamils,” Karunanidhi said.

Karunanidhi also said he did not want the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) men to go on a fast.

Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi and his grand nephew Kalanidhi Maran have gone to meet Karunanidhi, who recently underwent a major surgery for his back pain.

Union Minister K R Baalu and State Minister Arcot Veeraswamy were also among those present at the fast site.

Earlier, the DMK supremo clarified that the priority was not to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but to save the lives of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils.

In a telegram to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Karunanidhi had urged the Indian Government to issue a warning to Colombo to halt the war in Lanka immediately.e had also asked the UN and the international community to intervene in the matter.

On Sunday evening, Tamil Tiger rebels fighting government forces in north-east Sri Lanka declared a unilateral ceasefire, following an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”.

Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, however, dismissed the announcement as “a joke”, insisting the rebels must surrender.

In a statement, the rebels said they were responding to “calls made by the UN, the EU, the governments of India and others”.

They said the unilateral ceasefire would come into immediate effect.

According to the United Nations, some 50,000 civilians remain trapped but the army puts the number at 15,000.

Aid workers have been barred from the area since the fighting escalated last year.

The LTTE says the government is deliberately blocking food aid there – a charge the Sri Lankan authorities have denied. (ANI)

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Sri Lanka rebels call ceasefire, Govt. rebuffs

April 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Colombo, April 26 (ANI): Tamil Tiger rebels fighting government forces in north-east Sri Lanka on Sunday evening declared a unilateral ceasefire, following an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, a BBC report stated on Sunday.

A Tamil Tiger spokesman termed reason behind the move as “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, said the report.

Sri Lanka’s defence secretary, however, dismissed the announcement as “a joke”, insisting the rebels must surrender.

In a statement, the rebels said they were responding to “calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of India and others”.

They said the unilateral ceasefire would come into immediate effect.

The rebels have been beaten back to a 12 sq km (5 sq m) area.

According to the United Nations, some 50,000 civilians remain trapped but the army puts the number at 15,000.

The announcement came as the United Nations’ top humanitarian official, John Holmes, was meeting Sri Lankan officials to call for access for aid workers to the war zone and government-run camps for thousands of displaced people.

Aid workers have been barred from the area since the fighting escalated last year.

LTTE says the government is deliberately blocking food aid there – a charge the Sri Lankan authorities have denied.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa however told the BBC the ceasefire was “a joke” that came from “the losing side.” (ANI)

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Top ETA leader held in France

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Paris, Apil 20 (EFE) A top leader of the Basque terrorist group (ETA) has been arrested by security forces in southeastern France, authorities said Sunday.

Jurdan Martitegui Lizaso, who is believed to be the current leader of the Spanish terrorist group, was detained Saturday along with two other people he was meeting at a church near southeastern French city of Perpinan.

French and Spanish police had launched a joint operation to nab Lizaso, who had been sought by authorities since 2006.

According to Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Martitegui was the head of ETA’s military wing.

‘In all likelihood, we have the chief of ETA’s military wing,’ Rubalcaba said, adding that whether the suspect was ETA’s top leader was still ‘something up for discussion’.

Martitegui, who was considered extremely violent, is known as ‘the Giant’ because of his height (6 feet and 5 inches). The suspect will be taken to Paris for questioning, officials said.

ETA, an acronym for Homeland and Freedom in Basque language, has killed more than 850 people since taking up arms in 1968 to seek a Basque nation comprising parts of northern Spain and southern France.

The terrorist group has carried out nearly two dozen attacks since June 5, 2007, when it ended its unilateral ceasefire with the Spanish government.

The terrorist group had declared a ‘permanent ceasefire’ in March 2006 in an apparent attempt to negotiate peace with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government.

Most observers, however, regarded the Dec 30, 2006, attack at the Madrid airport as marking the end of the terrorist group’s ceasefire

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Kurdish separatists announce unilateral ceasefire

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kurdish Workers’ PartyAnkara – The separatist Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday announced a unilateral ceasefire to last until June 1, the PKK-linked Firat news agency reported. A statement released by PKK political commanders in Iraq, said that the time was ripe for a political solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey, noting that the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) had done extremely well in local elections on March 29.

“The result of the elections were very clear – that it is necessary for democratization in Turkey and a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem,” the statement said.

The statement called on not just Turkish armed forces but for Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq and the United States to respect the ceasefire.

The PKK has announced a number of unilateral ceasefires in the past but the Turkish government has refused to recognize any of them.

The Turkish military suspects there are as many as 5,000 PKK fighters holed up in northern Iraq bases from which they launch operations into Turkey. Turkey regularly launches bombing raids on suspected PKK bases in the region.

Ankara blames the separatist group for the deaths of more than 35,000 people since the early 1980s when the PKK began its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.

The PKK is considered by the US and the European Union to be a terrorist group. (dpa)

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Pro-talk ULFA cadres want to participate in Lok Sabha polls

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, April 10 (ANI): While the United Liberation Front of Assom (ULFA) is today infamous for its militant activities, the pro-talk ULFA cadres are eager to take part in the upcoming 15th Lok Sabha elections.

The pro-talk groups of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) that declared a unilateral ceasefire last year are looking forward to join the electoral process and cast votes. hey had been boycotting elections so far. And, significantly, today they are also looking forward to restoration of peace in the region.

“As it is a democratic Government, we are hoping whichever Government comes to power, will take the peace process forward,” said Raju, pro-talk ULFA cadre.

“This year, we are getting a chance to vote and we will make use of the opportunity,” said Bhaskar Rajbonshi, pro-talk ULFA cadre.

About 150 ULFA cadres are now staying in the main Headquarters of the pro-talk ULFA group in Tinsukia District of Upper Assam.

ULFA cadres are gradually joining the pro-talk camp, hoping that a permanent solution will take the state forward on the path of development. By Peter Alex Todd (ANI)

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Surrendered ULFA rebels wants to participate in general elections

March 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Nalbari (Assam), Mar 24 (ANI): Surrendered rebels of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) express their desire to participate in upcoming general elections.

A splinter faction of Assam’s main rebel group, the ULFA, which prefers to have talks with the Central Government for a negotiated settlement to the separatist issue, said they want to cast their vote in the elections, which will be between April 16 and May 13.

Talking to reporters at the “Khotra Shatra”, a designated camp of surrendered rebels in Nalbari District on Monday, Raju, a surrendered rebel said, “I am thinking hard to cast my vote in the upcoming elections.”

The ‘pro-talks’ group, which walked out of the ULFA, declared unilateral ceasefire last year expecting reciprocal gesture from the Central Government to restore peace in the region.

“We are hoping that peace process will progress further after elections. Whichever party comes to power after elections we will provide our full support,” said Bhaskar Rajbonshi, another surrendered rebel.

ULFA has been demanding independence for Assam since 1979 and accuses New Delhi of exploiting the state’s resources and doing little to develop the province.

The outfit has also accused non-Assamese people of plundering the state’s resources and spoiling its culture. (ANI)

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Sharia courts in other areas of province soon, says NWFP information minister

March 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mingora (Pakistan), Mar.16 (ANI): The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Government has announced plans to establish ‘sharia’ courts in other parts of the province.

The provincial Information Minister, Iftikhar Hussain said qazis would be appointed in other areas soon, once their appointments in the Swat region is completed.

Hussain also asked Swat Education Board officials to refund the examination fees of students in the Swat Valley.

The ‘sharia deal’ between Pakistan Government and Taliban, requires the Taliban to end their bloody campaign after introduction of Islamic ‘sharia courts’ in the Malakand and Kohistan districts of Swat.

After the deal, there has been a decrease in the militant activities in the region.

Schools and other educational institutions which were closed due to ising xtremism in the region have now once again started imparting education.

The administration has also announced repair and rebuilding of school buildings which were destroyed by the militants, The Daily Times reported.

Earlier, on Sunday, the Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan’s Darra Adamkhel region had declared a unilateral ceasefire.

According to sources, the Taliban announced the truce till arch 30 after holding talks with the Army, political administration and the government. (ANI)

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Pakistani tribe to surrender Taliban leaders under peace pact

March 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad – A major tribe in Pakistan has agreed to stop sheltering the foreign militants, hand over local Taliban leaders and accept the writ of the government in troubled Bajaur district, media reports said Tuesday.

The breakthrough came days after Pakistan’s security forces announced they had defeated the militants in Bajaur after six months of fighting.

Leaders of the Mamoond, the largest tribe in the district that borders Afghanistan, signed a 28-point peace accord Monday, agreeing to surrender local Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, his spokesman Muslim Khan and three other key figures, the Dawn newspaper reported.

However, the Taliban leaders will be pardoned and allowed to live peacefully if they promised not to fight government forces.

Under the agreement, all militants would lay down arms and get themselves registered with their respective tribes to facilitate monitoring and stop propaganda against the state and its institutions.

The Mamoond tribe also agreed not to shelter any al-Qaeda-linked foreign militants, rent or sell them property and to register all Islamic seminaries in the area.

Pakistan has previously signed several peace deals with the militants directly or indirectly, through tribesmen, but these have yielded little success.

Security officials seem optimistic because the government undertook the latest deal from a point of strength. The militants announced a unilateral ceasefire late last month when the troops captured two strategic hilltops in the mountainous district.

The government launched an offensive in Bajaur in August 2008 when the militants attacked a paramilitary base in the Loi Sum area of the district.

Six months of fighting left more than 1,500 Taliban and dozens of soldiers dead, and over 200,000 people were internally displaced. (dpa)

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Pakistani troops kill 19 Taliban militants

March 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad (dpa) – Pakistani troops killed at least 19 Taliban militants and injured scores of others in two overnight clashes in the country’s troubled north-western tribal region that borders Afghanistan, government officials said Monday.

Helicopter gunships pounded rebel hideouts in Mohmand district Sunday afternoon, hours after insurgents killed 14 tribal policemen.

“Military helicopters targeted several positions of insurgents in Gurguri, Sapari and Bahi Kor areas. At least 15 of them were killed and more than a dozen wounded,” said local civil administrator Rasool Khan.

Separately, a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said four militants were killed Sunday night during an attack at a security check post in the neighboring Bajaur tribal district.

One paramilitary soldier was also injured in the raid in Nawagai area. “Our forces repulsed the attack,” the official said.

It was the first strike on security personnel in Bajaur since February 23, when the local Taliban announced a unilateral ceasefire after more than six months of fighting that left more than 1500 rebels, dozens of troops, and unknown number of civilians dead.

The two districts are believed to be strongholds of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters resisting Pakistani security forces deployed to contain their cross-border attacks on US-led international forces in Afghanistan.

Late Saturday, Islamist insurgents ambushed a convoy of tribal police, locally known as Khasadars, in Mohmand, killing seven and capturing nine others along with a government official.

The bodies of seven of the prisoners were found dumped in the mountains early Sunday.

Local Taliban leader Omar Khalid claimed the responsibility.

He told the media over phone that two Khasadars and a government official will be released only after the government frees Taliban cadres in custody. (dpa)

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ULFA faction fears sabotage during Lok Sabha elections

March 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, March 4 (ANI): The ‘pro-talk’ group of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), which declared a unilateral ceasefire with the government, has warned of efforts at disruption during scheduled Lok Sabha election in Assam by the parent group of ULFA.

United Liberation of Front of Assom (ULFA) is presently divided into the ‘Pro-talk’ and the ‘Anti-talk’ groups.

‘Pro-talks’ leaders have given assurance of morally supporting those political outfits who promise security in the region.

“We will not be following any direct rule but the parties whose viewpoints are identical to the public of Assam, whose manifesto would include security issue of the state and who would work for the public of Assam, we would morally support them,” said Mrinal Hazarika, the Chairman of ULFA Pro-talk central committee.

“There is possibility of sabotage. But for this, there is no public support. This is not good. ULFA might create sabotage at two to three places. So sabotage is possible but motivating the people to support any party will not happen,” said Jiten Dutta, General secretary of the ULFA Pro-talk central committee.

Since 1991, ULFA has influenced elections in Assam, and political parties backed by them have benefited. However, analysts fear that as ULFA’s influence has been waning over the years; they could go in for strong-arm tactics in the upcoming elections.

“Keeping in mind that their support base in Bangladesh is coming down. So as a survival question there is possibility that ULFA might go for some kind of explosions or they might go for selective killing also. So that possibility cannot be ruled out,” said Dr. Noni Gopal Mahanta, a political analyst in Assam.

With declining support and lack of funds, ULFA has resorted to violent activities like killings and extortions to make its presence felt.

Over 20,000 people have been killed so far in the ULFA insurgency. By Peter Alex Todd (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: arm tactics, central committee, general secretary, gopal, Guwahati, killings, lok sabha election, Noni, parent group, political analyst, sabotage, security issue, strong arm, talk group, ulfa, unilateral ceasefire, united liberation front, united liberation front of assam, upcoming elections, violent activities

ULFA faction fears sabotage during elections

February 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, Feb 21 (ANI): A splinter faction of Assam’s main rebel group, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), which prefers to have talks with the Central Government for a negotiated settlement to the separatist issue, said the parent group, which opposed such a move, could sabotage the forthcoming general elections.

The ‘pro-talks’ group, which walked out of the ULFA, declared a unilateral ceasefire last year expecting a reciprocal gesture from the Central Government to restore peace in the region.

“There can be sabotage because that doesn’t require public support. ULFA can create sabotage at two or three places. They will be able to motivate people to support political parties advised by them,” Jiten Dutta, General Secretary of pro-talks ULFA group told reporters here on Friday.

Another ‘pro-talks’ group leader said they would ‘morally support’ those political outfits that promise security in the region.

Analysts say that since 1991 ULFA has played a major role in every election in Assam, and parties they supported had always got the upper hand.

However, analysts fear that as ULFA’s strength has been dwindling over the years, they could go for strong-arm tactics in upcoming elections.

“If we keep in mind their dwindling strength, then there is a possibility that ULFA might go for some kinds of explosion or they might go for selective killings also. So that possibility on cannot be ruled out,” said Noni Gopal Mahanta, a political analyst.

ULFA has been demanding the independence of Assam since 1979 and accuses New Delhi of exploiting the state’s resources and doing little to develop the province.he outfit has also accused non-Assamese people of plundering the state’s resources and spoiling its culture.

More than 20,000 people have been killed so far in the ULFA insurgency. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: arm tactics, central committee, Central Government, general elections, general secretary, gopal, group leader, Guwahati, parent group, political analyst, rebel group, s central, security issue, separatist issue, strong arm, ulfa, unilateral ceasefire, united liberation front, united liberation front of assam, upcoming elections