Ulfa chief Paresh Barua is reportedly in Yunan, China
rom the viewpoint of a confrontation, this could only be
China’s opening of a new front in its ongoing standoff with India. After having issued stapled visas and getting involved in projects in Pak-occupied Kashmir, came its protest against the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its territory. Now, there are reports of a growing number of militants getting active in the restive northeast.
While security officials in Guwahati continue to remain tightlipped regarding the matter—“I have no comments to make regarding this,” Khagen Sharma, inspector general of police and Assam Police spokesperson told TSI—others here are worried that a safe haven for northeastern militants could add an entirely new dimension to separatism in the region. Such fears have only grown worse with the handing over of top Ulfa leaders Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika by the Bangladesh Rifles to India last week, an indication that outfits such as the Ulfa, NDFB and NLFT, that have been operating out of Bangladesh, are beginning to feel the heat in that country. “The Ulfa, along with organisations such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland’s Isak-Muivah group have always had a relationship with China,” says Mrinal Hazarika, leader of the Ulfa’s 28th battalion, which is now holding a ceasefire with the government. “The Chinese authorities did not show much interest at the beginning but that has changed over the past four or five years. I know Ulfa commander in-chief Paresh Barua visits China,” says Hazarika. And what about the Chinese arms that are found on militants? “We do not know where Barua acquires the arms from but they are delivered to us by smugglers.”
A member of the now defunct People’s Consultative Group, set up by Ulfa to negotiate with the government, meanwhile says that Paresh Barua is now lodged in Yunan in China. He, however, has his own take on the handing over of Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika by Bangladesh. “It was essential to have a majority of the 16 central committee members of Ulfa for talks to have any value. While four leaders are in jail in Guwahati and one ailing leader at home here in Assam, Chitraban and Sasha would make seven. Three leaders were reported missing after the operations in Bhutan in 2003.” If his calculations are correct, a large chunk of Ulfa leaders could be headed for talks with the government in the months to come. Ulfa is only one of a number of major separatist groups in the region. And therein lies the catch: that with Dhaka turning on the heat on separatists, the militants would now require another base. If China is willing, India’s northeast could only see a rise in militant activity with a powerful neighbour on its side.
rom the viewpoint of a confrontation, this could only be
China’s opening of a new front in its ongoing standoff with India. After having issued stapled visas and getting involved in projects in Pak-occupied Kashmir, came its protest against the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its territory. Now, there are reports of a growing number of militants getting active in the restive northeast.While security officials in Guwahati continue to remain tightlipped regarding the matter—“I have no comments to make regarding this,” Khagen Sharma, inspector general of police and Assam Police spokesperson told TSI—others here are worried that a safe haven for northeastern militants could add an entirely new dimension to separatism in the region. Such fears have only grown worse with the handing over of top Ulfa leaders Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika by the Bangladesh Rifles to India last week, an indication that outfits such as the Ulfa, NDFB and NLFT, that have been operating out of Bangladesh, are beginning to feel the heat in that country. “The Ulfa, along with organisations such as the National Socialist Council of Nagaland’s Isak-Muivah group have always had a relationship with China,” says Mrinal Hazarika, leader of the Ulfa’s 28th battalion, which is now holding a ceasefire with the government. “The Chinese authorities did not show much interest at the beginning but that has changed over the past four or five years. I know Ulfa commander in-chief Paresh Barua visits China,” says Hazarika. And what about the Chinese arms that are found on militants? “We do not know where Barua acquires the arms from but they are delivered to us by smugglers.”
A member of the now defunct People’s Consultative Group, set up by Ulfa to negotiate with the government, meanwhile says that Paresh Barua is now lodged in Yunan in China. He, however, has his own take on the handing over of Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika by Bangladesh. “It was essential to have a majority of the 16 central committee members of Ulfa for talks to have any value. While four leaders are in jail in Guwahati and one ailing leader at home here in Assam, Chitraban and Sasha would make seven. Three leaders were reported missing after the operations in Bhutan in 2003.” If his calculations are correct, a large chunk of Ulfa leaders could be headed for talks with the government in the months to come. Ulfa is only one of a number of major separatist groups in the region. And therein lies the catch: that with Dhaka turning on the heat on separatists, the militants would now require another base. If China is willing, India’s northeast could only see a rise in militant activity with a powerful neighbour on its side.
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