Something smells
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=3&theme=&usrsess=1&id=98180
Or why else is Ulfa dilly-dallying?
Ulfa leaders obsession with continued army counter-insurgency operations in Assam defies understanding. They obviously realise these are routine and will continue till a formal ceasefire is declared. Logically, a truce should have been in place by now because nearly six weeks have passed since the Ulfa-appointed Peoples Consultative Group had its first meeting with the PMO, but while the outfit as a whole has refrained from mayhem after the decision to talk to the Centre, its cadres are still said to indulge in extortion and intimidation. This dilly-dallying makes us wonder whether the PCGs appointment in September was either a ploy to test Delhis sincerity or to take the heat off Ulfa leaders holed up in the Dibru-Saraighat reserve forest. Why else would the PCG, within days
of its formation, have demanded a halt to Army operations and the release of some top Ulfa leaders from jail?
Ulfa religiously observes "protest day" by exploding bombs and firing in the air on 28 November to highlight the Armys "atrocities" during Operation Bajrang launched on that day in 1990. But if the guns were silent this year, it does not reflect an unequivocal commitment to peace. The outfit must bid farewell to arms and take a decision fast. And the PCG must stick to its primary brief of shaping negotiations and arranging a ceasefire. Ulfas continued procrastination can only indicate it is unwilling to shake off foreign godfathers and it would be naive to expect anything substantial until this happens. Moreover, foreign agents reported conspiracy to destabilise the North-east warrants far stricter vigilance.
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