Unwelcome arrogance Nava Thakuria
BRINGING the Ulfa to the negotiation table is a tough and challenging job because of its supposed ideology or gallantry. What makes the task even tougher is the outfits growing nexus with Muslim fundamentalists in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The Assamese do have a grudge against the Centre for not fulfilling their aspirations, but they will certainly not support an organisation having such contacts. Ulfa leaders are hard put to convince the Assamese that they are committed to free Assam from the colonial rule of India. The Army has come out with a rather pompous campaign against the Ulfa. While New Delhi believes that insurgency must be tackled politically, some senior Army officers are trying to argue that the armed forces alone can crush militancy. At a press conference recently, the new GOC, 4 Corps, Lt-General BS Jaswal, said, I appeal to the parents of the Ulfa men to give a clarion call to their near and dear ones to give up arms or they will have to receive their mortal remains. What the Army officer is trying to suggest is that nobody except the Ulfa members should be worried about the present turmoil in the region. There is no need for peace talks, public opinion or any political will to deal with the issues. General Jaswals seemingly irresponsible comments simply negates all attempts at peace talks by civil societies and the medias relentless endeavour to support public anger against terrorism. It should not be forgotten that dealing with insurgency is not as simple as explained by the confident Army officer. At the end of the day, it demoralises the people from involving themselves in the peace process. While Ulfa leaders do not take the people of Assam seriously to explain their relationship with the external terrorist groups, the authorities responsible for counter-insurgency operation in the region, on the other hand, spare no opportunity to exhibit their arrogance. Stuck in between, the common people never win. (The author is a Guwahati-based freelance journalist.)
_______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
