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India announces ceasefire with northeast tribal guerrillas

India today announced a formal ceasefire with the Bodo Liberation Tigers, one of the main tribal guerrilla groups fighting for an independent homeland in the northeastern state of Assam.

"In order to create an environment conducive to talks for finding a solution to the Bodo problem, the government has decided to suspend operations against the BLT with immediate effect," Home Minister L K Advani told the Rajya Sabha.

Advani said the BLT had in turn agreed to suspend operations against the army, paramilitary forces and state police. More than 10,000 people have died in the past decade in Assam in insurgency related to the Bodo campaign for a tribal homeland.

The BLT has been responsible for numerous acts of sabotage in Assam, including a train explosion in 1997 that killed 35 people.

The minister stressed that efforts would continue to convince other militant groups in the region to end their "violent and unlawful" activities and come to the negotiating table.

More than 50,000 people have been killed in violence linked to the various separatist insurgencies raging in India's seven northeastern states since Independence in 1947.

The government made a fresh appeal last month for unconditional peace talks with all separatist groups willing to forsake violence. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee made a special visit to the Northeast in January, where he met the chief ministers of all seven states to discuss strategies for ending the myriad insurgencies.

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