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ULFA agrees to remove 4 camps from Bhutan

G Vinayak in Guwahati

After five rounds of hectic negotiations with the Government of Bhutan, the United Liberation Front of Asom has finally agreed to dismantle four of its nine camps in the southern part of the Himalayan kingdom.

Bhutan's government-run weekly Kuensel reported that the agreement was reached after three days of negotiations between a delegation of the Bhutanese government led by Home Minister Lyonpo Thinley Gyamtsho and ULFA's leadership, which included its 'finance secretary', Chitraban Hazarika, and adviser Bishnujyoti Buragohain, in Thimphu last month.

Kuensel reported that "finally, in June 2001, after three days of talks, ULFA's political adviser, Bishnujyoti Buragohain, and the finance secretary-cum-assistant general secretary" Chitraban Hazarika signed the agreed minutes with the government on three points:

1. ULFA will remove four of its nine camps in Bhutan by December 2001;
2. It will reduce the strength of its cadres in the remaining five camps by the deadline period;
3. The government and ULFA will meet again to find a solution to the remaining five camps in Bhutan.

But sources in the Union home ministry, which is yet to react to the development, said they were not very optimistic. ULFA may have agreed to close down a few camps under pressure, but it may not reduce the number of its cadres in Bhutan, they said.

The sources said they had got reports of the outfit holding talks with the Government of Bhutan last month and at least two of its leaders based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, including 'foreign secretary' Sasha Choudhury, flew to Thimphu for that purpose.

The extremist outfit's political adviser, better known as 'Mama', is based in the Himalayan kingdom.

Under intense pressure from India since 1998, Bhutan has in all held five rounds of negotiations with ULFA and the NDFB.

The report said ULFA's top leadership had specifically told the Government of Bhutan that its representatives had been given the mandate to take all decisions.

But members of the National Assembly of Bhutan raised doubts about the credibility of an agreement signed with an outfit that has failed to keep its word in the past. "Many members, however, questioned the credibility of even a written commitment given by the militants," the report said.

"The reason for the celebration will come if and when we see them leave with our own eyes," said Paro Chimi, a member of the assembly.

Chimi pointed out that the agreement had been signed with middle-level ULFA officials and questioned their authority to take such decisions.

Replying to the debate, Foreign Minister Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley said the agreement may not be a formal one, but the signed document had removed a major dilemma for the government.

"Until now we had been unable to fix a definite time frame for a solution to the problem through peaceful means. Now we have a deadline... Therefore, it will be understood from today that the National Assembly has given the green signal to the royal government and the security forces to take up military action against the militants if they fail to comply with the document they have signed by December this year," the report quoted the foreign minister as saying.

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