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| Ulfa catches govt unawares |
NEW DELHI: Even as the Centre on Monday rushed its security brass to Guwahati to review the situation in the wake of spate of killings of Hindi-speaking migrants, it may only have itself to blame for failing to foresee the attacks despite the close precedent of Ulfa's targeting of non-Assamese ahead of the Republic Day this year.
The serial killings of Hindi-speaking minorities in the state in the run-up to the Independence Day were perhaps just waiting to happen. Ulfa, following the botched-up peace attempt with the Centre last year, had regrouped and was fighting the Army — which was forced to suspend operations during the cease-fire — with a renewed cadre and arsenal. Their recharged firepower was on display in January this year, when the insurgent outfit, in a spate of high-casualty strikes ahead of the Republic Day and the following National Games in February, killed nearly 80 people.
Ulfa has repeatedly followed the pattern of stepping up attacks just before national events like the Republic Day and the Independence Day.
It's also becoming increasingly clear that Hindi-speaking migrants, who often live in hamlets spread far and wide, are an easy target not just because of their vulnerability but also because of the growing perception that Ulfa has become soft towards Bangladeshi immigrants and doesn't want to harm the Assamese for fear of losing local sympathy. According to security experts, these were enough indications that the outfit could repeat the pattern of targeting Hindi-speaking residents in the run-up to the Independence Day this year as well.
But the Centre and the Assam government — the latter, ironically, has been selling the idea of reopening negotiations with Ulfa, this time directly inviting the top leadership — seem to have ignored the obvious warnings and were caught unawares when Ulfa started killing non-Assamese.
Had they had the foresight to see the attacks coming, pre-emptive measures like shifting the non-Assamese to temporary camps for better security and increasing deployment around their hamlets could have been helped minimise the casualties. With the opportunity of being prepared for a fresh Ulfa onslaught around the I-Day wasted, the Centre and the state government are now picking up the pieces and on Monday put their heads together for a Unified Command meeting in Guwahati.
The situation was reviewed at the meeting — chaired by the chief minister and attended by senior home ministry officials and the Army, BSF and CRPF brass — and decisions were taken regarding setting up of temporary security camps to guard the Hindi-speaking migrant families. The migrants are likely to be told to put up in the camps at night, as that is when Ulfa, which has now been working with Karbi Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF), usually surfaces. However, they would be free to go to their place of employment during the day.
Union minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal will be visiting the state on Tuesday to meet the kin of the those gunned down by Ulfa and KLNLF over the past week. He will be meeting Mr Gogoi in Guwahati after visiting the sites of Ulfa attacks in Karbi-Anglong.
http://economictime s.indiatimes. com/News/ PoliticsNation/ Ulfa_catches_ govt_unawares/ articleshow/ 2278967.cms |
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