2006 Review: From hope to despair - Assam continues to bleed

By Syed Zarir Hussain Dec 25, 2006, 13:23 GMT

Guwahati, Dec 25 (IANS) From hope to despair. For Assam, the year 2006 will go down as one that promised to bring an end to nearly three decades of insurgency but sadly ended with more bloodshed and miseries.

The latest in a wave of bombings suspected to be by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) took place in the heart of Assam's main city Guwahati on Dec 21 in which 23 innocent civilians were wounded, some critically. The ULFA followed it up gunning down a trader in the city the same night.

There was tremendous optimism at the dawn of 2006, with a firm commitment by both ULFA and the government to help bring the curtains down to one of the region's bloodiest insurgencies.

In October 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rekindled hopes by holding talks with representatives of the ULFA-chosen People's Consultative Group (PCG).

Everyone, ULFA included, hailed the landmark meeting, raising hopes that the insurgency would be resolved once and for all by 2006 with direct talks likely between the government and the rebel leadership.

2006 began on a positive note with two rounds of talks between PCG, a civil society group, and New Delhi - in February and June.

Everything was on track - the Assam assembly elections in April passed off peacefully with ULFA for the first time since its inception in 1979 not calling for a boycott. By then security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations went slow.

But ULFA got restive with New Delhi maintaining a studied silence between June and July. And all hell broke loose in August with the ULFA sparking off a string of explosions, targeting innocent civilians and oil facilities.

With the situation beginning to go out of hand, New Delhi surprised everybody by announcing a unilateral ceasefire for 10-days on August 13. The ULFA too reciprocated by offering an indefinite truce with New Delhi.

The central government extended the ceasefire and meantime sought a letter of commitment from the ULFA to facilitate formal talks.

The ULFA had been demanding the release of five of their top jailed leaders before they start peace talks.

There was a war of words between New Delhi and ULFA over the letter of commitment - the rebel leadership refused to give anything in writing, while the government insisted for a formal assurance. On Sep 23, ULFA shot dead a tea planter in eastern Assam.

In just under 24 hours, New Delhi called off the truce and announced a massive anti-insurgency offensive against ULFA - razing to ground any hopes for direct talks. Soon after, the PCG formally withdrew itself from the peace process.

Since the six-week truce broke down, Assam had witnessed an orgy of violence. ULFA triggered at least 50 explosions killing more than 60 people and wounding nearly 200 more.

Army and intelligence officials said the ULFA regrouped during the ceasefire.

'The ceasefire gave ULFA enough time to regroup and recruit fresh cadres, besides replenishing the armoury with weapons and explosives and carrying out extortions,' an army commander said on customary condition of anonymity.

Intelligence officials said the ULFA could have a cadre strength of about 1,200 to 1,500 although there could be hundreds more who act as couriers or conduits.

While the ULFA managed to regroup and strike back with a vengeance, the rebel group suffered a setback - the explosions led to mass upsurge with locals taking to the streets to protest the stepped up attacks.

'This public upsurge is very heartening and this goes to prove that people are not going to take things lying down,' Tinsukia district magistrate Absar Hazarika said.

But despite the gloom, there is a ray of hope.

'Our doors for talks are open. We are always positive and hope good sense prevails on ULFA and they realize that such acts of violence would do no good to the development of the state,' Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.

'Let us the hope the New Year ushers in a new dawn of peace.'

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service