Securing the Northeast

The brilliant military action by the Royal Bhutanese Army has destroyed all the 30-odd terrorist camps maintained illegally by ULFA and the ...

The brilliant military action by the Royal Bhutanese Army has destroyed all the 30-odd terrorist camps maintained illegally by ULFA and the other two militant groups inside Bhutan. The militants are now on the run and those not killed or captured so far are hiding in the jungles. They have lost a comfortable and convenient, though illegal, sanctuary inside Bhutan that they have been using for more than a decade. It is not surprising, considering the crumbling of the terrorist edifice that they had built for themselves, to see the desperation in the ULFA leadership. It has now threatened to target Bhutanese nationals in India. The risk that any action to get rid of the terrorist infrastructure in Bhutan would lead to retaliation was no doubt known and was a factor that led to Thimpu preferring the peaceful route. But the ULFA chose not to respond. Terrorist philosophy and operations, by their very nature, thrive on blackmail and threats of violence to innocents.

Given these developments, it is our moral and political responsibility 8212;and international obligation 8212; to ensure the safety, security and well-being of the Bhutanese living, working or travelling through India. Bhutan has certainly taken a bold step to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure of the militant groups that have illegally occupied its territory to continue their terrorist activities in India. But success also breeds its own risks. And this is apparent in the statement made by the ULFA leadership declaring Bhutanese as the 8220;enemy of Assam8221;. We should expect that with a major plank of their terrorist activities now collapsing, the focus of their violence would include Bhutanese and Indians doing trade and business with land-locked Bhutan. In any case, the ULFA has no locus standi to speak on behalf of Assam and its people. That right can belong only to the democratically elected leadership of the state and the country. As far as the people of Assam are concerned, they too have displayed their lack of enthusiasm for the bandh called in protest by the militant groups.

The ULFA leadership is not talking the language of peace and civilisation in its threats of revenge. This itself should be a clear proof, if one was needed, of the group8217;s real motivations. It is now incumbent on New Delhi to ensure that the task begun inside Bhutan is completed inside India. This is an opportunity to address militancy in the entire Northeast. If the threats to innocents, whether they are Bhutanese or Indians, are to be eliminated, the terrorist organisations raising them must be eliminated. ULFA8217;s statement, conveyed on the electronic media, is nothing short of a threat to wage war against the state. It must be dealt with accordingly.