Bhutan, India plan 2003-like ops against N-E rebel groups - Guwahati - City - NEWS - The Times of India
GUWAHATI: Six years after the Royal Bhutan Army flushed out Indian rebel outfits from its soil, the Himalayan kingdom is planning a similar
operation against Ulfa and National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) militants holed up in that country.
This comes in the wake of reports of the two Assam-based outfits setting up training camps in southern Bhutan along with militants of the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist). The Bhutan outfit is by and large run by Bhutanese of Nepalese origin and was accused of carrying out a campaign against the monarchy and the newly-elected government there.
According to sources, Ulfa and NDFB are not just training their cadres in the neighbouring country, but are also giving guerrilla training to the Bhutanese Maoists for the last two years and preparing them for carrying out subversive activities in Bhutan.
Security sources said there was specific information of mobile training camps in the Sarpang area of southern Bhutan, close to the international frontier. The sources added that Indian security forces, sticking to their 2003 strategy, would stand guard on its side, while the Bhutanese army would try to close in on the militants in their territory.
"There's information that certain elements within Ulfa and NDFB are trying to spread misunderstandings and antagonism against Bhutan because of the 2003 operations," Bhutan's state-run newspaper, ***Kuensel***, reported recently quoting joint secretary (Law and Order Bureau) Karma T Namgyal.
"We can't rule out occasional, temporary incursions," the joint secretary was quoted as saying in the Bhutanese newspaper. He reportedly said that in a bid to stop this, both the countries have agreed to intensify border patrolling. There was also a proposal for joint border monitoring.
"This means that the patrol groups will coordinate with each other to ensure that when the Indian forces patrol the East, we can guard the south and vice-versa," Kuensel quoted him as saying.
When Union home minister P Chidambaram visited the Himalayan country on Tuesday last, Bhutanese officials assured him that they would not allow Ulfa and NFB to re-establish bases there.
In 2003, the Royal Bhutan Army had launched a full-scale operation against Ulfa, NDFB and Kamatapur Liberation Organization, which had their set-ups in various areas. Ulfa had its central and general headquarters in eastern Bhutan.
During the 7th Border Coordination Development meeting between Bhutan and Assam on August 4, the Tarun Gogoi government had warned that Ulfa and NDFB were regrouping and might try to enter the neighbouring country to set up camps in collaboration with outfits like the Bhutan Communist Party (MLM), Bhutan Tiger Force (BTF) and Revolutionary Youth of Bhutan (RYOB).
According to state home department sources here, 30 Ulfa and NDFB cadres entered Bhutan in July from Arunachal Pradesh, north of Bhairabkunda in Assam's Sonitpur district.
Last year, Maoist guerrillas, along with Indian militants, had killed four Bhutanese forest rangers at Phibsoo near Sarpang in a landmine blast.
GUWAHATI: Six years after the Royal Bhutan Army flushed out Indian rebel outfits from its soil, the Himalayan kingdom is planning a similar
operation against Ulfa and National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) militants holed up in that country.
This comes in the wake of reports of the two Assam-based outfits setting up training camps in southern Bhutan along with militants of the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist). The Bhutan outfit is by and large run by Bhutanese of Nepalese origin and was accused of carrying out a campaign against the monarchy and the newly-elected government there.
According to sources, Ulfa and NDFB are not just training their cadres in the neighbouring country, but are also giving guerrilla training to the Bhutanese Maoists for the last two years and preparing them for carrying out subversive activities in Bhutan.
Security sources said there was specific information of mobile training camps in the Sarpang area of southern Bhutan, close to the international frontier. The sources added that Indian security forces, sticking to their 2003 strategy, would stand guard on its side, while the Bhutanese army would try to close in on the militants in their territory.
"There's information that certain elements within Ulfa and NDFB are trying to spread misunderstandings and antagonism against Bhutan because of the 2003 operations," Bhutan's state-run newspaper, ***Kuensel***, reported recently quoting joint secretary (Law and Order Bureau) Karma T Namgyal.
"We can't rule out occasional, temporary incursions," the joint secretary was quoted as saying in the Bhutanese newspaper. He reportedly said that in a bid to stop this, both the countries have agreed to intensify border patrolling. There was also a proposal for joint border monitoring.
"This means that the patrol groups will coordinate with each other to ensure that when the Indian forces patrol the East, we can guard the south and vice-versa," Kuensel quoted him as saying.
When Union home minister P Chidambaram visited the Himalayan country on Tuesday last, Bhutanese officials assured him that they would not allow Ulfa and NFB to re-establish bases there.
In 2003, the Royal Bhutan Army had launched a full-scale operation against Ulfa, NDFB and Kamatapur Liberation Organization, which had their set-ups in various areas. Ulfa had its central and general headquarters in eastern Bhutan.
During the 7th Border Coordination Development meeting between Bhutan and Assam on August 4, the Tarun Gogoi government had warned that Ulfa and NDFB were regrouping and might try to enter the neighbouring country to set up camps in collaboration with outfits like the Bhutan Communist Party (MLM), Bhutan Tiger Force (BTF) and Revolutionary Youth of Bhutan (RYOB).
According to state home department sources here, 30 Ulfa and NDFB cadres entered Bhutan in July from Arunachal Pradesh, north of Bhairabkunda in Assam's Sonitpur district.
Last year, Maoist guerrillas, along with Indian militants, had killed four Bhutanese forest rangers at Phibsoo near Sarpang in a landmine blast.
