Villagers shot dead in NE India

[Cheetah786]

At least 42 people have been killed in two days of attacks by suspected separatist rebels in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, police say.
The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), is suspected of carrying out the shootings.

Eight of the 10 separate attacks took place in Tinsukia district near India's border with Burma, and a bomb exploded on a major railway line on Friday.

Most of the victims are said to be Hindi-speaking migrant workers.

Security officials say attacks could intensify ahead of India's Republic Day celebrations on 26 January.

Failed peace talks

The most lethal attack was Saturday's pre-dawn shooting of 13 workers while they slept in the remote town of Sadiya, 600km (370 miles) east of Assam state capital Guwahati, officials said.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but police say the ULFA is likely to be behind them.

Violence in the state has increased since peace talks between the ULFA and the government broke down in September last year.

The rebels are seeking a separate homeland for the Assamese people and demanding the departure of the non-indigenous population, particularly Hindi speakers.

They have been fighting Delhi's rule in the tea and oil-rich state for the past 27 years. At least 10,000 people have died in the violence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6236475.stm

 

[alamgir]

7 jawans killed in Karbi Anglong violence
From Our Correspondent
DIPHU, Jan 6 – At least seven security personnel were killed while nine others were seriously injured in a combined attack with IED blast, hand-grenade and indiscriminate firing at Karamjuri under Howraghat police station today afternoon as they were returning from Donghap polling station under Nomati MAC in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC).

Talking to The Assam Tribune, Debendra Deka Additional Superintendent of Police said that out of the nine injured, seven are stated to be in critical condition and have been referred to Nagaon Civil Hospital.

Police suspected it to be a handiwork of the Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) militants. Official sources said that re-polling has been ordered at Nambar Nadi LP School and Merabhat ME School polling stations under Bokajan MAC constituency following booth capturing.

Police said that the jawans were reaching Karamjuri, about 7 km from Parokhowa, when they were ambushed by the militants with an IED, hand-grenades and firing. As a result, the vehicle carrying the security personnel was blown up and seven jawans were killed on the spot.
www.assamtribun.com

 

[Cheetah786]

GUWAHATI/NEW DELHI: ULFA’s terror run continues. At least nine people were killed and three injured in fresh attacks by the banned outfit on a brick field in Sivasagar district of Upper Assam around 8.30 pm on Sunday. All the victims were Hindi-speaking. An encounter between ULFA and security forces in the same district was on till reports last came in.

According to SP Shyamal Prasad Saikia, ULFA rebels opened fire on brick kilnworkers in Mahmora village under Kakotibari police station killing seven people on the spot. Another labourer was shot down by ULFA in Demow.

Earlier in the day, the Centre despatched minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal at the head of a team to visit the violence-affected Assam districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh.

Jaiswal arrived at Tinsukia where families of victims and survivors of Saturday’s carnage had blocked a national highway. The protesters were at Longswal area and were some 700-strong, according to an agency report. They had blocked the highway with bodies of 11 of those who had been slain by ULFA.

Promising stern action against the militants, Jaiswal said that Centre would not allow repetition of such killings.

"I assure you that this won’t happen again," said Jaiswal, promising adequate reinforcement of paramilitary forces. The state government, which has seen in the violence a sharpening threat to the National Games scheduled for next month, said that security would be enhanced. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said that there would be an all-out offensive against ULFA.

But the outrages, which targeted mostly Bihari migrant labourers, have come within a week of Gogoi’s "New Year" appeal to ULFA to return to negotiations. Not only has ULFA responded with the chilling killings, but its leaders have also accused the Centre of "provoking" the militants and shown little inclination to pay heed to pleas to engage in negotiations.

 

[vnomad]

Find the news of civilians dying good Cheetah? You think by slaughtering helpless men and women the "NE independence movement" is picking up?

 

[Spring Onion]

Find the news of civilians dying good Cheetah? You think by slaughtering helpless men and women the "NE independence movement" is picking up?

killing of civilians in any part of the world can never be good.

The news find the way into media due to the intensity of killing and the issue not because someone enjoys it.

And the death has risen, curefew has been imposed and indian troops had been ordered to shoot-on-sight.

 

[Spring Onion]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1891257,0008.htm

Shoot-on-sight orders in Assam

Indo-Asian News Service

Tinsukia (Assam), January 7, 2007

Hundreds of soldiers on Sunday patrolled parts of violence-torn Assam in the wake of an indefinite curfew and shoot-on-sight orders issued after a wave of militant killings left 48 Hindi-speaking people dead.

There were no overnight reports of violence and the situation was gradually limping back to normal, said a police spokesperson.

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) went on a rampage for two straight days beginning from Friday killing 48 people and wounding 30 in separate raids in the three eastern districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Dhemaji, targeting Hindi-speaking migrant workers.

"Security forces have fanned out across the region with the army, police, and paramilitary troopers engaged in a systematic anti-insurgency offensive," Tinsukia district magistrate Absar Hazarika said.

Authorities in eastern Assam have formed several peace committees involving leaders of all communities to instill confidence among the Hindi-speaking minorities, many of whom are reported to be fleeing their homes in panic.

"These peace committees are working as vigilantes, helping the affected people come to terms with reality and trying to heal the wounds," a police official said.

Most of the victims were from Bihar and had made Assam their home for decades, doing odd jobs as brick kiln workers, fishermen and daily wage earners.

In 2000, ULFA militants killed at least 100 Hindi-speaking people in Assam in a series of well-planned attacks after the rebel group vowed to free the state of all "non-Assamese migrant workers". The ULFA is yet to claim responsibility for the recent attacks.

"There is no doubt that the killings are the handiwork of the ULFA," said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal is likely to visit Assam for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and review demands by the local government for additional paramilitary forces to deal with the rebel flare-up.

But for thousands of Hindi-speaking people residing in Assam, the savage killings have triggered panic.

"We want the entire area to be handed over to the army as we fear that the ULFA militants might come and strike anytime," said Ranbir Yadav, a timber merchant in Tinsukia.

Witnesses said hundreds of migrant workers have fled their homes in eastern Assam.

"People are leaving eastern Assam in all modes of vehicles and trains, moving to safer areas out of fear," said Bimal Tiwari, a businessman.

 

[Spring Onion]

Death toll 57 Troops patrol violence-torn Assam,
Indo-Asian News Service

Tinsukia (Assam), January 8, 2007

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1892159,000900030004.htm

Troops patrolled violence-torn Assam on Monday with the death toll in the weekend attacks targeting Hindi-speaking people mounting to 57 while security forces killed two separatists overnight.

Seven more people, including five policemen, were killed in a landmine explosion over the weekend in a separate incident not directly related to the ongoing carnage against the Hindi-speakers by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

A police spokesperson said two ULFA rebels were killed in an encounter with security forces in the eastern Sivasagar district.

Hours after Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal offered fresh peace talks, the ULFA gunned down seven people and wounded four in Mahmora area in Sivasagar district.

All the victims were Hindi-speaking migrant workers.

"There has been no other reports of violence reported so far with troops conducting offensives and patrolling vulnerable areas," a police official said.

An indefinite curfew clamped Saturday in the Tinsukia district is likely to be relaxed on Monday afternoon for a few hours to enable locals to stock up on essentials.

"We shall be reviewing the situation later in the day and see if we could relax curfew for a few hours," Tinsukia district magistrate Absar Hazarika told IANS.

Meanwhile, eight people killed near Longsowal in Tinsukia district on Saturday were being cremated on Monday.

"The time now is for restraint and be calm so that forces inimical to the interest of the state could not take advantage of the situation. Security forces are deployed across the state to prevent further attacks," said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is scheduled to arriving in Assam later on Monday to sympathise with the Hindi-speaking community.

Three ministers and a senior police official from Bihar are also camping in Tinsukia since Sunday to take stock of the situation.

Most of the victims were from Bihar and had made Assam their home for decades, doing odd jobs as brick kiln workers, fishermen, and daily wage earners.

In 2000, ULFA militants killed at least 100 Hindi-speaking people in Assam in a series of well-planned attacks after the rebel group vowed to free the state of all "non-Assamese migrant workers".

 

[Bull]

Well all my pakistani friends see the true face of the independency movements which ypou all have been promoting here.

 

[Cheetah786]

Find the news of civilians dying good Cheetah? You think by slaughtering helpless men and women the "NE independence movement" is picking up?

ok so when u guys post about pakistan its acceptable if it happens in india its not.from the news comming out i think its a freedom movement and i think we should support them.


Suspected separatist rebels have carried out more attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in a fourth day of violence in India's Assam state.
Gunmen attacked a roadside colony of brick factory workers and shot dead seven of them at 0230 local time.

Police say 69 people have died in the state's worst violence in a decade.

Authorities blame the attacks on the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland.

Thousands of Hindi-speaking migrants are fleeing the attacks.

Talks between the federal government and Ulfa collapsed in September after which the rebels unleashed a series of bomb and grenade attacks across the state.

Wider fears

Police said seven to eight armed men attacked the labour colony at Tekonbari village, near Dimow town.

They opened fire at the labourers, killing seven people and injuring one.

The attackers were intercepted by the police and one rebel was killed in the encounter.

In a separate incident, police say the rebels killed a local Congress party leader, Ajit Deuri, giving rise to fears that they may now start targeting supporters of India's main ruling party, that also governs Assam.

On Sunday evening, hooded gunmen killed at least seven Hindi-speaking labourers at a brick kiln in the northern Sivasagar district.

On Friday and Saturday, rebels attacked six colonies of Hindi-speaking labourers in the northern districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia, killing 48 settlers.



All across the violence-affected districts of Assam, railway stations are crowded with thousands of Hindi speaking settlers waiting to catch the next train out of the state.

"The local police just cannot save us so we must leave or get killed," said Parshuram Gupta at Longsual village near Dibrugarh.

Mr Gupta lost his son, Arvind, during the first wave of rebel attacks on Friday.

"Save us or else Ulfa will kill us all. They hate us," another villager, Naresh Prasad, said.

Hundreds of angry Hindi-speaking settlers have set up road blocks on a national highway near here, lining up the road with the bodies of some of those killed.

'Not negotiable'

They were chanting slogans against Ulfa as well as the Assam government, blaming the former for the murder and the latter for alleged failure to protect them.

During his visit to Longsual on Sunday, India's junior Home Minister, Sriprakash Jaiswal, tried to reassure the Hindi-speaking settlers.

"You just stay put and we will crush Ulfa within six months," the minister told them.

Later, speaking to reporters, Mr Jaiswal ruled out talks with Ulfa, unless they gave up their demands for Assam's independence and abjured violence.

"India's sovereignty is not negotiable, we can talk only if Ulfa talks sense. But we will not talk if they hold a gun to our head," he said.

Mr Jaiswal said 3,000 additional paramilitary troops were being sent to Assam and more would follow if needed.

The minister said a joint police-military operation would soon be started against the rebels over a vast tract of northern Assam.

The operation will also encompass a large forest area of the neighbouring sate of Arunachal Pradesh where Ulfa has some bases which, officials say, were used in recent attacks.

Assam police officials say the rebels may further intensify their violent campaign ahead of India's Republic Day celebrations later this month (on 26 January ) and the Indian National Games, scheduled to be held in Assam in February.

 

[vnomad]

ok so when u guys post about pakistan its acceptable if it happens in india its not.from the news comming out i think its a freedom movement and i think we should support them.

You don't have to take the "you people" line with me. Everyone has an independant opinion. What really surprises me is that you can use " " icon for a post reporting how innocent people were killed in NE. It gives the impression, you find the news very amusing.

 

[genmirajborgza786]

cheetah & vnomad please dont start argument this is indeed a sad news killing of innocent people is wrong and yes i agree the (icon ) for the post was unwarrented and should not have been put. this is a mature and meaningfull forum lets us all just try to keep it like that :pff:

 

[alamgir]

You don't have to take the "you people" line with me. Everyone has an independant opinion. What really surprises me is that you can use " " icon for a post reporting how innocent people were killed in NE. It gives the impression, you find the news very amusing.

these innocent not belong to assam.local population not colaborate with indian army, so they bring these poor people for work.saperatest many time warn these worker not come in assam

 

[genmirajborgza786]

brother our problem with india is the dispute over kashmir,and not the north eastern states problem of india so lets try to solve the kashmir issue. as for assam, arunachal etc(the north east india) is not our hedeach honestly what on earth can we gain in the north east nil nada zero if it breaks away from india will its become pakistan? no not even close infact arunachal is claimed by china so weather it stays or separete from india we should care less coz its not our problem.

 

[alamgir]

Spiraling Rights Abuse in India's Northeast
Syed Zarir Hussain
OneWorld South Asia
16 June 2004
GUWAHATI, June 16 (OneWorld) - Amid mounting complaints of abuse by the army in India's troubled northeastern state of Assam, a regional political party Tuesday threatened a public uprising over an alleged army raid on the house of a newly elected parliamentarian on charges of aiding militancy.

The opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) despatched a letter to Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam alleging that army soldiers had harassed the 70-year-old mother of Sarbananda Sonowal, an AGP Member of Parliament, during a raid on their ancestral home in eastern Assam's Dibrugarh district on Friday.

Sonowal was elected to India's upper house in parliament in the recently concluded general elections.

Declares AGP general secretary Dilip Saikia, "The army soldiers harassed Sonowal's mother and questioned other family members about their alleged links with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom."

The district administration and authorities in the state capital Dispur feigned ignorance about the army raid.

An army official based in eastern Assam admitted a team had visited Sonowal's residence, but only to monitor security arrangements at the lawmaker's home.

"We were not informed by the army about their visit to Sonowal's residence and we are not at all aware of any raid," said an Assam government spokesman.

Assam is currently under a Unified Command structure to tackle insurgency. Under this, the army is not empowered to act on its own. Any raid or interrogation by the army is supposed to be carried out in the presence of a magistrate and police officials.

Unequivocally condemning the raid, AGP leader Biren Baishya remarks, "The state government has lost its grip over the army troops although there is a Unified Command structure in place."

As he stresses, "The raid on the residence of an elected representative without any valid reasons is nothing but harassment of the people in the name of counter-insurgency operations."

This is the latest instance of human rights violations in the northeast, where complaints from residents of the vast underdeveloped region continue to pour in.

The northeast is home to about 30-odd rebel armies with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and the right to self-determination. More than 50,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in the region since India's independence in 1947.

The states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura are the worst-hit, with reports of frequent rights violations and excesses by security forces on civilians, besides the killing of innocent people in fake encounters.

More than 100,000 army, police, and paramilitary troops are deployed in the region for counter-insurgency operations.

Last week the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) declared it would investigate allegations of large-scale fake encounters in Tripura in which at least 42 persons were killed over the past three months.

Tripura was recently rocked by the issue of fake encounters when the leader of the Opposition, Ratan Lal Nath submitted a list of such incidents in the state Assembly.

"At least three school children were killed in one of the fake encounters by security forces," Nath told the Tripura Assembly.

NHRC member Y Bhaskar Rao who was in Tripura's capital Agartala last week said security forces should not infringe upon human rights in the name of anti-insurgency operations. He gave an assurance that a probe would be conducted into specific cases of alleged fake encounters.

"When arrested, innocent youths suspected to be members or sympathizers of underground groups are subjected to third degree methods by the military," alleges Babloo Loitongbam of the Human Rights Alert, a leading rights group in Manipur.

He adds that it is always a challenge to systematically document cases of torture as the survivors are crushed not just physically, but also psychologically.

But he confesses that, "The fear of further reprisal has always been a hurdle in taking up legal action on cases of torture."

Take the case of 26-year-old Pranam Singh in Manipur, who still suffers from trauma, frequently breaking into fits at the very sight of the security forces. Singh told members of the Manipur Human Rights Commission during a hearing that he was forced to embark from a bus by officers of the army's Assam Rifles.

He related that, "I was blindfolded and taken to an Assam Rifles camp where I was forced to eat a huge quantity of tobacco. My clothes were removed, my hands and legs tied up, and they started beating me up, including administering electric shocks. I was hung upside down and beaten black and blue."

That was not the end of the ordeal.

Singh testified before the Commission that a few days later, a rod was inserted in his anus and vigorously stirred, and chilli powder was applied to his eyes, anus and genitals.

Later Singh's injuries were confirmed by doctors at the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Manipur's capital Imphal.

Remarks a senior army commander, "There could be some aberrations at times, but then it would be wrong to generalize that security forces commit atrocities all the time. He adds that, "Whenever we come across such reports, we conduct internal enquiries and punish those who are guilty."

His declaration notwithstanding, the security forces often go scot free due to the blanket impunity they are given under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the police's weakness in dealing with excesses by the military.

The special Act enforced in states like Manipur gives the security forces unlimited powers to deal with militancy thereby stunting any real pressure from rights groups to defend or fight for torture victims.

Remarks Manipur rights activist, Khaidam Mani Singh, "Many youths died in custody, others just disappeared while others survived but were maimed and handicapped for life."

Apart from cases of torture, rights groups have also recorded complaints of the alleged rape of women by security forces. Recalls a rape victim and mother of three in Manipur, "I was repeatedly raped by some five to six paramilitary soldiers in front of my elderly father-in-law whose hands were tied."

Highlighting her helplessness, she remarks, "I approached the local police station to file a complaint, but was pressurized not to lodge it."

Shrugs civil rights lawyer in Assam, Nekib Zaman, "We get alot of such reports and cases, but lack evidence in most cases. The villagers are ignorant and do not really know about the safeguards against such violations."

As for the government, Assam's head of state, chief minister Tarun Gogoi said recently that, "We have instructed security forces to take utmost care to safeguard basic human rights while undertaking any operations. But I must say at times, there are some instances when the troops overreact and indulge in harassment of civilians."

He added that, "We take serious action against erring officials and security personnel if found guilty."

 

[Bull]

these innocent not belong to assam.local population not colaborate with indian army, so they bring these poor people for work.saperatest many time warn these worker not come in assam

so are they innnocent or not.Why are the speratists killing innocents,why not kill the army?