[Assam] Retired ‘Rambos’ to defeat the ‘Lachit warriors’ of Assam!

[Bartta Bistar]

*HM agrees to recruit ex-servicemen in Assam*

http://www.northeasttribune.com/7210.htm

NET News Network

New Delhi, Aug 21: The home ministry has agreed to Assam's proposal to
recruit ex-servicemen to battle the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) and other militant groups that have been on a killing spree in the
state.

The Chief minister Gogoi, who is in the capital, said in a press conference
today that he had met the home minister (Shivraj Patil) and Patil has agreed
to the proposal of recruiting ex-serviceman to fight against militants in
the state. He also said that there are some problems (on the issue) which
the home ministry has agreed to look into, and the proposal is all set to
get through.

The proposal to recruit ex-servicemen has been lying in limbo over the pay
structure. As against the initial proposed pay structure of Rs.3,500 per
month, the ex-servicemen have demanded Rs.6,500-7,500.

The home minister has agreed to resolve the matter, Gogoi said.

Admitting that 'there is definitely a shortage of police personnel in the
state', the chief minister who met Patil on Monday, said that the home
ministry was itself facing a shortage of security personnel to provide for
the state.

Till the National Games, held in Guwahati in February, there were 158
companies of central paramilitary forces in the state. Of these, 40 were
removed for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

He said that the state government is now also planning to raise forces of
its own. Gogoi also said his government was going to intensify operations
against the ULFA and wanted the latest technology and gadgets to combat the
militants and the home ministry has agreed to supply the latest technical
equipment.

Referring to the recent killing of 29 Hindi-speaking people in the Karbi
Anglong district, Gogoi said around five militant groups were operating
there and a new police district is being also created there.

The chief minister claimed that militants have changed their tactics after
they were weakened by security forces. Earlier they used to attack security
forces directly. But now, they are targeting innocent civilians.

He also said that the militants hide bombs in dustbins, they move on
rickshaws in civilian areas, adding that the killing of security forces has
gone down significantly since his government came to power. **

* *

*New force to fight ULFA*

*http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070023400*

[image: New force to fight ULFA]



















Press Trust of India

Tuesday, August 21, 2007 (New Delhi)

The Assam government on Tuesday said that it has received the Centre's nod
for raising a 5,000-strong force of retired soldiers to fight the ULFA.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the proposal for the new force, to be
primarily deployed in violence-hit Karbi Anglong district, has received
approval from the Central government and recruitment for it would start
soon.

Gogoi, however, also appealed to the ULFA to give up violence and come for
talks. ''Violence will bring misery to people and push Assam into
backwardness,'' he said.

Neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh are harbouring ULFA
leaders and have not responded to calls from the Central government to evict
the rebels and hand them over to New Delhi, he said.

Gogoi accused the ULFA of having a nexus with Pakistan's ISI intelligence
agency as the group's actions are helping only those forces which are
inimical to India.

He denied allegations that his Congress government had a nexus with the
ULFA, saying these were part of a ''baseless, politically motivated
campaign'' against him.

Gogoi said his government was taking steps to curb violence in Karbi
Anglong, where 36 Hindi-speaking people were killed recently, by deploying
additional forces and enhancing vigil by using helicopters.

He also claimed that incidents of violence during his six years as chief
minister were fewer than those in the five -year rule of the previous AGP
government.

''This is all happening despite the ULFA changing its tactics to attack
innocent people

and frequently change bases,'' he said.



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Read on for earlier BOMBASTIC utterance>

Rambos to counter Ulfa
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=96e2481d-c6a8-4a27-a3e0-420fe441849b&&Headline=Rambos+to+counter+Ulfa



    The outlawed Ulfa might soon have to battle a new breed of
soldiers—clones of John Rambo.

Unsettled by a string of subversive attacks, specifically against
Hindi-speaking people, the Assam government has decided to set up a crack
force of jungle specialists. Members of this battalion will be trained to be
ultimate commandos, living off the jungles, taming any kind of terrain and
defying pain to catch militants.

Along with raising a battalion of Rambo-like fighters, the government would
also be involving local people for intelligence gathering against militants.


"We have decided to set up a special force trained for jungle warfare,"
chief minister Tarun Gogoi said here on Friday. "There's no time-frame for
this battalion, but we want to raise it as soon as possible."

Unlike the commando unit and special task force active in counter-insurgency
operations, the "jungle cats" will not be required to return to base after
an offensive. "Their mandate will be to live in the jungles for sustained
operations until the job is done," Gogoi said, adding the jungle specialists
will be used for deep penetration anywhere across Assam.

According to Gogoi, the propensity of militants to strike in remote,
isolated pockets, particularly those inhabited by settlers, has necessitated
the new battalion. "We are weighing the army's Counter-Insurgency and Jungle
Warfare School at Vairangte in Mizoram as one of the options to train this
force," he said.

Gogoi further said his government was hastening the process of filling up
some 6,000 vacancies in the police force besides dividing the troubled Karbi
Anglong into two police districts. The Ministry of Home Affairs had
suggested three in the district, India's second largest spanning over 10,000
sq km.

The under-staffed Assam Police has been feeling the militant heat. Earlier
this month, Gogoi told the Assembly that police has only 41,189 constables
and 3,218 sub-inspectors. There are 3,997 vacancies for constables and 571
for sub-inspectors.
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