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Tripura CM demands sealing of B'desh border

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar Monday demanded demolition of all extremist hideouts in neighbouring Bangladesh and sealing of the borders to check the growth of militancy in the north-east.

Sarkar, who was in Bhubaneswar to attend the Communist Party of India-Marxist's central committee and politburo meeting, told newsmen that 31 hideouts in Bangladesh had been used by militants operating in the north-eastern state.

The Tripura chief minister said he had been requesting the prime minister, the Union home minister and defence minister to take up the matter with the Bangladesh government for a long time now.

''I even showed them the location of the hideouts on the map and the strategic border stretches used by the extremists as both entry and exit points to the north-east, but the response is not encouraging,'' Sarkar remarked.

He said Tripura had the longest international border of 856 kms with Bangladesh out of which a strategic stretch of about 400 kms was witnessing militant activities.

The Centre, he said, should ensure fencing of the stretch on a priority basis.

Sarkar said although the Bangladesh government had been informed about the activities, no steps had been taken to curb the menace. The extremist activities if not dealt with a strong hand could cause problem for Bangladesh too in future, he warned.

The chief minister said banned outfits in Tripura, such as the National Liberation front of Tripura and the All Tripura Tiger Force, were trying to create a division among tribals and non-tribals.

Similarly a section of the non-tribals under the direct patronage of the Anand Margis were busy collecting arms in the name of combating tribal extremism and attacking innocent tribals, he alleged.

''We even proposed to the prime minister to treat extremism in the north-east as a national problem and take necessary steps to combat it as they have done in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Centre is showing a lukewarm response to the problem,'' Sarkar remarked.

He alleged that continuous neglect of the Centre to the development of the north-east in all spheres had led to the rise of militancy in the area.

''A section of the youth has chosen the path of secession and are now demanding an independent Nagaland, Assam, Mizoram and also an independent north-east region,'' he said.

Sarkar said that taking advantage of the growing discontent among the youths, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence had become active in the region and was busy coordinating the activities of the various extremist groups.

He said in one year alone more than 350 people, both tribals and non-tribals, were killed either in extremist violence or in ethnic clashes.

''What we need is a holistic approach to combat extremism in the state and a positive attitude from the Centre for the development of the state, which had 65 per cent of the population living below the poverty line,'' Sarkar said.

UNI

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