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The banned United Liberation Front of Asom has opposed the creation of a separate autonomous council for Bodo tribals, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with a rival militant group representing the Bodo tribals.
An editorial in the ULFA journal, Freedom, released to local newspapers in Guwahati, opposed the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council asserting that within the parameters of the Constitution there was no room for preservation of right to self determination of any small group.
'Any arrangement within it will only create more political chaos that has been clearly reflected in the proposed creation of the BTC,' the editorial said.
ULFA also referred to the Sanmilita Janagosthiya Sangram Samiti, an umbrella organisation of 19 non-Bodo organisations, opposing the proposed creation of the BTC and calling a 12-hour Assam bandh on August 15 and a 36-hour economic blockade from August 26 in protest.
The editorial quoted the SJSS as stating, 'we will not allow it (the BTC) to happen. Once the BTC is formed, we will not only lose our political identity but will be driven out by the Bodos, who have already been systematically attacking non-Bodos to clear the proposed BTC area.'
The BTC, envisaged under modified provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, has been proposed during the talks between a Bodo militant outfit, the Bodoland Liberation Tigers, and the Centre. The talks have been going on since March 2000. The BLT is currently observing a ceasefire with the security forces.
ULFA and BLT have a history of animosity. The latest ULFA salvo is likely to queer the pitch in the already volatile western Assam, intelligence officials say.
ULFA and another Bodo militant outfit, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, however, share bases and logistics in the jungles of southern Bhutan. The NDFB, which is the BLT's rival, has been opposed to the creation of the BTC. It wants a separate country for the Bodos.
Meanwhile, leaders of Bodo democratic organizations have accused the Assam government of skirting the issue of demarcating the boundary of the proposed BTC in a bid to delay its formation.
Rajya Sabha member Urkhao Gwra Brahma, one of the top leaders of the Bodo movement, claimed that instead of giving an impetus to the peace process, the state government is trying to scuttle it. He urged Dispur to end the impasse by properly demarcating the administrative boundary of the proposed council.
'The state government has been skirting the primary issue of demarcating the boundary of the proposed BTC in the manner demanded by the Bodo people. It has instead decided to follow the notification of 1999, which is not acceptable to the people of Bodoland,' Brahma told a public meeting at Goybari on the death anniversary of Swmbla Basumatary, the late president of the All-Bodo Students Union on July 30.
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