Another outfit rejects Koijam ceasefire offer

IMPHAL, March 30: The proscribed United National Liberation Front has rejected the state government's ceasefire offer. The UNLF's reply to the ceasefire offer came in the form of the killing of two Army jawans yesterday. The jawans were killed by triggering off a remote-controlled bomb near the 59 Mountain Brigade base at Leimakhong near here. With the UNLF jumping on the bandwagon, four insurgent outfits have rejected the ceasefire announced by the Radhabinod Koijam-led People's Front government. The Chief Minister is now in New Delhi to discuss the further extension of the unilateral ceasefire for another month. The outfits which have rejected Koijam's truce offer so far are the UNLF, the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), the Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup. The attack on an Army column by UNLF guerrillas yesterday has complicated the situation. Two Army jawans were killed and two more jawans seriously injured in yesterday's bomb attack. A civilian passerby was killed when the Army fired in retaliation. He has been identified as Deepak Dahal Sharma, a Nepali labourer. A defence release said troops opened fire when a man who ran away after the blast refused to stop when asked by the jawans. He later succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital, Army sources said. A spokesman for the banned UNLF last evening claimed responsibility for the bomb attack and said the outfit had carried out a similar bomb attack on March 13 at Sangakpham here, killing an Assam Rifles jawan. The UNLF spokesman also rejected the state government's ceasefire offer. The peace initiative launched by the Koijam government may be grounded before achieving anything positive. The all-party meet and the Cabinet have decided to extend the unilateral ceasefire for another month. Former Chief Minister and lone Opposition MLA Rishang Keishing today said the People's Front government had declared the unilateral ceasefire without preparing any groundwork. The veteran Congress leader, however, said his party would not oppose the ceasefire as it was an attempt to bring peace to the state. Keishing said the government has not taken any concrete action during the past month when the ceasefire has been in force. He said the government must find out those people who can contact the insurgent leaders and should try to find out the pulse of the rebels. The Congress leader said if the insurgents decline to accept the government's peace offer, the law has to take its own course. He said all political parties were ready to help the government bring peace and normalcy to the state.