Army action last resort: Bhutan King

GUWAHATI, January 28: The King of Bhutan has said that if Bhutan failed to convince the militants belonging to the ULFA and NDFB to leave Bhutanese soil through peaceful negotiation, it would be left with no alternative but to resort to military action. Addressing the people's representatives of Sarpang area of Bhutan recently, the King said that the ULFA and NDFB cadres were seasoned militants, who had been fighting the Indian Army for years. He pointed out that the ULFA and the NDFB militants entered Bhutan in the early 1990s to escape from the military operations launched against them by the Indian Army. According to a report in the latest edition of Bhutan's State run weekly Kuensel, the King said, "once we send our armed forces to remove the militants, we will have to fight a war with them and until we win the war, the militants will not leave the country. Once we get involved in a war, both the government and the people must clearly understand its consequences. The outbreak of armed conflict will bring loss of many lives." The King of Bhutan reminded the people's representatives that resorting to military action would be the worst possible option and it would not be an easy choice. He said that the cadres of ULFA and the NDFB are citizens of Assam and if the government of Bhutan fight the ultras, the people and vehicles of Bhutan passing through Assam would have to face great danger. The King admitted that the ULFA and the NDFB had established many camps inside the Bhutanese soil from Kalikhola in the West to Daitam in the East. The militants are well harmed and have lots of resources at their disposal. He said that the government had two rounds of unproductive and inconclusive rounds of discussion with the militants. The militants had made it clear that they would not leave until they achieve their objective of gaining independence from Assam. He said that though the possibility of militants leaving Bhutan as a result of peaceful dialogue seems unlikely every effort must be made to continue the process of dialogue to make them leave peacefully. Addressing the people's representatives, the Bhutanese Home Minister Lyonpo Thinley Gyamtsho said that inspite of the offers of money and threats, the people of Bhutan must stop all dealings with militants of face the risk of prosecution. He said that the sovereignty and security of Bhutan have been threatened due to the presence of militants. The Kalikhola Chimi (people's representative) said that a couple of months back, the militants had threatened to kill him. "Whatever I say here will be heard and I will have to face that wrath of the militants when I go home," he said. However, he said that for the security and future of the country, he would not hesitate to fight them.