Pillai on mission flushout

GUWAHATI, January 25: The Centre has once again urged Bhutan to flush out ULFA and Bodo militants from the jungles in the southern part of the Himalayan kingdom. Official sources said a senior Union home ministry official made the request on the Centre's behalf during a meeting with Bhutanese bureaucrats at the Bhutan Embassy in New Delhi last night. Bhutanese ambassador Dago Tshering was present at the dinner meeting between G.K. Pillai, joint secretary in charge of Northeast affairs in the Union home ministry, and a team of visiting officials from the Himalayan kingdom. Giving details of the "in-camera meeting", sources said Pillai assured the bureaucrats that the Centre would take steps to protect Bhutanese visitors to Assam from a possible militant backlash after "operation flushout" is launched. The visiting officials, however, said the firepower of the Bhutanese police and army might not be enough to take on the insurgents camping in their country. It could not be ascertained whether Pillai hinted that India could provide military assistance to the Royal government of Bhutan for "operation flushout". At least six rounds of discussions have been held on the issue of evicting Bodo and ULFA militants from the Bhutanese jungles, but the two countries are yet to arrive at a feasible solution. When contacted over phone from Guwahati, officials of the Bhutanese Embassy were tight-lipped about the discussions last night. Embassy councillor Thinley Penzor said, "The ambassador hosted a dinner for a delegation from Bhutan. He had also invited some personal friends which could have included Union government officials." Despite persistent queries, Penzor refused to name the officials present at the dinner, saying, "Do not read much into last night's get-together." Though Pillai was unavailable for comment, a staffer attached to his office confirmed that he did have "an engagement at the Bhutanese embassy yesterday". Both the ULFA and the NDFB have bases inside the jungles of Bhutan. The Assam government has been demanding that the Centre take up the matter with the Himalayan kingdom and impress upon the Royal Bhutan government to flush out the rebels. The dinner meeting between the Bhutanese ambassador and Pillai came close on the heels of reports that the Centre had achieved a "breakthrough in Assam insurgency" by holding "unofficial parleys" with representatives of the ULFA in Nepal recently. A top home ministry source said informal talks were held in Kathmandu recently between ministry officials and representatives of the outfit to prepare the ground for the proposed official dialogue with the ULFA leadership. The representatives of the outfit are now waiting for a response from the ULFA "commander-in-chief" Paresh Barua, the official said. The revelation that the Centre held informal talks with the ULFA in Kathmandu is likely to renew speculation about the outfit's approach towards negotiations. The ULFA's climbdown from its "rigid stand" as well as the Centre's "willingness" to hold unconditional talks have fuelled hopes of a fresh beginning in the insurgency-ravaged state. The Union home minister had also planned to visit to the state on January 22-23 ostensibly to make public New Delhi's desire to end the stalemate and hold talks with the ULFA leadership.