NEW DELHI, Jan 3 — The Royal Government of Bhutan has formally confirmed dismantling of four camps including a military training camp by the ULFA in the country in response to the deadline set by the Government there. A spokesman of the Royal Bhutanese Embassy told The Assam Tribune here today that official of the Royal Government have physically verified the spot where the camps were located and found that sheds have been demolished and camps dismantled by the ULFA. The abandoned camp included one military training camp near Samdrup Jongkhar. According to the spokesman, the ULFA first abandoned its Nangri camp in November. The camp is located at a place called Pemagattal. The camps located near Samdrup Jongkhar were, however, dismantled only on December 31, he added.
The other two camps vacated by the militants included, Goburkonda camps located near Manas Wildlife Sanctuary and Deori camp in Samdrup Jongkhar. The District Administrator, in Samdrup Jongkhar visited the area on December 31, and confirmed that the camps have been abandoned by the ULFA, the spokesman disclosed. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we have made it clear that if the agreement is not kept, then the Royal Government of Bhutan will have no option but to take military action,” the official asserted. The Bhutanese official however maintained that they have no information about the ULFA’s reported strategy of relocating their camps and moving their cadres to other existing camps in the country.
The spokesman pointed out that according to the June agreement the ULFA has not only agreed to dismantle its nine camps but also undertook to reduce their cadres in the country. According to the June agreement the ULFA had reportedly undertaken to dismantle five camps by December 31, and rest of the four camps later this year.The spokesman has clarified that the Royal Government has not set any deadline to ULFA to dismantle its remaining camps in the country. Significantly, the Royal Government has also not set any deadline in to the NDFB militants, though they have also been asked to leave the country after dismantling the camps. The Royal Government’s assessment about the number of camps run by ULFA also differs with that of the Assam Government. The State Government’s inputs put the number of camps in Bhutan at around 36, with a strength of 1200 cadres. The ULFA has all its three headquarters including its general headquarter, central headquarter and its mobile headquarters in Bhutan.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which is also closely monitoring the situation is of the view that the ULFA militants to placate the Royal Government may have merely relocated their cadres to other existing camps. The Minister has also claimed that it has no inputs from agencies to suggest massive movement of cadres to Assam after December 31 deadline. It may be recalled here that the Central Government in the face of the December deadline, handed over the Indo-Bhutan border for the first time ever to the BSF. In the first go, at least 10 companies were reported to have been deployed to check cross-border movement.