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3,000 tribal separatists to lay down arms in Assam

IRNA

Guwahati, Nov 4, IRNA -- At least 3,000 tribal separatists are 
expected to lay down arms in India`s northeastern state of Assam 
later this month following a peace accord signed between a rebel 
outfit and the federal government. 
"Our cadres numbering about 3000 would be surrendering all 
weapons before government authorities on the day the Bodoland 
Territorial Area District (BTAD) council comes into effect later 
this month," Mainao Daimary, publicity chief of the Bodo Liberation 
Tigers (BLT), told IRNA on Tuesday. 
The BLT, a powerful rebel group active in western Assam, entered 
into a ceasefire agreement with New Delhi in March 2000 and the two 
sides had held 17 rounds of peace talks before a peace accord was 
signed in February this year aimed at ending nearly two decades of 
insurgency in Assam. 
The BLT, unlike other guerrilla groups operating in Assam, was 
not fighting for secession but a homeland for the ethnic Bodo tribe 
within the Indian union. The signing of the accord paved the way for 
creation of the BTAD with the rebel group climbing down from its 
earlier demand for a homeland. 
The BTAD was expected to be a politico-administrative structure 
with more executive and legislative powers to be vested with the 
tribal Bodos, who number about 1.6 million out of Assam`s total 
population of 26 million. 
The Assam government has already issued notifications for 
creation of a 12-member interim council of the BTAD that is expected 
to come into effect later this month. Dates were yet to be announced. 
"Our cache of weapons includes various sophisticated arms that we 
are going to lay down," Daimary said. The BLT was formed in 1996 and 
its cadres were known for their expertise in explosives, having blown 
up several trains. A powerful blast triggered by the BLT in western 
Assam in 1999 had killed 33 railway passengers. 
The former BLT rebels are now worried over threats from another 
rival militant group - the outlawed National Democratic Front of 
Bodoland (NDFB). 
The NDFB, waging a bush war for an independent tribal homeland 
for the Bodos since the past two decades, has been targeting BLT 
cadres for signing a peace accord with the government. 
"We know the NDFB would be after us and the threat perception 
is very high. But then we have the support of the people who want 
peace and a solution to the Bodo problem," the BLT leader said. 
/213 
End