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Indian separatist groups appeal China to grant temporary shelter

IRNA

Guwahati, Dec 29, IRNA -- Three Indian separatist groups, fleeing a 
military offensive in the adjoining Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, 
Sunday appealed China to grant them temporary shelter in their 
country. 
"We have come under massive military attack by joined forces of 
India and Bhutan and our combatants are forced to retreat up to the 
Sino-Bhutan border due to all out air and artillery campaigns," a 
letter addressed to the Chairman of the People`s Republic of China 
by Arabinda Rajkhowa, chief of the outlawed United Liberation Front 
of Asom (ULFA), said. 
"In this moment, they have no other option but to enter the 
territory of the People`s Republic of China extra-legally to save 
their lives. We would like to request you and your people to permit 
them safe passage to your territory and minimum temporary hospitality 
necessary for their survival." 
The letter said the militants currently on the run in Bhutan were 
faced with hunger and a hostile weather. 
"The combatants were facing sub-zero temperature and starvation 
without any cloth and food," the ULFA leader said in the letter. 
"We would be obliged if you show your traditional kindness and 
great revolutionary zeal to our brothers-in-arms in this very moment 
of exigency," Rajkhowa said. 
The letter, according to Rajkhowa, was written on behalf of the 
other two rebel groups - the National Democratic Front of Bodoland 
(NDFB) and the Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO). 
Bhutan, a largely Buddhist state of 700,000 people, is wedged 
between India and China. The ULFA, fighting for an independent home 
land in India`s northeastern state of Assam, had earlier sought 
sanctuary in China sometime in the mid-80s. 
Several top ULFA leaders then approached the Communist regime in 
China for `help and support` but did not get a positive response from 
the authorities there, an Indian intelligence official said. 
"China is the likely country where they can approach for shelter 
with the distance manageable for their cadres to enter. It is 
unlikely China would agree to grant access with bilateral relations 
between Beijing and New Delhi becoming better in recent years," the 
intelligence official said. 
/213 
End