KOHIMA, July 31: The Naga National Party (NNP) has welcomed the extension of ceasefire between the Indian government and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) recently. It is a good policy for a negotiable solution through peace of the complex Naga political issue, an NNP statement said. NNP president NG Hungyo hoped that the peace initiative process of the Naga political problems could be achieved by this year-end. The NNP will also try its best for a permanent and peace solution to the Naga problem. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, July 31: Increasing activities of the outlawed National Socialist Council of Nagalim in Assam's Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts, bordering Nagaland have become a matter of grave concern for the Assam government. The group, which is in a ceasefire mode in Nagaland, is reportedly indulging in abductions and extortion in the two districts. While in some cases, the NSCN cadres are directly involved, in most others they have been engaging cadres of the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) and the Karbi People's Front (KPF), government sources said. The Assam government has shot off letters to the Centre, the Nagaland government and the GOC, 3 Corps to take action against the militants. (Samudra Gupta Kashyap; The Indian Express; New Delhi; August 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, July 31: A Guwahati-bound goods train was derailed near Sarupeta in Barpeta district when militants triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) early today. In another incident, at least 20 CRPF personnel had a providential escape when militants detonated a powerful bomb on Nalbari-Dhamdhama Road at Balitara under Ghograpar police station last night. Suspected Bodo militants exploded a powerful bomb at Bhalaguri between Sarupeta and Barpeta when the Guwahati-bound goods train was passing through the area at 8.30 am this morning. Six bogies and the engine were damaged. Four other bogies were derailed, official sources said. The driver of the engine, however, escaped with minor injuries. Both the broad gauge and metre gauge tracks were damaged due to the blast disrupting railway communication and forcing Northeast Frontier Railway authorities to cancel and reschedule several trains. Top railway officials, district police and civil officials rushed to the spot following the explosion. Traffic on the broad-gauge section was immediately suspended after the blast. The tracks are likely to be restored by August 3. In another incident, 20 CRPF personnel had a miraculous escape when a powerful explosive device planted by suspected ULFA militants exploded on the Nalbari-Dhamdhama Road last night. Two vehicles carrying the 22 Bn CRPF men escaped unscathed. The blast left a deep crater. There was an encounter between the militants and the CRPF personnel after the blast. However, the militants managed to escape into the adjacent jungles. Several people from the area have been picked up by the police for interrogation. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 1, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 1: The Assam police has expressed ignorance regarding the threat letters sent by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to some soldiers from the state serving in Kargil and to their families. Reacting to a news item in this regard, the Assam director-general of police, PV Sumant, said the police had not received any such information. (Samudra Gupta Kashyap; The Indian Express; New Delhi; August 2, 1999)

TEZPUR, August 1: Some middle-level cadres of both the political and military wings of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) have expressed their desire to come forward for talks with the Government and they are in constant touch with the Army authorities here, said the GOC for the 4 Corps of the Army, Lt Gen DB Shekatkar. Lt Gen Shekatkar said that the ULFA men's move to contact the Army started during the Rongali Bihu festival in April. He pointed out that during the festival, the Army declared a ceasefire to enable the militants to visit their friends and relatives and that must have given the militants the confidence to contact the Army. He said that at first only the middle-level leaders of the political wing of the ULFA got in touch with him to express their desire to come forward for talks and now even the military wing cadres had started contacting him over telephone. He said that he had received some calls from abroad also from ULFA militants. He said that he had been keeping his higher-ups posted about the developments. (R Dutta Choudhury; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 2, 1999)

NEW DELHI, August 3: The Assam chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, has said the Kargil conflict could be termed a blessing in disguise as the subsequent support extended to Pakistan by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has eroded the support base of the militant group. "The Kargil conflict has created an unprecedented upsurge of patriotism and love for the Indian Army and badly hit the support base of ULFA which supported Pakistan, Mahanta told newspersons here on Monday. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 4, 1999)

SIBSAGAR, August 3: Any news about extremists and terrorists coming to the national mainstream is good news for all. The recent reported surrender of 22 ULFA extremists at an Army camp near Sibsagar town, however, cannot be an exception to this. The silence and secrecy maintained by the Army till the last moment has raised many an eyebrow. The civil and police administration of the district too were kept in the dark about the surrender. The concept of unified command operation envisages a coordinated and concerted approach among the civil and police administration and the Army. The July 30 surrender did not reveal such a coordinated approach. Even the Sibsagar deputy commissioner Maninder Singh could come to know about the surrender only when a Jorhat-based correspondent wanted to confirm the news. So was the case with the police. The absence of the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police at the surrender ceremony robbed it of much significance. Only a section of the media was invited. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 4, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 4: The activities of a newly-formed Islamic militant outfit People's United Liberation Front (PULF) came to light after the arrest of four members of the outfit in Barpeta recently. It is suspected that the outfit has links with the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), security sources said here. They said the four militants -Md Saifu Islam, Md Akbar Ali, Zehirul Islam and Hazarat Ali - all belonging to the Howly area of Barpeta district, were nabbed by police on July 22 last. Sources said the outfit was originally formed in Manipur with the support of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) and the security forces came to know about the activities of the outfit in Assam only after the arrests of these four militants. Among the arrested, Saiful Islam had been trained in handling of different weapons in Lydenpulen near Imphal from March to June last year. During interrogation, he said there were 22 persons in the training camp at that moment. Of them, two were from Barpeta, three from Nagaon, and the rest were from Manipur. The training was imparted by the NSCN(I-M). The outfit has a state committee headed by one Abdul Aziz, who hails from Manipur. The PULF also has three district committees - Nagaon, Barpeta and Lakhimpur. However, the details of the demands of the outfit are not yet known to security forces. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 4: With the Lok Sabha elections fast approaching, all the political parties as well as the people of the state are watching with keen interest as to what will be the stand taken by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) vis-à-vis the election this time. The interest stemmed from the fact that during the Lok Sabha elections last year, the outfit had called for a poll boycott. In the wake of ignominious defeat in the elections, the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) had tried to blame it on an alleged ULFA-Congress nexus. The AGP alleged that the Congress engineered the ULFA poll boycott to prevent AGP supporters from casting their votes. The Congress which swept the last polls in the state clinching 11 seats, challenged the AGP to prove their charge. Political observers believed that the ULFA diktat regarding polls favoured the Congress as the militant outfit hardly has any influence in the traditional minority votebank of the party. On the other hand, the boycott call influenced the AGP support base to a certain extent as large number of people did not come to vote out of the fear for the ULFA gun. Already the ULFA has appealed to political parties contesting election in the state this time to include the demand for the right to self-determination for the people of the state in their poll manifestos. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

IMPHAL, August 4: An Assam Rifles jawan was killed and a captain injured when armed activists launched an attack on the 8th Assam Rifles post at Toupokpi in Manipur's Bishenpur district on Tuesday night, official sources said on Wednesday. They said the attack took place around 1930 hours. The security personnel also fire back during the encounter which lasted for about 15 minutes. A jawan was killed on the spot and a Captain was seriously injured, they said. The militants escaped under the cover of darkness. Security forces have cordoned off nearby areas and launched a manhunt. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 5, 1999)

NEW DELHI, August 5: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) have said there will be no change in their previous collective decisions together with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), Revolutionary People's Front (RPF), People's Revolutionary Party og Kangleipak (PREPAK) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) over the boycott of India's Independence Day celebrations "in our entire region". A statement issued by ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and TPDF president Ranjit Deb Barma appealed to the people of the Northeast to observe a general strike from midnight August 14 to 5 p.m. on August 15. (Press release; e-mail; August 5, 1999)

IMPHAL, August 5: A subedar of the Border Road Task Force (BRTF) was killed and five civilians including three women were injured in an ambush at Pungdongbam area in Manipur's Imphal East district on Wednesday evening. Armed insurgents fired at two BRTF trucks which were being escorted by security personnel, official sources said on Thursday. While the subedar was killed on the spot, the five civilians were injured by stray bullets during the encounter. The insurgents escaped before the arrival of security personnel to the area, the sources said. (PTI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 6, 1999)

GUWAHATI, August 5: Lack of adequate knowledge of the security force personnel engaged in the counter-insurgency operations about the Assamese way of life has led to many problems including unnecessary harassment of innocent people. But to do away with the problem, Army authorities here have started a training programme for the security personnel coming from outside. The general officer commanding of the Tezpur-based 4 Corps, Lt Gen DB Shekatkar, told this correspondent that a counter-insurgency training school has been opened in Solmara in Sonitpur district where Armymen and the personnel of other security forces are imparted training on different aspects of the Assamese way of life before they are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in different parts of the state. The six-week course has 26 sessions on Assamese culture. The areas covered under the course include human rights, religious sentiments of the people of the state, the economy of Assam, how to behave with the people. Apart from the Army's own officers, judicial magistrates, academicians, members of the State Human Rights Commission and other prominent persons are invited to deliver lectures on different aspects of Assamese culture. So far about 6,000 security personnel have completed the course. Assam Police personnel are also imparted training here, but the training capsule for them is different since there is no point training on local culture and customs. The Assam Police personnel are trained in other aspects of counter-insurgency operations. The GOC admitted that the language barrier proved to be a major drawback in counter-insurgency operations as the people belonging to the interior areas cannot be expected to know Hindi. He said it was better for security force personnel to know the local language rather than expecting locals to know the language of security forces. (R Dutta Choudhury; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; August 6, 1999)

AGARTALA, August 6: Four senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leaders were today kidnapped by militants of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) in Dhalai district, the police said. Two armed militants stormed a school run by the RSS nearly 82 miles away from the district headquarters and kidnapped the leaders at gun-point when they were inspecting the school without their securitymen. (PTI; The Hindustan Times; New Delhi; August 7, 1999)