Gogoi demands inter-state coordination

The Assam government has raised demand for coordinated action in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya if training, arms supply transit routes of and shelters of  militants are to be choked.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi cautioned that specter militancy was not yet over as anti-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Assam and other militant outfits retained an arsenal of sophisticated weapons and explosives and continued criminal acts of killing, extortion and abduction though at a far lesser scale.

Gogoi also cautioned that Myanmar being a foreign sanctuary and efforts on by ultras to re-open camps in Bhutan, Government of India must monitor the situation closely. “Any reversal by a future Bangladeshi regime of the drive against Indian militants would revive sanctuaries for ultra across the country’s borders in the Northeast. Moreover, the demographic and economic factors which attract youth to the militant path remain.

Though public support has dwindled, militant outfits are still getting new recruits from vulnerable sections of the society,” Gogoi said.

While pointing out the growing Maoist activities with strength mainly in eastern Assam said their presence in western Assam and BarakValley in South Assam could overshadow and even absorb all the localized militancies and attracted vulnerable youth to it.

“Governance and policing of dispersed and innumerable river island called chars and chaporis would be difficult if Maoists succeed in establishing a foothold,” he said.

"An effective anti-Maoist operations need specialist capabilities and we propose that one of the existing India Reserve battalions be upgraded to a special taskforce in Assam as approved for other Maoist-affected states. It is only through pro-active efforts we can prevent Maoists from spreading roots in Assam,” Gogoi said.

The chief minister supported the concept of the National Counter Terrorism Centre with the caveat that the states should be more engaged in developing intelligence leads or in executive action.