ULFA chief Paresh Baruah enters bad times

by Nava Thakuria from Guwahati
September 22, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1826/ulfa-chief-paresh-baruah-enters-bad-times

Now it is almost official. Bad days are waiting for Paresh Baruah, the military chief of banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). While the C-in-C of ULFA is losing grounds in Bangladesh slowly, he on the other hand faces government force attacks in Burma (Myanmar). The illusive leader, who was hiding in Dhaka for many years, had recently left the country to hide somewhere in Burma-China boarder areas. With the increasing strategic relationship between Dhaka and New Delhi,
Paresh finds it difficult to maintain his activities in Bangladesh, where he once led his armed outfit with the help of other ULFA political-wing leader.

The recent media reports have once again revealed that the ULFA in general and Paresh in particular had heavily invested money in various Bangladeshi enterprises. The ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia (now in Bangladesh jail) took the initiative to invest money in some avenues in Bangladesh that would be beneficial for the outfit, which is fighting for a Swadhin Asom out of India. Anup even guided the outfit to invest in Bangladeshi politicians (who were pro-ULFA) and even a section of media in Dhaka.

Now here is a secret list of investments initiated by Paresh in different Bangladeshi companies. Prepared by the Indian security and intelligence agencies with the help of Bangladesh National Security Intelligence, the report divulges that Paresh has investments in real estate, health sector, textiles, shipping, power projects and restaurants with worth $20 million, of course, with fake identities. The list, whish is leaked to a section of Indian media, discloses that the ULFA leader had invested around $14 million in three Dhaka-based real estate firms namely Basundhara Real Estate (17 per cent stake), Eastern Housing Project (9 per cent stake ) and Jamuna Group Housing Project (2 per cent stake).

Paresh's money is also in Chowdhury Shipping ( $2.5 million), Kasem Textiles ($1.7 million), Samrita Hospital ($200,000), Chinese Restaurant Wimfray ($100,000) etc, the report also added that the hardliner ULFA leader receives nearly 5 lakh dollars annually through the Western Money Changer for spending in various activities.

Earlier terrible news were pouring from Burma, where the separatist militant outfits from the Northeast faced more attacks from the Burmese army. As the Burmese president Thein Sein is visiting India next month, the attacks on the hideouts of ULFA and other outfits in the jungles of northern Burma is expected to intensify.

A recent statement from the ULFA camp revealed that their hideouts inside Burma were attacked by the government forces, but it claimed that all of their cadres escaped unhurt. Later another statement from ULFA claimed that Paresh had not received any bullet injuries in the offensive, as it was widely reported in the media.

With the ULFA, SS Khaplang (a Burmese) led National Socialist Council of Nagaland, Manipur People's Liberation Army, UNLF and Prepak have training camps in the Sagaing division of Burma, where nearly 300 cadres are receiving intensive arm and ammunition training.

To prove their claims, the statement added a photograph of Paresh, which was the second photograph of the notorious leader, released by the militant outfit itself in the last few months. The email statement, issued by Paresh's close associate Arunoday Dahotiya went on alleging that New Delhi had paid a huge amount of arms and money to the Burmese regime to go offensive against the militants.

Mentionable is that the Indian government had recently supplied 52 military trucks load of arms and ammunition to the Burmese government. India maintained its strategic and military relationship with the Burmese regime even after receiving brickbats from the international community. Expressing resentment at New Delhi's continued military relationship with Nay Pie Taw, hundreds of pro-democracy Burmese and Indian activists demonstrated in New Delhi on July 22, 2011 arguing that 'supplying arms to the most brutal military dictatorship may have grave consequences to millions of innocent lives'.

The ULFA, which was born in 1979 to make Assam independent out of India three decades back, today is a divided house, as its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa with his followers have joined in the peace process with New Delhi. However, ULFA's commander-in-chief continues sticking to the primary demand for an independent Assam.

Dahotiya's email clearly claimed that New Delhi paid a special economic package worth as high as Indian Rupees 20,000 crores to flush out the rebel camps from the Burmese soil. Additionally, the Burmese government is offered (by Indian government) Rs 100 crore to kill Paresh at the earliest, added the statement.

It had more to add, New Delhi maintained the practice (to pay neighboring countries in need) since long back and paid Rs 1000 crore package to Bhutan to destroy ULFA, following which Thimphu flushed out the ULFA camps inside south Bhutan in December 2003.

Dahotiya also claimed that New Delhi had recently offered money to the Dhaka government led by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina with a request to take actions against the ULFA leaders and cadres taking shelter in that country. Accordingly, Dhaka handed over many militant leaders (including ULFA chairman to Indian authority). Though India and Bangladesh does not have an extradition treaty, the Bangladesh authority arrested the militant leaders and secretly handed over to India. No official statement was issued by the Bangladesh government on the matter and even the Bangladeshi newspapers had to depend on India's media to report about the important issue.

Related Story: Partial ULFA businesses in Bangladesh exposed

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