Does ULFA-I use the ceasefire to regroup and recruit new recruits?

 An unnamed police officer said ULFA-I may have seized the opportunity by regrouping using a ceasefire.

On August 6, the banned terrorist group Asom-Independence Liberation Front  (ULFA-I) released a statement calling for its closure and urging people to boycott  Independence Day celebrations. Last year, the group  refrained from calling for a boycott of the celebrations or closures for the first time in ULFA-I's 43-year history. 

        Three days after ULFA-I's statement of August 6, a junior  officer was injured when an Assam Rifles patrol was shot down near the India-Myanmar border in the Changlang district of 'Arunachal Pradesh. ULFA-I and the Yung Aung faction of the Nagaland National Socialist Council  (Khaplang), another banned terrorist group, are accused of carrying out the attack. 

 The  call for boycotts and attacks was seen as a sign of ULFA-I's reluctance to change its stance on an independent Assam. The group, which announced a unilateral ceasefire in May 2021, citing the Covid pandemic, is suspected of using it to arrange and train recruits in their camps in Myanmar. 

 An unnamed police officer said ULFA-I may have seized the opportunity by regrouping using a ceasefire. “Last year, 70 to 80 youths from Assam  left home to train at team camps in Myanmar. While some of them have returned, the number is still higher than the 25-30 young people employed each year before. 

 Police said the sudden increase in recruitment numbers could be due to the expectation of benefits if negotiations between the Center and the team go ahead and lead to an agreement. "Virtually none of them [the recruits] are ULFA-I inclined. Many people have financial or personal problems and want a way out. But since the negotiations didn't take place...no young people have come to Myanmar in the past 4 months,” the officer said. 

            It is believed that ULFA-I and other terrorist groups in the northeast have found an opportunity to continue operating across the border without too many obstacles as the Myanmar military is busy suppressing the pro-government movement. democracy after last year's military coup. 

Police estimate that ULFA-I has between 180 and 200 officers. It is believed that about 60-70 of them are  new recruits who joined  last year. Of the new officers, 36 are said to have received training in weapons handling in Myanmar. 

 Anup Chetia, secretary general  of the faction that favors the ULFA talks, says that by boycotting  Independence Day celebrations and carrying out attacks on security personnel, ULFA-I is trying to show its presence and assert that it is still topical. 

 The Assam uprising began in April 1979 with the establishment of ULFA as an offshoot of the movement against undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh. ULFA, which had sought to form an independent Assam, split into two groups in February 2011. Arabinda Rajkhowa led a group and decided to renounce violence and speak to the Center without any conditions. . The faction led by Paresh Baruah decided not to contest and changed its name to ULFA-I. 

 Chetia says that ULFA-I tried to commit acts of violence in Assam before Independence Day but failed  due to surveillance. ".. they [instead] resorted to shooting in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland." 

 He said last year there was also a positive response from Baruah  to Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's call for ULFA-I for negotiations. “There were also discussions of behind-the-scenes talks. However, calls for boycotts and attacks on security personnel this month may indicate a breakdown in communication between the two sides. 

 Chetia, who is known to have been in contact with surrendered and active ULFA-I officers, said the group's recruitment campaign was an ongoing process and that his call for a ceasefire maybe it's not  a ruse to get stronger. 

 Hiren Nath, the police's additional superintendent, said they are monitoring developments in ULFA-I very closely. “…most people in Assam do not want violent and terrorist activities. The law and order situation is much better and development activities are accelerating. work. "We want him removed from the entire state. For peace and development to return, Baruah should come to negotiate." 

 Over the past year, agencies have found 597 people "probably participating in ULFA-I". Of those, 396 were counseled to deter them. Forty-eight cases have been registered against people wanting to travel to Myanmar and 32 people have been arrested. 

 Another policeman said 228  social media protest posts expressing support for ULFA-I and other terrorist groups were removed  last year. "... another 47 posts have been deleted on social media platforms."