[Assam] Bhutanese must remember that despite their territory was part of Assam, she never tried to reclaim it. But, read your treaty with India and realise your predicament. So Bhutan must help the Assamese to restore their sovereignty for your security too.

[Bartta Bistar]

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     *Traces of Ulfa on Bhutan soil*

*http://www.telegraphindia.com/1061114/asp/frontpage/story_6998691.asp*

SAMIR K. PURKAYASTHA

Udalguri, Nov. 13: Police teams from Assam and Bhutan jointly searched for a
suspected Ulfa training camp in the Himalayan kingdom a couple of weeks ago
and found evidence contradicting the Bhuta-nese embassy's denial of the
presence of any militant hideout in that country after Operation All Clear.

The search operation was conducted on the basis of revelations by an Ulfa
militant, Jayanta Kalita. The arrested rebel told the police that he was
part of a group of at least six Ulfa recruits who underwent training in
Bhutan less than a year after the December 2003 military operation to flush
out militants from that country.

Kalita guided the police teams from Assam and Bhutan through the forests he
had crossed on the way to the camp but failed to trace the exact route.

"He could not take us to the exact spot where the camp was located as it was
in a thick jungle and he had been there more than two years ago. But we did
find a rocket and remnants of a rocket shell, confirming the presence of
militants in the area at some point of time," police officer Hiranya Patar,
who led the Indian search team, said.

Patar is the officer-in-charge of the Dimakuchi outpost under Paneri police
station of Udalguri district, bordering Bhutan. The Bhutanese team was led
by the officer-in-charge of Deothan police station, on the other side of the
border.

Bhutan has been denying the presence of militants in that country since it
conducted Operation All Clear to evict Ulfa, the National Democratic Front
of Boroland and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation from its soil.

However, Kalita's statements and the discovery of remnants of warfare in
Bhutan territory confirmed the worst fears of the security establishment.
Director-general of police D.N. Dutt said earlier this month that countering
Ulfa's resurgence in Bhutan was the main challenge for security forces
engaged in counter-insurgency operations.

The Ulfa militant whose statements led to the discovery of the first
fragments of evidence was arrested in connection with the killing of a
former Bodo Liberation Tigers rebel, Nagen Boro, on October 20. The search
operation in Bhutan was conducted on November 1.

Kalita told the police that his training stint in Bhutan lasted 22 days in
the summer of 2004 but he could not remember the month.

He also could not identify the other recruits. "We had been instructed not
to reveal our true identities to one another," the police quoted him as
saying.

Detailing the training schedule, Kalita said all recruits were taught how to
handle various weapons and lob grenades unerringly at targets. The physical
training was rigorous, he added.
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