[Assam] Food for thought from a Bodo revolutionary visionary.

[Bartta Bistar]

�Centre should recognise NE�s independence�
By R Dutta Choudhury
 GUWAHATI, May 22 � Militant outfit National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), which has declared a unilateral ceasefire to come for talks with the Government of India, today said that the Government should recognise the independence of not only Boroland but also of the entire region. In an interview with The Assam Tribune, conducted through e- mail, the chairman of the NDFB, Nabla Daimary, also said that the Government should release its arrested cadres before formal talks. The following are the excerpts of the interview:

Assam Tribune: What is the status of talks with the Government of India?

Nabla: The formal talks are yet to start. Formal talks may start only after the formal declaration of the ceasefire.

AT: It is reported that you have nominated three persons to initiate talks. If it is a fact, when we can expect positive results?

Nabla: Our nomination is only to formalise the ground rules of the ceasefire and not for talks. If the ground rules are agreed on by both parties, we can expect a formal ceasefire soon.

AT: Have you given up the demand for a sovereign Boroland? What will be your main demands during the talks with the Government of India?

Nabla: The fight for liberation and independence cannot be given up as long as there is occupation. I think no organisation demands sovereignty. Sovereignty comes only after liberation and independence. Once Boroland is free and independent, it may be called sovereign. But I think that in this modern world, there is no absolute sovereign nation, no absolute sovereign king or ruler. So we like to remind you that NDFB is not demanding a sovereign Boroland but only fighting for liberation and independence.

We have been saying that we have nothing to demand from India. So we will talk on the basis of our constitution and manifesto, that is on independence and freedom. After occupying for more than three hundred years, the British ultimately recognised the independence of India and left the country. So India should follow the example of the British and recognise the independence of not only Boroland but also the entire region.

AT: Will you demand the release of your arrested cadres and office-bearers before the formal talks with the Government of India?

Nabla: I think that it is the duty of the Indian Government to release and give an account of all our missing comrades before the formal talks.

AT: Do you have any information on the whereabouts of B Erakdao, the publicity secretary of the NDFB, who is missing since the Government of Bhutan launched the operation in 2003?

Nabla: I was informed by Erakdao on December 14, 2003, that he had been called by the Home and Prime Ministers of Bhutan to sign on the agreed text of the Thimphu talks. But they have been betrayed by Bhutan. Now they may be either in Bhutan or India alive, or may be coolly murdered by Bhutan or India. We consider this act as the mother of betrayals by Bhutan in modern history.

AT: Any comments on the recent polls to the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)?

Nabla: The election to the BTC was unfortunate. Once more the Boro people are victims of Indian politics.

AT: Will you demand scrapping of the BTC during the talks?

Nabla: We have nothing to do with the BTC and we shall not even talk about BTC.

 

---

Don't just search. Find. MSN Search Check out the new MSN Search!

_______________________________________________
Assam mailing list
Assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam

Mailing list FAQ:
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html
To unsubscribe or change options:
http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam