Under severe fire after three days of continuous operations by the Royal Bhutan Army, a desperate ULFA today appealed to the Bhutan King to stop the offensive and called for a ceasefire so that its cadres holed up in the Himalayan kingdom can at least save their lives. ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua today called up local newspaper offices here and admitted that his outfit had suffered casualties which had compelled him to call for a ceasefire. He was quoted as saying that central headquarters and general headquarters of the ULFA located at Merengphu had been smashed by the Royal Bhutan Army, and that several middle-level cadres had lost their lives. Several ULFA leaders here, in fact, have been trying to drum up sympathy by claiming that ‘‘women and children’’ are being killed in the crackdown, a claim that has few takers here.
| He forgot the part about the puppies, kittens, and baby ducks who were stomped when the Bhuts overran the elementary school... |
Sources said ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has even sent feelers to New Delhi expressing his desire to open up negotiations with the government of India.
| "Yeah! We're ready to talk now! Make us an offer and we'll consider it..." |
The pressure is intense: intelligence sources said at least 60 militants belonging to the ULFA, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had been killed until this afternoon. The break-up: eight from ULFA, 48 NDFB and 12 KLO. Meanwhile, 89 militants belonging to the ULFA, NDFB and other groups have surrendered before the army at Tezpur in Assam.
| Better hurry and negotiate, before they're all gone... |
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