Bangladesh is now under considerable pressure to either flush out alleged Indian rebels from its territory or allow Indian forces to flush them out. After Bhutan, Myanmar is now joining India to raid militant bases in its territory. Most militant outfits engaged in the northeastern Indian states have their bases in Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. But, Dhaka has always denied the existence of such bases.
Officials here said that while Bhutan flushed out militants and captured their bases in a big military offensive called Operation All Clear, it is now likely that they will use Myanmar forests and Bangladesh territory to rebuild their bases. India is now pressing Bangladesh to follow Bhutan and Myanmar. Chief of Army Staff General C Vij hinted at the joint offensive in Myanmar on Friday in Guwahati, the capital of Assam. He claimed that the Indian army was already training the Myanmarese troops for the purpose. Gen Vijâs remarks came a day after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi made a strong case for a âsimilar Bhutan-type actionâ in Myanmar and Bangladesh. He even wrote to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to take up the issue at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Islamabad. Gogoi said that there were more camps of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) in Myanmar than in Bhutan before the Himalayan kingdom launched Operation All Clear. Gen Vij, who was talking to journalists after a two-day visit to Assam, said, âIndia and Myanmar have good relations and we have been training their military personnel. As such, there is a strong possibility of a joint military exercise at some stage.â |