The dastardly act of terror at a village along the Asom-Arunachal Pradesh border in the Biswanath Chariali subdivision on Sunday that the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), and other such mad outfits, would justify as ‘insurgency’ for the cause of a ‘colonized’ people, calls for a drastic rethink of the state policy towards such groups. They deserve no mercy. On Sunday, criminals — we are deliberately not using the word ‘militants’ in the instant case — belonging to the anti-talks faction of the NDFB fired indiscriminately at the people of Balisang village and gunned down 11 people and injured several others, including women and children. The attack came a day after the NDFB anti-talks faction celebrated its 23rd raising day, with its chief, Bangladesh-based Ranjan Daimary, issuing a threat that no security force can eliminate the outfit and warning of a ‘‘bigger war towards sovereignty of Boroland’’. The immediate provocation for Sunday’s attack on the innocent villagers of Balisang seems to be a procession they had taken out on September 29 to register their complaints against the NDFB anti-talks faction with the Balisang police. The outfit had served extortion notices on them and threatened to kill them if they failed to comply with the demand. The Balisang villagers deserve a huge round of applause for their valour against a criminal outfit despite the fact that they were aware of the consequences that would follow in the sheer absence of security for them and given the desperation of Ranjan Daimary’s men to prove their presence and ability to sustain — though it is another matter that the terrorists have proved only their cowardice.
It does not take anything to hit soft targets as the Balisang villagers, unarmed and defenceless. On its part the government would say it cannot protect each and every village or each and every part of the State. However, the fact remains that the Balisang area was already known to be highly vulnerable to attacks by the NDFB anti-talks faction. Only five days before the attack did the villagers take out a procession to complain to the police about threats to their lives, while on October 1 they held a meeting and decided not to pay any money to the outfit. Was there any assessment of the very imminent risk quotient? Was the village given any security so as to foil terror designs — the portents of which were clear enough? Was the State machinery even bothered about the poor villagers? Why did not the so-called counter-insurgency forces follow the trails of the NDFB anti-talks faction terrorists about the Balisang area, which ought to have been their top priority? Several such questions naturally arise. Now that the avoidable tragedy could not be averted, thanks to a system of governance and administration that survives only for itself, and innocent people were thus allowed to be killed in cold blood, the Tarun Gogoi government, if it has even an iota of conscience and sense of responsibility towards the people who have elected it, is duty-bound to go all out against such criminal-terror elements as Ranjan Daimary’s men and others and weed them out of the society. They deserve no place in a civilized society. They can, however, surrender, in which case every single of them must face trial for the crimes committed against humanity. There cannot be any question of amnesty for terrorists. Remember, we are dealing with terrorism and hardened criminals, not insurgency. But does the Gogoi government realize this? THE SENTINEL
It does not take anything to hit soft targets as the Balisang villagers, unarmed and defenceless. On its part the government would say it cannot protect each and every village or each and every part of the State. However, the fact remains that the Balisang area was already known to be highly vulnerable to attacks by the NDFB anti-talks faction. Only five days before the attack did the villagers take out a procession to complain to the police about threats to their lives, while on October 1 they held a meeting and decided not to pay any money to the outfit. Was there any assessment of the very imminent risk quotient? Was the village given any security so as to foil terror designs — the portents of which were clear enough? Was the State machinery even bothered about the poor villagers? Why did not the so-called counter-insurgency forces follow the trails of the NDFB anti-talks faction terrorists about the Balisang area, which ought to have been their top priority? Several such questions naturally arise. Now that the avoidable tragedy could not be averted, thanks to a system of governance and administration that survives only for itself, and innocent people were thus allowed to be killed in cold blood, the Tarun Gogoi government, if it has even an iota of conscience and sense of responsibility towards the people who have elected it, is duty-bound to go all out against such criminal-terror elements as Ranjan Daimary’s men and others and weed them out of the society. They deserve no place in a civilized society. They can, however, surrender, in which case every single of them must face trial for the crimes committed against humanity. There cannot be any question of amnesty for terrorists. Remember, we are dealing with terrorism and hardened criminals, not insurgency. But does the Gogoi government realize this? THE SENTINEL
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