ULFA(I) supports China over Tibet

As reported in local English daily 'The Assam Tribune' : Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, Nov 7 - The United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) today put its weight behind China on the issue of the Tibetan freedom struggle and alleged that India was meddling with the internal affairs of China. In a statement here, the chairman of the ULFA(I), Dr Abhizeet Asom expressed the hope that China would soon extend its hand of friendship towards Assam. The ULFA(I) chairman referred to the recent All India Tibet Support Group conference in Guwahati and alleged that the Dalai Lama had never spoken against human rights violations in Assam in the past 25 years. The ULFA(I) alleged that on the one hand, India is supporting the movement of Tibet, while, on the other, it did not accept the demand for referendum on the demand for sovereignty of Assam. The ULFA(I) claimed that China is the next door northern neighbour of Assam and said that the Chinese army did not set foot on the soil of Assam in 1962. The chairman of the militant outfit further said that China had never shown any enmity towards Assam. It may be mentioned here that for years, the Indian security agencies have been claiming that the ULFA and other militant outfits of the Northeast are receiving direct or indirect help from China and today, the ULFA(I) formally put its weight behind China. The security agencies also pointed out that majority of the weapons used by the militants of the Northeast are manufactured in the Chinese factories, while the ULFA(I) commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah spends most of his time in the Yunan province of China.