Guwahati/New Delhi, April 1: Thimphu has sought a “written guarantee” from New Delhi to protect Bhutanese subjects from a rebel backlash if India wants the Himalayan kingdom to be party to any military action to flush out militants belonging to the Ulfa, NDFB and the KLO from the jungles in southern Bhutan.
Highly-placed security sources told The Telegraph that national security adviser Brajesh Mishra was told by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk during their meeting last week that he would not like to jeopardise the “safety” of his subjects by using force on the rebels.
In mid-2001, over 20 Bhutanese travelling through Assam were killed by suspected NDFB rebels following Thimphu’s warning to the militants that they should leave the kingdom on their own or face military action.
Following this experience, Bhutan has been paying mere “lip-service” to the contentious issue but balked at actually carrying out the threat. On several occasions, Thimphu set deadlines for the rebels to leave the country but did nothing when the calls went unheeded.
Mishra told the king during their in-camera meeting that the Indian militants would have their backs against the wall if he agreed to “either a joint or only Royal Bhutan Army offensive against the intruders”.
The monarch, however, pointed out that this could “result in heavy casualties of innocent Bhutanese” who use Assam as well as north Bengal for their transit outside the kingdom. He asked for a “tripartite deal” between Delhi, Dispur (Assam), and Thimphu to “guarantee security cover” to the Bhutanese in transit through India.
Senior Bhutan government functionaries will hold talks with the insurgents in the next few weeks in a last-ditch effort to convince them to close camps and leave the kingdom. If the negotiations fail, Thimphu will consider the use of force.
Asked about the likelihood of a joint operation, a senior official said in New Delhi: “Bhutan’s security forces are competent enough to deal with the situation. But India is willing to give them any help that they may require.”
The exact number of the rebel camps is not known, but Delhi’s official estimate puts it between 20 and 25. Bhutan, however, says there were only nine camps, of which four were shut down last year. The Mishra-led team is understood to have furnished the details of 15 camps operated by the Ulfa.
Officials in Delhi said “Bhutan is working according to a strategy and we are satisfied with that”. For instance, the king had cut supply lines of the insurgents by shifting to far-off places the shops and markets which provided them food and other essentials. In certain cases, some of the residents who defied the king’s orders and helped the militants were arrested.
Most of the supplies to the camps are now being sent from India across the border. This was brought to the notice of Mishra, who assured Bhutan of urgent steps to cut the supply lines.
The sudden Delhi drive to convince Bhutan to take on the Indian rebels there could also be a sequel to “inputs” from intelligence agencies, including that of the Indian Army.
Justifying the dividends, the former GOC of the 21 Mountain Division, Red Horns, Major General Gaganjit Singh, said on Sunday: “Once the territory of the rebels in the jungles of southern Bhutan is captured, it will be a no-win situation for them.”
Assam’s border with southern Bhutan comes under the jurisdiction of the 21 Mountain Division.
In the event of a military offensive, the rebels would be forced either to flee towards Assam or north Bengal where the Indian Army is planning to corner them.
