Wangchuk: Concerned

Siliguri, May 21: Under increasing pressure from “big brother” India to flush out militant outfits hiding in its forests, the Bhutan government has decided to raise a special “militia” force to “safeguard” the security of the country.

The move comes in the wake of the secret parleys between India’s national security adviser, Brajesh Mishra, and Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuk in the last week of March.

Sources at the Bhutan embassy in New Delhi confirmed the raising of the special force but refused to give details. “The move is intended to safeguard the kingdom’s internal security. Bhutan was passing through a critical stage and its security was threatened,” a senior Bhutanese official told The Telegraph over phone from Delhi.

The state-owned Kuensel newspaper, the only one in Bhutan, had reported the government’s concern over the heightened militant activity in its jungles. “King Jigme Singye Wangchuk is gravely concerned over the ‘illegal’ presence of Indian militant outfits on Bhutan soil. Indian militant outfits, including the Ulfa, NDFB and the KLO, have established 11 camps in the jungles of south Bhutan. The Indian militants who are waging war against their own government, have taken advantage of Bhutan’s dense forests and rugged mountains to establish camps without the knowledge of the royal government of Bhutan. The militants have now become a threat to the internal security of the kingdom,” the paper said in a recent article.

Confirming that the landlocked kingdom had beefed up its security along the 10 militant-affected districts in the south-central region, a Bhutan foreign ministry official said over phone from Thimphu: “More than 4,800 Royal Bhutan Army personnel and 161 officers have been deployed in the militant-infested districts, from Diafam in the east to Samtse in the west (of southern Bhutan bordering India). We are aware of the crisis the kingdom is facing. However, Bhutan cannot act on its own to flush out these militants. Any move by the army could jeopardise over 66,000 Bhutanese living in the militant-hit districts.”

The official said the security threat posed by the Indian militants had compelled the government to raise a special force to combat the militants. The RBA has submitted a report to the National Assembly on the issue.

“Recruitment of able-bodied men aged between 18 years and 45 years has started. These men will be provided with specialised combat training for three months. The special militia force will then be sent to the militant-affected areas. The men who join the special force will be given the same remuneration and benefits as the RBA soldiers,” he said.