US to help probe NE violence

Fragile peace prevails in the region

As the bandh called by the North Eastern Students' Organisation shut down most of the North-east"" barring Tripura""on the issue of the withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from the states, unease prevailed in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said the US had offered the FBI's help in probing the blasts and said so long as no national security issues were involved, he was happy to accept the offer.

Reports from Assam and Nagaland said the situation was fragile. All flights operating from Guwahati were rescheduled to after 6 pm.

Markets, shops were closed in Guwahati and education institutions did not function, police said. As state transport buses stayed off the roads, attendance in government offices was thin and banks remained closed, police said.

This was the picture in Manipur, Mizoram, parts of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh as well. How much of the bandh was a mute protest against ongoing violence in the Northeast and how much because of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act was hard to tell.

Meanwhile, the Assam chief minister said US Ambassador David Mulford had written a letter to him, offering the services of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help find out who had caused the blasts in the North-east, especially Assam.

"Should you find it helpful that the FBI should be pleased to provide technical support for investigation. I have also made this offer to Home Minister Shivraj Patil. I hope you will be free to contact me if there is any other way that we can be helpful," Mulford's letter said.

"In this context, the US has considerable expertise in investigative techniques. The people of America join you in hoping that the perpetrators of these crimes will be brought swiftly to justice," it added.

As the offer of help from the FBI was made public by Gogoi, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), believed to be the force behind the Assam blasts, said it was ready for talks with the Centre to achieve its goal of "sovereignty".

In an e-mail to a section of the local media last night the NDFB spokesman said DR Nabla, NDFB chief, while addressing cadres on the occasion of its 18th raising day on October 3 had said the organisation was "considering the cease-fire offer made by the Assam chief minister and will convey its decision within a few weeks".

Nabla has also appealed to all cadres of the NDFB and Bodo people in general to prepare for talks and secure "freedom either through peaceful and democratic means or through a prolonged struggle".

Meanwhile, the Left parties have opposed the US offer to help investigate the ongoing violence in the North-east.

"They are trying to intervene in our internal affairs. There is no question about it. We are opposed to it," said CPI(M) politburo member S Ramachandran Pillai.

Remarking that Indian agencies were capable to get to the bottom of the matter, the CPI said: "The Assam government has failed miserably. The Centre should convene an all-party meet in the state and come up with a solution," said CPI leader D Raja.