By IANS
Guwahati/Agartala : People in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur defied a six-hour general strike called by separatist rebels to boycott Wednesday’s Independence Day by joining the celebrations.
“Despite the boycott call by militants it is heartening to find people coming to attend the Independence Day functions across the region,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS in the state’s main city of Guwahati.
In Assam, Independence Day celebrations were marred by a series of blasts. No casualties were reported, in the two blasts each at Gauripur and Bongaigaon in western Assam at around 9 a.m.
Four rebel groups, including the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), and the Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF), had called a six-hour general that began at 6 a.m. Wednesday to boycott the 60th Independence Day of India.
The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) of Meghalaya had also called for a boycott of the celebrations although the outfit has not declared general strike in the state.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar unfurled the national flag at the Assam Rifles ground in capital Agartala with the celebrations marked with traditional style.
“People in large numbers across the state participated in the celebrations defying the rebel boycott call,” officials in Tripura said.
There has been a wave of separatist attacks in Assam in the run-up to the Independence Day in which 36 people were killed, 28 of them being Hindi-speaking migrant workers.
The army has intensified patrols and aerial surveillance across the northeast, while police have set up roadblocks in towns and villages, besides conducting searches in areas known to be infested by militants.
“We want peace in the state and appeal to the militants to come forward for talks by shunning the path of violence. Violence is not an answer to resolving any of the problems,” Gogoi said in his Independence Day speech in Guwahati.
Regional heads in the insurgency-hit northeastern states of Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura appealed to rebel groups to come for peace talks with the government.
“Our doors for talks with militant groups are open. Problems can be resolved through negotiations and not through the barrel of the gun,” Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said.
Militant groups in seven insurgency-racked northeastern states have for years boycotted national events to protest New Delhi’s rule over the oil and timber-rich region.
Some 30 militant groups are operating in the region with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and the right to self-determination.