Author: Syed Zarir Hussain
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 27, 2007
* Tribal strike takes violent turn, 1 killed,
20 injured
* BJP, AGP demand Gogoi's scalp
A 36-hour general strike called by tribals
across Assam on Monday has been marred by violence and arson with strike supporters
killing one person and injuring at least 20 others in sporadic incidents,
officials said.
The strike, which began at 5 am, has been called by the All Adivasi Students
Association (AASA), in protest against Saturday's mob violence in Guwahati
that had left one of their community members dead and more than 200 injured.
The tribals account for about six per cent
of Assam's 26 million people and the community members are mostly engaged
in plantation sector in the State's 800-odd tea plantations.
"Strike supporters waylaid a vehicle
in the western Kokrajhar district and attacked its occupants before setting
the car ablaze. One person was lynched and two others were injured,"
a police spokesman said.
The Saturday's clashes took place after thousands
of tribals marching through a street in Guwahati to press for recognition
of the community as a Scheduled Tribe for greater reservation and other benefits
clashed with local residents.
The AASA strike, backed by the BJP, has evoked
a mixed response across Assam with major cities including Guwahati remaining
free from its impact. The AASA has said it would "not spare anybody"
violating the strike.
But, areas surrounding tea gardens were paralysed
by the strike with reports of arson coming in from various parts of Assam.
"A truck was set ablaze near the Assam-West
Bengal border, while at least 100 vehicles damaged in incidents of stone pelting
in various parts of the State," the police official said.
In Tinsukia district, clashes erupted once
again between the tribals and Assamese people after some strike supporters
damaged a few vehicles on a highway.
"Eight tribal activists were beaten up
by local people when they damaged some public transport while trying to enforce
the strike," the official said.
There were similar reports of retaliatory
strikes by the tribals from the tea belt of Sonitpur in northern Assam and
the eastern Sivasagar and Jorhat districts.
"We have sounded a red alert across the
State, and has asked the police and the paramilitary to maintain strict vigil
in all tribal strongholds, mostly the tea garden areas," Assam Minister
Ripun Bora, who is also a State Government spokesman, said.
An tribal militant group called The Adivasi
National Liberation Army (ANLA) has, meanwhile, set a 36-hour deadline to
the Assam Government to furnish a list of those dead and injured in Saturday's
clashes.
Tribal leaders in the State have refused to
accept the claim of the authorities that only one of the protesters had died
in the clashes in Guwahati.
AASA president Justin Lakra told mediapersons
at least 20 of their protesters were killed during Saturday's clashes.
"The bodies had gone missing mysteriously,"
he alleged.
Several tribal leaders including former Jharkhand
Chief Minister Arjun Munda, and JMM leader Shibu Soren are already camping
in Guwahati, visiting hospitals and meeting with Government officials to assess
the situation.
"This is the darkest chapter in Assam
with such incidents happening in front of the police in the capital city,"
Munda said.
The former Jharkhand Chief Minister have called
for resignation of the Congress-led Government in Assam for allowing the incident
to go out of control.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday ordered
a judicial probe into the Saturday's mob violence.
"We shall not spare anybody found guilty
in the probe," Gogoi said.
Assam's main Opposition Asom Gana Parishad
has also called for Gogoi's resignation accusing total failure and inaction
by the police.
