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                  Vol.2, No.57  [*] November 25, 1997
                  -----------------------------------

              I slept and dreamed that life was Beauty;
                I woke, and found that life was Duty.
                         - Ellen S. Hooper
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  ULTRAS GETTING ARMS FROM KHMER ROUGE		         [PTI:23-NOV-97]
   ------------------------------------
   
   Cambodian terrorist group Khmer Rouge and Pakistani ISI are supplying
   arms and ammunition to militants in Assam,  a  top  State  Government
   official claimed.  The Chief Secretary of Assam, V.S.Jafa said 'Khmer
   Rouge,  which is facing disintegration in Cambodia, has become a main
   supplier of arms to outlawed ULFA militants.  The Rohingya  community
   of  Myanmar, which had a long record of drug peddling, is acting as a
   carrier of arms to these militants', he told journalists visiting the
   State recently.
   
   He claimed, 'with the waning support of the local  people  and  their
   increased  killings at the hands of security forces the militants are
   shifting their base to foreign countries.' At present more than 2,000
   ULFA militants are holed up in Bhutan and operating  from  there,  he
   said.   The  latest  reports  suggest  that top leadership of ULFA is
   planning to return to Bangladesh, official sources said.
   

2  SOU COMPLETES INTERROGATION OF TATA TEA EXECUTIVES	   [S:23-NOV-97]
   --------------------------------------------------
  
   Sleuths of the special operations unit  (SOU)  of  the  State  Police
   completed   interrogations   of   three   top  Tata  Tea  executives,
   S.M.Kidwai,  executive   director,   Chennai-based   deputy   manager
   Deepankar  Bora  and  Bangalore-based  deputy manager S.Ganapathy and
   'they were allowed to go' on the evening of November 22.   They  were
   quizzed in the matter of Bangkok meeting in May 25, 1996 with several
   top leaders of the banned ULFA, including C-in-C Paresh Baruah.

3  PARAG DAS CASE PROBE IN CRUCIAL STAGE		   [S:25-NOV-97]
   -------------------------------------
  
   Nearly  '75  per  cent'  of the CBI investigations into the murder of
   journalist Parag Das  have  been  completed,  and  the  investigating
   agency  is  reported to have stumbled upon a huge fund of sensational
   revelations about the case  following  'questioning'  of  nearly  300
   persons,  some  of them 'quite prominent people', sources in Guwahati
   said.  The agency sleuths are looking for the  'absconding'  Guwahati
   City SP, Mr R.M.Singh, who was in charge of law and order in the city
   when Das was gunned down in broad daylight by unidentified assassins.
   

4  INCOME TAX RAIDS JIBA GOGOI'S RESIDENCE		   [S:23-NOV-97]
   ---------------------------------------
   
   Income  Tax sleuths launched simultaneous raids in the former Finance
   Minister and Speaker Jibakanta Gogoi's  residences  at  Golaghat  and
   Guwahati  and  the  business  establishments  and  seized at least 80
   passbooks for accounts in banks.  Mr Gogoi  said  only  Rs.47,000  of
   sale  proceeds had been seized from his firm at Golaghat, Doss and Co
   and Rs.100,000, out of Rs.150,000 from his Dispur residence.
   

5  EMPLOYEES LAUNCH 96-HOUR NON-COOPERATION	          [AT:25-NOV-97]
   ----------------------------------------
   
   The State Government employees,  barring  those  employed  at  Deputy
   Commissioner's   offices   in   the  State  has  launched  a  96-hour
   non-cooperation from 6 am on November 25 to pressurize the Government
   for fulfilling their various demands including  finalization  of  the
   Assam  Pay  Commission report to bring the salaries and allowances of
   the State employees at par with  the  Central  Government  employees,
   payments of the arrears due to the employees etc.
   

6  ADSU THREATENS TO LAUNCH STIR			  [AT:23-NOV-97]
   -----------------------------
   
   The All Dimasa Students' Union (ADSU)  has  threatened  to  launch  a
   movement  for a separate Dimaraji state if the problems of the Dimasa
   people are not solved.   In  a  memorandum  submitted  to  the  Assam
   Governor,  the Union said the very concept of autonomy to the tribals
   of the State has been a failure.  Though the Dimasa people  of  North
   Cachar  Hills  opted  to  stay  with  Assam  during  the  creation of
   Meghalaya,  the  Assam  Government  has  failed   to   fulfil   their
   aspirations, the memorandum said.
   

7  BJP TO SWEEP PANCHAYAT POLLS: NARAYAN BARKAKATI	   [S:22-NOV-97]
   -----------------------------------------------
   
   State BJP president, Mr Narayan Barkakati asserted that the BJP would
   come  on  the  top in the panchayat elections scheduled for February,
   1997.   Talking  to  newspersons  in  Guwahati  on  November  21,  Mr
   Barkakati said, the party had already occupied the second position in
   the  municipal  elections  in  the  State  and  reminded  that in the
   municipal  elections,  the  party  had  came  at  No.1  in  all   the
   municipalities and town committees in the Barak Valley.

8  AJIT BHUYAN RELEASED, REARRESTED		          [AT:22-NOV-97]
   --------------------------------
   
   Editor of Asomiya Pratidin and MASS leader, Ajit Bhuyan was  released
   from  detention under the NSA on November 21 after the recommendation
   of the state level NSA advisory  board.    Mr  Bhuyan  was,  however,
   rearrested   immediately   after   his  release  under  the  Unlawful
   Activities Prevention Act case registered at Nagaon police station.
   

9  MASS CALLS OFF BANDH					   [S:24-NOV-97]
   --------------------
   
   The Manav Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) called off its proposed bandh
   on  November  27  in  protest  against  the 'conspiracy' of the State
   Government against the organization and  the  Army  excesses  on  the
   common people.    Instead, MASS will organize sit-in demonstration in
   front of the district headquarters on that  day.    The  decision  to
   suspend  the  bandh  was  taken  in view of the growing apathy of the
   people towards bandhs and the recent Supreme Court ruling  on  bandhs
   terming it unconstitutional.
   
   Meanwhile,  the  ULFA  has called for a statewide total road-cum-rail
   blockade from 6 am to 12 midnight on November 28 as  a  part  of  its
   protest day programme.  The ULFA will also organize protest meets and
   protest marches against 'State repression' on that day.
   

10 MEDIA INFLUENCED BY POWER TRADERS		       	   [S:24-NOV-97]
   ---------------------------------
   
   The newspapers of Assam have been overwhelmed by the power traders of
   political arena in the State and, in the process have become vehicles
   in transmitting the news of this 'political trading' to  the  people.
   This was stated by journalist and litterateur Mr Tilak Hazarika while
   addressing  a symposium on 'The Role of Media on the Present State of
   Politics in Assam' under the aegis  of  Xasetan  Xatirtha  in  Cotton
   College, Guwahati.
   

11 YOUTHS DUPED BY FICTITIOUS CANADIAN COMPANY	          [AT:22-NOV-97]
   -------------------------------------------
   
   Many  unemployed  youths  from  the  Northeast  have  been duped by a
   fictitious Canadian company, Sea Cruise  Enterprises  which  promised
   them overseas  jobs  on  foreign cruise ships.  Acting on a complaint
   filed by an NGO Anti-Corruption Council of India, the  Canadian  High
   Commission  conducted  a  police verification which revealed that the
   company's address in Winsor, Ontario was only a mail drop used by Sea
   Cruise Enterprises.
   
   In  response  to  advertisements  placed  by  the  company in several
   national dailies, applicants paid sixty-nine US  dollars  along  with
   their  applications  to the company. Investigations revealed that Sea
   Cruise does not have any real jobs to offer. The main branch of State
   Bank of  India  in  Guwahati  stopped  issuing  bank  drafts  to  the
   applicants  after they received a call from the Deputy Comptroller of
   Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai. 
   
   Foreigner robbed:    A  Czec  national  was  robbed  of  his bag by a
   miscreant at a saloon near the ASTC complex in Sibsagar  on  November
   22.  The bag contained his passport, visa and other documents.

12 CHILD PROSTITUTION POSING THREAT TO SPREAD OF AIDS     [AT:23-NOV-97]
   --------------------------------------------------
   
   Child  prostitution thriving in certain pockets in Guwahati has posed
   a serious threat to spread of HIV, AIDS in  Assam,  informed  sources
   said.  It may be mentioned that 15 per cent of the Indian sex workers
   are children.
   
   According to a India Today survey, there are about  400,000  children
   sex workers  in  the  country  under the age of 15 years.  There were
   66,460 HIV infected people till August 1997 and  of  them  4,846  are
   AIDS patients.    In  Assam  there  are  186  HIV  positive people at
   present, while the AIDS figure has gone up to 19, sources said.
   

13 SUBSIDY TO AIRLINES OPERATING IN NE TO CONTINUE        [AT:23-NOV-97]
   -----------------------------------------------
   
   Civil Aviation Secretary M.K.Kaw said the Airlines operating  in  the
   Northeastern  States  would  continue  to  receive  subsidy  from the
   Government.  He made the remark while delivering his keynote  address
   at a national conference on 'Air Transport Infrastructure', organized
   by Indian Chamber of Commerce and the British Council at Calcutta.
   

14 INTERNATIONAL TENT PEGGING AT DIBRUGARH		  [AT:24-NOV-97]
   ---------------------------------------
   
   The 1997 International and National Tent Pegging  Championship  along
   with  the Assam Horse Show, organized by the Equestrian Federation of
   Assam (EFA), will be held from December 3 at the  Jalannagar  Stadium
   in Dibrugarh.    Eighty  horses,  many  of  international  fame,  are
   expected to take part in the event.  United Kingdom, Israel and South
   Africa have confirmed their participation.  The meet is supported  by
   the Dibrugarh District Sports Association and tea and oil companies.
   

15 ASSAM WOMEN IN VETRANS' MEET			           [S:22-NOV-97]
   ----------------------------
   
   Ms Renu Bora from Morigaon and Ms Indirani Saikia from  Guwahati  are
   leaving  for  Chennai  on  November  22  to  join  the Indian Veteran
   Athletes contingent for  the  XI  Malaysian  Open  Veterans  Athletic
   Championship at Selengor, Malaysia from November 29.
   

16 GREEN VALLEY OFFER TO SPORTSPERSONS		          [AT:22-NOV-97]
   -----------------------------------
  
   Green Valley Travels, a premier travelling agency of Assam has agreed
   to  offer  ten per cent discount to persons travelling by their buses
   for participation individually or team-wise in the State and National
   meets in any sports discipline, a press release said.

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
Compiled from newspaper and agency reports for private circulation only.
      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
              http://www.cyberspace.org/~mozz/aol.html  
  http://piglet.uccs.edu/~kalita/assam/news/news-from-assam-index.html
________________________________________________________________________