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                         Vol.4, No.41 [*] July 9, 1999
                         -----------------------------

                   They have sown the wind, and they shall
                            reap the whirlwind.
                               - Hosea: 8:7
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

1  NRL REFINERY INAUGURATED BY PRIME MINISTER
   ------------------------------------------
   GOLAGHAT:   Prime  Minister  Atal  Behari  Vajpayee inaugurated the
   Numaligarh Refinery Limited on July 9.   The  three  million  tonne
   capacity  oil  refinery  built  at  a  cost  of Rs.27.24 billion at
   Numaligarh  in  Golaghat  district  was  in  fulfillment   of   the
   commitment  made  by  the  Government  of  India  in the 1985 Assam
   Accord.
   
   Despite an inclement weather, and a boycott call given  by  several
   militant  organizations  of  the  Northeast,  including  the  ULFA,
   several thousand people gathered at Numaligarh for the inauguration
   function and a public rally at nearby Letekujan Tea  Estate,  which
   was addressed by the Prime Minister.
   
   Meanwhile, news agency UNI reported that NRL has proposed to  trade
   petro-products  with  Bangladesh  through the Brahmaputra river for
   which the Ministry  of  Petroleum  and  Natural  Gas  has  given  a
   go-ahead signal.    The  working  group  of  the  Oil  Coordination
   Committee, which finalized the  proposal  from  the  refinery,  has
   recommended   sale  of  0.5  million  tonne  of  petro-products  to
   Bangladesh as the best option.
   
2  ULFA'S OFFICE SECRETARY KILLED                         [S:9-JUL-99]
   ------------------------------
   NAGAON:  The office secretary at the ULFA's headquarters in Bhutan,
   Nipun Baruah alias Nikun Baruah was killed in an encounter with the
   police at Borkola-Sivasthan under Nagaon police station in the  wee
   hours of  July  8.    Police  also  arrested  the  wife of a police
   personnel for providing  shelter  to  the  militants.    The  slain
   militant hailed from Jeraigaon in Dibrugarh district.
   
   According  to  reports,  Nikun  was arrested by the police from the
   house of a police personnel at Gayangaon on July 7.  On  the  basis
   of  his  confessional statement that several hard-core militants of
   the outfit's `action group' were holed up at  Borkola;  the  police
   started a combing operation in the area taking along Nikun.  As the
   police  party  was proceeding, the militants fired at it, an in the
   ensuing encounter, Nikun was killed.

3  SONITPUR AFGHANS HAVE NO LINKS WITH ISI                [S:6-JUL-99]
   ---------------------------------------
   TEZPUR: The Sonitpur district police has taken  stringent  measures
   against possible anti-India activities by Pakistan's Inter-Services
   Intelligence  (ISI) agents and other suspected persons having links
   with them. The Tezpur  superintendent  of  police  Mr  L.R.Bishnoi,
   however, ruled out possible link of Afghans and registered Paktoons
   of the district with ISI agents.
   
   He said that there were two  Afghans  and  34  Paktoons  registered
   under the  State Cooperative Department in the district.  While the
   Afghans have been staying in  Bishwanath  subdivision  since  1951,
   most of  the  Paktoons  have  been  staying  since  1978.    Afghan
   nationals, commonly known as Kabuli-walla, until  recently,  had  a
   thriving business in money-lending in the rural areas.
   
   Mr Bishnoi, however, said that  Intelligence  Department  had  been
   observing day-to-day activities of foreign nationals staying in the
   district.   A meeting of the public telephone booth owners would be
   soon convened to request them  to  maintain  necessary  formalities
   including keeping records of telephone calls, fax messages etc.

4  ULFA'S PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT ELECTIONS         [S:9-JUL-99]
   ----------------------------------------------
   DIBRUGARH: The ULFA has embarked on a strategy to motivate a select
   group of intellectuals  of  a  particular  area  by  briefing  them
   through  certain  leaflets  relating  to  their stand vis-a-vis the
   forthcoming Lok Sabha election. This came to  light  following  the
   recovery  of  a  huge volume of incriminating documents and letters
   addressed  to  intellectuals,  teachers,  journalists  and   senior
   citizens.
   
   Dibrugarh police on a tip-off raided  the  houses  of  one  Ponakon
   Baruah  and  Sanjay  Sonowal  under  Tengakhat  police  station and
   recovered a sack full of the documents.  The  recovery  pointed  to
   the  change  in  the  strategy  of the banned outfit because of the
   tight security measures and gradual erosion of its popular support.
   The outfit is now targeting a section of the people and  trying  to
   win them over to their cause.
   
   The leaflets which were distributed as recently as July 6 asked the
   people  to  be conscious against the evil designs of the Government
   which, they claimed, is  trying  to  undermine  their  movement  by
   killing  the  kith  and kin of the members of the outfit along with
   innocent people and the youth by employing `secret killers'.
   
   In its boycott call of the Lok Sabha elections, the outfit claimed,
   in the present  scenario,  winning  the  election  depends  on  the
   changing demographic pattern, which, in Assam has radically changed
   in  the  past  few  years following heavy influx of people not only
   from neighbouring countries but also from different parts of India,
   thereby reducing the Assamese voters to minority.
   
   Significantly, they cautioned the people not to  transfer  land  to
   any `foreigner', particularly the people from other parts of India,
   as they feel, that this acquisition of the land is the major reason
   behind demographic  change  in the State.  The outfit observed that
   the land policy adopted by the State was based  on  British  policy
   which encourages settlement of outsiders.

5  ULTRAS TRYING TO ENTER INDIA VIA INDO-BANGLA BORDER    [S:8-JUL-99]
   ---------------------------------------------------
   HAILAKANDI:  One Eklas Miya of Sunamganj in Bangladesh, arrested by
   police at Hailakandi confessed during interrogation that  about  70
   militants belonging to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), ULFA and
   Muslim  Liberation Army are in the Indo-Bangla border and trying to
   enter India through the Ratabari-Umkiang area.
   
   Ten other ULFA militants are also camping near the Lathitila border
   in  their bid to reach Nagaon district. Eklas Miya, who possesses a
   valid passport, confessed that he came to India to take some youths
   of Assam to Pakistan. He said that a section of people in Assam are
   actively in touch with the ISI to carry out  subversive  activities
   in the northeastern States and West Bengal.
   
6  SOME TEACHERS BEHIND STUDENTS' STIR: VICE CHANCELLOR   [S:8-JUL-99]
   ----------------------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  Gauhati University Vice  Chancellor  Dr  Hiralal  Duarah
   categorically  blamed  a  section of the university authorities for
   instigating the students to demand the postponement of  the  master
   of arts final examination.
   
   Dr  Duarah  expressing  serious  concern  at the degradation of the
   academic scenario at the premier institution, said that  a  section
   of the university authorities, `with outdated mindset', were trying
   to create hurdles in the way of holding examinations on schedule.
   
   He said that going against the consensus evolved at the meeting  of
   the  heads of the departments not to postpone the examination under
   any circumstances, a departmental head wrote a letter to  the  vice
   chancellor  to  postpone the examination till September on the plea
   that the syllabus could not be completed in time.
   
7  TRADERS JACK UP PRICES OF ESSENTIAL ITEMS              [S:8-JUL-99]
   -----------------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:  The first wave of floods has not yet come but the prices
   of essential items of  mass  consumption,  particularly  onion  and
   potato,  have  already  started to show an upward trend even though
   dealers and the Food and Civil  Supplies  officials  asserted  that
   there is sufficient reserves of the items in the markets of Assam.
   
8  ARTFED, JAPANESE FIRM SIGN MOU                         [S:9-JUL-99]
   ------------------------------
   GUWAHATI:   Ms  Mami  Nakat  Sukasa,  the president of TM Japan Co.
   signed  a  memorandum  of  understanding  (MOU)  with  Mr  N.N.Rana
   Patgiri, the Managing Director of Artfed for importing 100 per cent
   cotton,  rayon, muga and mulberry silk fabrics from Artfed starting
   from October this year.  Ms Sukasa, who had  been  visiting  Artfed
   since  July  7,  also took swatches and samples for finalization of
   future orders with Artfed.
   
______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
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      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
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