13th Death Anniversary of Com. Anil Baruah Observed
CPI(ML), AICCTU, AIPWA and Sadou Asom Janasanskritik Parishad jointly observed the 13th death anniversary of Comrade Anil Baruah at Guwahati Press Club on 11 February, the day on which ULFA gunned down the CPI(ML) leader and Lok Sabha candidate in 1998 when he was delivering his speech at an election meeting at Naharani, near Naharkatia of Dibrugarh district, Assam.
On this occasion, a meeting was organised in the Guwahati press club on the topic "Insurgency in Assam and the Peace Question". The meeting was conducted by AICCTU Assam state secretary Viren Kalita and addressed, among others, by renowned journalist, writer Jatindra Kr. Bargohain, columnist and writer and president of "Niryatan Birodhi Eikya Manch" Dr. Anima Guha, CPI(ML) PB member and state secretary Rubul Sarma, General Secretary of All Assam Janasanskritik Parishad Loknath Goswami, ASCSS state secretary Bibek Das, Arup Mahanta, secretary AIALA, Assam, and trade union leader Dhiraj Das. Many trade union leaders of central TUs and leaders of oil, bank and other sectoral trade unions, leaders of cultural organisations including IPTA, and journalists and writers attended the meeting.
While the ULFA today seems to be headed towards some sort of political settlement with the Centre, the meeting unanimously opined that no insurgency could really be resolved without constitutional guarantee of the rights of local people on water resources, mineral resources such as oil, gas and coal, and tea, timber and other forest resources, and a comprehensive settlement of the issues of tribal autonomy and scheduling of agitating ethnic groups. The meeting called upon all democratic and patriotic people of the state to unite against individual terrorism and state terrorism. The meeting also demanded withdrawal of all black acts including AFSPA, UAPA, an end to fake encounters and arrest and killing of innocent people, stopping indiscriminate imposition of 144 on democratic movement and arrest of all ruling party leaders and workers linked with terrorist outfits.
