The ban on the militant organization United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), which has been banned for the last 35 years, has been extended for another five years. This organization still has about 200-250 cadres in Myanmar. It is suspected that it has more than 200 weapons at present.
This information has been given by the government to a judicial tribunal which has given the go-ahead to this ban. After presenting documentary evidence about the activities of the ULFA, the tribunal headed by Justice Michael Jothankhuma of the Gauhati High Court confirmed on 21 May that the ULFA was a terror group. And there are sufficient reasons to declare all its factions, wings and front organisations as “unlawful associations”, with effect from November 27, 2024.
The tribunal was set up to determine whether there was sufficient cause to declare the ULFA and all its factions, wings and front organisations as an unlawful association. The ULFA, led by Paresh Barua, “demands a sovereign Assam and seeks to achieve it through armed struggle”.
The ULFA was first declared a banned organisation in 1990 and the ban has been extended from time to time since then. According to the Home Ministry, currently most of the ULFA cadres or leaders are in Myanmar and run four major camps there.