‘China denies giving refuge to ULFa chief’

Guwahati: Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said that Chinese ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui has denied the reports of giving shelter to Ulfa-I rebels in China. Informing that Mr Luo visited his residence on Sunday and discussed several bilateral issues, Mr Gogoi told reporters that Chinese envoy has assured him to take up all the bilateral issues concerning northeast with Beijing. “The ambassador of China has categorically denied to have been giving shelter to Indian insurgents particularly Ulfa-I rebels in its country,” said Mr Gogoi. It is significant that Indian security agencies have recently found that elusive Ulfa-I chief Paresh Baruah was operating from Ruili town, in Dehong prefecture of southern China’s Yunan province.

Advocating for opening up the historic Stilwell Road, constructed during World War II connecting Assam with Kunming in China, Mr Gogoi said that China also want to open the historic road connectivity with India.

Earlier, a silent protest greeted China’s ambassador to India, when he visited a Chinese war cemetery in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district on Saturday.

Mr Luo, on a two-day official visit to Assam, was accompanied by his wife, a Xinhua reporter and five members of the Chinese mission in Delhi.

Security sources said that local organisations staged silent protests as Mr Luo and his team visited the World War II?cemetery at Lekhapani.

Informing that protest was organized by some NGOs to register their opposition to China for constructing big dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in China, security sources said that it was a peaceful protest without disturbing the scheduled programme of Chinese envoy. Yarlung Tsangpo is one of three rivers that form the Brahmaputra in Assam.

The visit of Chinese Ambassador in India to Assam was also significant as China has been very vocal in protesting the Dalai Lama’s visit to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh from April 2 to 11 saying it would hurt bilateral ties with India.