Demand for freedom of Bodo Indo-Mongoloid people

GUWAHATI, June 7 ? The United Bodo Nationalist Liberation Front (UBNLF) has called for ?freedom? of the Bodo Indo-Mongoloid people in the N-E region and submitted a memorandum on this to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reports PTI. Speaking as president of UBNLF, Kanakeswar Narzary, who is on oath under the Constitution as Bodoland Executive Council chief, Thursday said, ?UNBLF believes in the principles of non-violence to acquire freedom in the N-E region as India acquired freedom from the Britishers.? In a signed statement, Narzary said an emissary of ths Front submitted a memorandum to this effect to the UN Secretary-General on May 24 in New York during the first session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The demand was for preservation of N-E Mongolian People?s civilisation, culture, language, economic, political identity through self-rule in ?Bodoland? starting from Sadia in the east to river Sankosh in west Assam. Narzary also accused the state Congress government of violating human rights by ?mass eviction of INdo-Mongolians throughout the state? as part of its eviction drive against encroachers of forest land. He demanded halting of the eviction drive and restoration of their land and compensation to the displaced immediately.