By Syed Zarir Hussain
Guwahati, Sep 17 (IANS) A year after the peace process between New Delhi and the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) collapsed Sep 22 last year, Assam’s dominant separatist group is once again hinting at resuming the failed talks.
“The peace process abruptly came to a halt. However, neither of the two sides has called for withdrawal of the process and instead both have mutually invited each other for talks,” the ULFA said in a statement received by IANS.
That the ULFA is beginning to talk the language of peace has brightened hopes for once again reviving the failed peace talks after the rebel group killed about 200 people since January 2007, most of them Hindi-speaking migrant workers.
The ULFA in September 2005 constituted the People’s Consultative Group (PCG), a group of civil society leaders, to begin exploratory talks with New Delhi aimed at facilitating direct negotiations between the rebel leadership and the government.
Three rounds of talks between the PCG and New Delhi took place with the first meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The PCG later became defunct after it withdrew itself from the peace process following the central government calling off a six-week ceasefire with the ULFA in September 2006 and resuming military operations, blaming the outfit of stepping up violence and extortions.
“A top ULFA leader telephoned me recently and said the outfit could consider holding talks with the Indian government if it receives a formal letter from New Delhi,” noted Assamese writer Indira Goswami said.
For the last three years she has been the key link between the ULFA and New Delhi with the rebel outfit formally entrusting her with the task of opening exploratory peace talks.
“I had written a letter to M.K. Narayanan (India’s national security advisor) requesting the government of India to write a formal letter to the ULFA for holding peace talks,” said Goswami.
Naryanan has instead asked Goswami to get a letter from the ULFA expressing the outfit’s desire for talks.
“To pave the way for the peace process, the ULFA sent a letter to Manmohan Singh (in 2005) informing him about the suspension of two of our three preconditions – UN mediation and venue for talks in a third country,” the rebel statement said.
The ULFA instead set three other preconditions for holding direct talks with the government – a letter from New Delhi mentioning negotiations would revolve around the issue of sovereignty or independence, releasing five top jailed leaders, and whereabouts of ‘missing’ rebel members during the Bhutan operations in 2003.
“Either chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa or chief of army staff Paresh Baruah was ready to sit for talks. But the issue of our national rights and dignity was repeatedly trifled and ULFA cannot swallow this,” the ULFA statement said.
“There is no alternative for the peoples of Assam other than a united struggle against this colonial game of India.”
There is no immediate reaction available from New Delhi.
“Let the ULFA first give us in writing that they would sit for talks and not indulge in violence,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.
“We welcome a solution through talks and would like appeal to the ULFA to shun violence and come for negotiations.”