By IANS,
Guwahati : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Sunday asked the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to formally apprise the state government of its decision on opening peace talks to end three decades of insurgency in the region.
“Let them first decide if they want to talk or not. If at all they are interested for talks, they should formally let us know,” Gogoi told reporters in response to an ULFA statement to the media Friday urging the government to release its six top jailed leaders to pave the way for holding peace talks.
He said the rebel group should tell the government what they want and the government would discuss their proposals in detail and do whatever was possible to get the talk process going.
“We are positive from our side, but then there has to be some formalities observed and so we want the ULFA to make their stand formal to us,” the chief minister said.
The ULFA statement by its publicity chief Mithinga Daimary was made after eight of the outfit’s leaders met inside the Guwahati Central Jail Friday to discuss the issue of holding peace negotiations with the government.
The meeting came in the wake of some positive signals from New Delhi. Home Minister P.C. Chidambaram Tuesday said in Guwahati that the Assam government had been given the nod to open talks with the ULFA.
On Wednesday, the Assam chief minister said the state cabinet endorsed Chidambaram’s proposal and announced that Assam was ready to begin peace talks with the ULFA leadership.
Six top ULFA leaders are in jail — chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, self-styled foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, cultural secretary Pranati Deka, and ULFA political ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain.
Its vice chairman Pradeep Gogoi and Daimary were out on bail two months ago after the prosecution did not oppose their bail plea – a move seen as an attempt by the government to let the two leaders drum up public opinion for opening talks.