[Assam] "the outfit has still been insisting on a dialogue on the sovereignty issue. The Centre hasn't yet clarified if it is ready to discuss the same." Restoration of her Sovereignty is Assam's RIGHT; the ULFA asking for it OR otherwise. India must act dec

[Bartta Bistar]

Delhi gives up on ULFA, truce ends
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/delhi-gives-up-on-ulfa-truce-ends/22175-3.html
ibnlive.com
Posted Friday , September 22, 2006 at 12:13 Email  Print

RIGID STAND: The Centre had asked ULFA for a written communication on its
joining direct talks.


New Delhi: New Delhi's ceasefire with the outlawed United Liberation Front
of Asom expired on Wednesday night with the Centre sticking to its stand to
not take that extra step to the next stage of the peace process.


The peace initiative hit a roadblock after an intransigent ULFA and the
inflexible Centre refused to relax their respective stands.


While the Centre had been asking the outfit for a written communication on
its joining direct talks with the government, the ULFA persisted with its
demand that New Delhi starts the first move by releasing five of its top
leaders from jail.


New Delhi had also asked ULFA to name a negotiating team of top leaders and
specify a timeframe for the dialogue. The outfit didn't respond to any of
these. The ULFA says it is not in a position to take any decision in the
absence of their five central committee leaders.



The ULFA-nominated People's Consultative Group had moved the Prime
Minister's Office on Tuesday, seeking a month's extension to the ceasefire.
But after prolonged negotiations between National Security Advisor (NSA) M K
Narayanan and the PCG till midnight on Wednesday, the talks failed and the
truce collapsed.


"As of now, the truce stays shattered," a representative of the People's
Consultative Group said. "We are going to have another round of talks on
Friday. But we are not really hopeful of any outcome," PCG interlocutor
Indira Goswami said.


A high-level meeting reviewed the peace process with the banned group on
Thursday night. The meeting chaired by National Security Advisor M K
Narayanan, was attended by Home Secretary V K Duggal among others. But there
was not outcome.


New Delhi had suspended Army operations against ULFA on August 13 on the eve
of the Independence Day in a major push to bring the militant outfit to the
negotiation table. The ceasefire has since been extended four times, the
last time it was extended by just five days on September 15, pending a
decision for the NSA's arrival from his foreign tour.


The Ministry of Home Affairs is believed to be under constant pressure from
the Army, which is engaged in the counter-insurgency operations in the
region, to allow them to carry on with its operations against the outfit.
The Army has been opposing the ceasefire, saying that the outfit could
regroup and strike back more vociferously if it is allowed a period of calm.



The militant outfit has been maintaining that the release of the five jailed
leaders is necessary in order to create a congenial atmosphere for talks.
They say such a move can create an air of trust and 'show New Delhi's
eagerness for talks by creating a level-playing field." Interestingly, the
outfit has still been insisting on a dialogue on the sovereignty issue. The
Centre hasn't yet clarified if it is ready to discuss the same.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/assam_assamnet.org/attachments/20060922/042e7948/attachment.htm