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ULFA top brass rejects talks offer

Two top leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom have rejected the Centre's recent offer for talks with the Indian Government, calling the Union home ministry "insincere" and prone to double-speak.

In a joint statement given to some Guwahati-based language papers on Saturday, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, have pointed out that the ministry had been speaking in two voices.

Ministry joint secretary in-charge of the north-east G K Pillai had declared in Guwahati on January 17 that the Centre was willing to hold talks with the ULFA even on the issue of sovereignty of Assam. The next day, Pillai's senior in the ministry, additional secretary P D Shenoy said in New Delhi that if ULFA came for talks, the Centre would be able to convince the outfit that its demand for sovereignty was "irrelevant and incredulous".

"Two officers are giving two statements. By saying that the government will be able to convince us about the futility of sovereignty in negotiations, they have made light of the whole negotiation process," Barua said in the statement.

The top guns of the outfit said: "We have taken note of the extremely slow progress of talks between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the Government of India. For more than three years, these talks have gone on without substantial political issues being discussed. We do not want to create a 'traffic jam' on the talks issue, since negotiations are on with the NSCN."

Meanwhile, former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma told newsmen in Guwahati on Saturday that negotiation should be held. "They are anyway talking of sovereignty. Let them come and talk at the table. But there should be negotiations," he said.

He was, however, not optimistic, saying insurgency could not be resolved by talks alone because of the multiplicity of insurgent groups.

"If one group agrees, two others will disagree. We have to close the nursery of the insurgents by providing them meaningful employment," he said.

The Complete Coverage: Assam and the ULFA

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