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Assam : Peace talks with the ULFA suffer a severe setback

	July 17, 2006

Peace talks between the Union Government and Assam’s militant outfit, ULFA, received a severe jolt last week when security forces killed six hardcore militants in separate encounters in Assam and neighbouring Meghalaya.



While two ULFA cadres were killed in an encounter with the Army at Baglamari Village in Assam’s Nalbari district on Tuesday, July 11, four others were killed by security forces during an operation in the remote Mendipathar area of Garo Hills in Meghalaya on Wednesday, July 12.





Army sounds statewide alert



Intensifying its campaign against the ULFA, the Army on Saturday, July 15, sounded an alert saying the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was planning to let loose a reign of terror in Assam. An Army statement said the ULFA was planning a series of bomb blasts in the districts of Baska, Kamrup, Nalbari and Barpeta to avenge the death of two of their leaders killed by security forces on Tuesday in western Assam in an encounter.



“Reliable intelligence inputs have revealed there are strong indications to suggest that this threat will be carried out in the immediate future to avenge the deaths of the ULFA terrorists,” the statement from the Army’s 4 Corps Headquarters in Tezpur said.



“While the Government machinery and the security forces have been informed about the threat, the public also needs to be sensitised to the evil designs of the ULFA and prevent unnecessary loss of lives,” the statement said.





Bandh hits normal life



Normal life was affected in Assam on Friday, July 14, due to a 12-hour state-wide bandh, called by People’s Committee for Peace Initiatives, a conglomerate of 21 organisations sympathetic to the ULFA, to protest against the killings.



Shops and business establishments, banks and education institutions remained closed while traffic on the national highways was thin. However, North Eastern Frontier Railway sources said train running all over the state was normal. Flight operations were also not affected, airport sources said.



Expressing concern over the killings, an ULFA spokesman called for restraint from all parties for finding a peaceful solution to “Assam-India political conflict”.



He alleged that forces seeking military solution to the conflict were out to stymie the effort to find a political solution to the tangle. “Killing of the ULFA cadres by security forces exposed the Centre’s attitude towards the problem. Such killings wouldn’t have been possible sans directives from higher ups in the government,” the ULFA leader said.



The militant leader asked people to build a strong movement to thwart “such designs” to affect the process of finding a solution.



Reacting to the appeal made by the Union Home Ministry asking the ULFA to stop talking through the media and set up direct communication with the Centre, the militant leader said the government too should use the service of the ULFA-nominated People’s Consultative Group (PCG) to talk to the group. He said the PCG which was formed to prepare ground and held three rounds of talks with Centre so far, was not disbanded.





Threat to pull out of peace process





Meanwhile, the PCG has threatened to pull out of the process. “We will discuss the entire issue and consider pulling out of the current peace process to expose the government for playing a dual role (of initiating peace and simultaneously carrying out operation against the outfit),” Lachit Bordoloi, a spokesman for the Peoples Consultative Group (PCG), said on July 12.





Release leaders first : ULFA chairman



Meanwhile, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in a statement on July 15 insisted on the release of its five top leaders from the jail as pre-condition for holding direct talks with the Centre.



“We can’t name our representatives for holding negotiation with the Centre until release of our detained leaders,” he said.





Chief Minister Gogoi direct communication with the Centre



Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked the banned ULFA to set up direct communication with the Centre for peace talks. Speaking in the Assembly on July 13, he promised to release five leaders of the group from jail and recommend cease fire with it provided the ULFA sent direct communication to the Centre. He said : “The people of Assam and my government are yearning for peace and stability. A peaceful solution to the insurgency problem is possible through direct negotiation between the Centre, the ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland,” Gogoi said.



Unfazed by howls of protest from two influential groups over six ULFAcasualties in army and police operations last week, Gogoi ruled out cessation of operations against the banned outfit till it “directly” communicated to the government its intention to start a dialogue.



Winding up discussions on the budget, which he tabled on Monday, Gogoi said in the Assembly that the government would declare a ceasefire and release jailed ULFA leaders as soon as it received a communique from the outfit.



The Congress-led coalition separately issued a statement clarifying that the army offensive against ULFAwould not derail the peace process. It came after leader of the Opposition Brindaban Goswami and his AGP colleague Keshab Mahanta raised questions about the policy of continuing army operations together with the peace process.



While Dispur played down the twin encounters, the Ulfa-constituted People’s Consultative Group (PCG) warned that it would be constrained to declare the peace process as a “meaningless “exercise if members of the militant group continued to be targets of security forces.



Earlier, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Brindabon Goswami of AGP asked the government to state the status of the peace process after killing of six ULFA cadres. The Chief Minister said that the peace initiative should not be affected because of these incidents. He said that a ceasefire between the security forces and the ULFA would put an end to such conflicts.





Dispur for constitutional safeguards



Indulging its newfound penchant for upholding “the regional cause”, the ruling Congress in Assam has asked Delhi for a slew of “constitutional safeguards” on issues ranging from citizenship to alteration of inter-state boundaries.



The most significant of the suggestions to Delhi is the addition of a rider to amendments to any citizenship-specific law. The idea is to ensure that no such amendment takes effect in Assam without the Assembly’s approval. The list of suggestions includes reservation of seats in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha for “Assamese people”.



Another major suggestion is the enactment of a law that would prevent minorities residing permanently in Assam from establishing educational institutions without the state government’s consent. A “permanent resident” is a person who is an Indian citizen residing in the state continuously for not less than 20 years,



Minister Bhumidhar Barman, who holds the Assam Accord implementation portfolio, said in a written reply to a question from AGP legislator Ramendra Narayan Kalita that the government had made recommendations for the implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which guarantees constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards for the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. “The state legislature shall not be prohibited from making any law laying down a condition to the effect that any citizen seeking employment or appointment in the state services must have knowledge of the state language,” the memorandum to Delhi states.



Barman said the state government had also requested Delhi not to table any bill in Parliament for alteration of boundaries without taking the legislature into confidence.



He said the memorandum makes it clear that no act of Parliament, rules, order and notification of the central government in respect of detection and expulsion of foreigners, ownership and transfer of land, employment or appointment under the state government and acquisition of immovable properties in the state should be applicable to the state, unless ratified by the Assembly.



The government recommended the constitution of a committee comprising members of both Houses of Parliament, legislators and persons having knowledge and practical experience in different disciplines and administration of the state to suggest ways to incorporate all these constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards into the existing laws.