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Assam : Talks with ULFA, second round controversy

	January 09, 2006

Peace talks with Assam’s major militant outfit, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), which began on an encouraging note on October 26, have entered into rough seas of bureaucracy.



Miffed by the Union Home Ministry’s attitude, the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) has asked National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan to monitor the developments. PCG facilitator and writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami conveyed this to Narayanan on Jan. 6 when she called on him to clear the confusion over Home Secretary V.K. Duggal’s statement three days ago saying the onus of the next round of talks lay with the ULFA-constituted 11-member group.



According to media reports, the ULFA-constituted People’s Consultative Group (PCG) has accused Delhi of indulging in a “misinformation campaign” and undoing the progress made so far.



The retort was apparently in response to Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal’s remark on Jan. 3 that the consultative group was to blame for the delay in beginning the second round of talks. He said the group had not contacted the ministry since meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan on October 26.



PCG member Lachit Bordoloi said writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami and Rebati Phukan, officially designated as facilitators of the peace process, had been asked to take up the issue with the Centre. He said the duo would ascertain the “status of the next round of talks”.



He said the statement emanating from the Home Ministry reflected the lack of seriousness in Delhi’s approach to peace. “We are really surprised. The PCG has all along been eager to know when the next round of talks would be held. Such a misinformation campaign, I am afraid, will only defeat the campaign for peace.”



After the first round of talks, the PCG was given to understand that Delhi would fix a date and a venue for the second round after consulting it. “Accordingly, we have been in touch with Narayanan, who has been a kind of pointsman for the talks. He has been very receptive and positive. But Duggal’s statement has left us wondering (what to do). We were initially told that the talks would be convened in December, but the Parliament session and controversy generated by the Volcker report necessitated a month’s postponement,” Bordoloi said.



A worried Dispur viewed Duggal’s statement as a “serious communication lapse” between the PMO and the Union Home Ministry. “It is a glaring communication gap. But we are confident that the peace process will be back on track soon,” a senior bureaucrat said.



Safe passage offer : CM puts onus on ULFA



Meanwhile, three days after Dispur announced a fortnight-long Magh Bihu safe passage to Ulfa rebels to facilitate their reunion with family and friends, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Jan. 4 lobbed the ball back to the outfit’s court, saying the offer would be valid subject to the militant group’s acceptance.



The new development comes amid a verbal duel between the authorities and the outfit over the peace process with each side accusing the other of sabotage attempts. The security forces have also taken serious note of the offer.



The Army is of the view that safe passage would only provide the militant outfit with “more power” to strengthen its extortion machinery.



In Guwahati, Chief Secretary S. Kabilan, who heads the three-tier Unified Command structure operational in the state to check militancy, said he would wait for a response from the outfit to the Chief Minister’s January 1 safe passage offer for a fortnight which became effective from Jan. 7, 2006.





Assam accord : AASU demands full implementation



In another development, the All Assam Students’ Union (ASSU), has urged the Centre to implement all clauses of the Assam Accord signed by the two sides decades back. The request was made to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil during a meeting which was described as “cordial and candid.”



“We will ensure that the commitment from the Home Minister to implement all clauses of the Assam Accord is fulfilled. We are prepared to fight it out once again,” AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said.



An AASU delegation on Jan. 3 accompanied Patil and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri to take stock of the fencing project.



Bhattacharyya said he and other AASU leaders were far from satisfied with the progress of the project. “Almost half the border with Bangladesh in Dhubri remains porous. The barbed-wire fence in some portions is already looking worn out.”



The AASU delegation also found the number of border outposts in the area inadequate. It said Home Ministry officials accompanying Patil admitted that the existing strength of the BSF in the area was far below the requirement.



Patil assured the AASU during the meeting on implementation of the accord that the border would be completely fenced by December.





New BSF unit for “nowhere” villages



According to media reports, the last line of defence on the Indo-Bangladesh border is set to have an ancillary wing for the protection of settlements beyond the barbed-wire fencing, but within Indian territory.



BSF deputy inspector-general (Cachar sector) K.C. Padhi said the new force, to be known as Kisan Guards, will protect residents in the area from robbers and militant groups that enjoy a free run just across the border. “All personnel will be drawn from the BSF,” he told the media at the BSF’s Dhalcherra camp, 25 km from this south Assam town.



Scores of villages along the Indo-Bangladesh border have been sliced by barbed-wire fences that separate the neighbours in Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Bengal. The Indo-Bangladesh Border Protocol stipulates that fences should be 150 yards off the actual boundary, which means thousands of villages in eastern India are almost quarantined in their own houses between sunset and dawn.



BSF sources said the need for Kisan Guards arose following complaints by villagers that during this period they often fall prey to robbers and extortionists from across the border. The sources said Bangladesh was taking action against militants operating in that country. “We are alert so that no one could sneak into our side. We are ready to deal with the situation,” an official added.



The official said so far more than 2,000 km of international border fencing has been completed. India shares a 4,097-km border with Bangladesh.