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North East- Talks with ULFA : Mamoni is back on her peace mission

	August 27, 2007

Apparently deeply hurt by the recent killing of 29 Hindi-speaking people in troubled Karbi Anglong district of Assam by ULFA and a Karbi militant group, writer Mamoni Goswami has again started making efforts to resume peace talks with the regional militant outfits, including ULFA which is adamant on joining the negotiations only if “sovereignty” aspect is included in the agenda.



Goswami’s last peacemaking attempt was through the Nagarik Shanti Mancha a couple of months ago. The process hit a roadblock when ULFA said it would recognise only the PCG as an emissary and that any proposal for talks should come through it. The Nagarik Shanti Mancha, comprising eminent citizens, had met Prime Min¬ister Manmohan Singh and the National Security Adviser in June to urge them to revive the peace process.



Goswami was supposed to write to the ULFA leadership about the “positive response” from the Prime Minister and National Security Adviser Narayanan, but the militant group’s insistence on negotiating with the government only through the PCG stone¬walled the process.



The Prime Minister had reportedly told the delegation that the government was ready to discuss all issues with ULFA and even consider releasing jailed leaders of the outfit if it agreed to direct talks.



Goswami said she could contact ULFA only with a written assurance from Delhi that it would keep its promises.



“I have written to Narayanan to give me in writing what he and the Prime Minister had said when the Nagarik Shanti Mancha called on them.”



On whether several failed attempts in the past had not eroded her optimism, the writer said: “Optimism is the essence of life and I am hopeful that we will see a negotiated settlement someday.”



Undaunted by ULFA’s recalcitrance and Delhi’s decision not to bend, the writer has resumed her mission to bring the derailed peace process back on track. Goswami told newsmen on August 21 she wrote to National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan recently to request him to invite ULFA to the negotiating table “in writing”.



If Delhi does write to ULFA, she intends to leverage the People’s Consultative Group (PCG)’s rapport with the militant leadership to put back the pieces.



When Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi challenged her a couple of months ago, Goswami volunteered to travel outside the country, if required, to meet ULFA leaders.



The Chief Minister said in the Assembly recently that five jailed leaders of ULFA would be freed the moment the militant group confirmed its participation in the talks. But during his visit to New Delhi early this month, Gogoi insisted that ULFA would have to give up its violent ways for negotiations to start. He said ULFA had shown cowardice and a barbaric streak by contin¬uously targeting innocents.



On why he continued to give ULFA the opportunity for nego¬tiations if he looked at the outfit in this light, the Chief Minister said the offer was subject to conditions. “Only if they give up violence and do not ask for sovereignty,” he told the media.



Gogoi had previously offered safe passage to ULFA leaders in Bangladesh and promised to arrange a meeting with their jailed colleagues in Guwahati.





AUDF throws poll gauntlet at Congress



On the political front, the newly formed Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) has dared the ruling Congress to fight it out through ballot boxes in the forthcoming panchayat elections instead of attacking its workers.



The minority party has alleged that recent attacks on its workers were part of the Congress’s coercive gameplan.



The AUDF has announced a series of agitation in protest against the arrest of the party’s Dhubri legislator, Rasool Hoque, and attacks on party workers in Dhubri recently.



Party chief Badruddin Ajmal told reporters on August 24 that the attacks on AUDF workers were part of a gameplan prepared by the Congress to counter the AUDF’s growing clout.





AGP leader Brindaban Goswami’s unity show flops



AGP leader Brindaban Goswami’s attempt to project himself as the undisputed leader of the Opposition in Assam was jettisoned on August 21 by the parties whose support he was banking on.



But for the presence of the BJP, CPI and some fringe par¬ties, the all-party meeting convened by the embattled AGP chief to make a statement ahead of the party’s presidential election on August 30-31 was almost an “I-me-myself” affair.



The Assam United Democratic Front, Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamool Gana Parishad and the CPI(M) stayed away from the meeting.



Prafulla Kumar Mahanta’s AGP (Pragatisheel) was not even invited to the meeting, meant to discuss law and order with the recent attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Karbi Anglong as the reference point.



The success of the meeting was crucial for Goswami. His detractors have long been accusing him of being a weak leader devoid of the charisma required to inspire workers at the grass¬roots and get other parties to rally around the AGP. Many within the AGP are looking at a merger of the AGP (P), Trinamool Gana Parishad and the Purbanchalia Loka Parishad with the parent party.





Assam tribals to intensify agitation



Tribal organisations in Assam, which are seeking Scheduled Tribe status, have warned the government of a series of agita¬tions if it failed to meet their demand. Several organisations staged protest rallies in different parts of the state.



The Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association on August 25 burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tribal Welfare Minister P.R. Kyndiah and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in all the tea gardens of Upper Assam.



The Morans, one of the six tribes demanding ST status, have announced a rally on August 31. This was decided at a co-ordina¬tion committee meeting of the All Assam Moran Students’ Union, the Assam Moran Sabha and the Moran Jatiya Mahila Samity held in Guwahati on August 25.



The organisations also threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha and panchayat polls.



Fearing a backlash, Delhi has decided to take the issue up on a priority basis. A delegation of central leaders, led by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, will visit the state soon to meet leaders of the six tribal organisations seeking ST status.