| Ulfa peaceniks to sit for direct talks with Delhi and Dispur | ||
Dibrugarh, Jan 2 : The pro-peace group of Ulfa’s 28 battalion today held out a blueprint for a “better Assam” with autonomy as its watchword but warned that it would keep the option to return to the jungles open if the government failed to respond positively. The group also formally severed all ties with the outfit today and declared that it would now sit for direct talks with the government instead of waiting for Ulfa’s central leadership. “We are asking for an Upper House, which will only have representatives from all those communities, who are the sons of the soil of the state. We are also demanding the rights of locals over the state’s natural resources, protection of the indigenous culture and a comprehensive strategy to deal with flood and erosion in our draft proposal,” said Jiten Dutta, a pro-peace group leader, at a news meet held at the Kakopathar designated camp of the group. The pro-peace group had declared the ceasefire in June, saying that it would work towards convincing the outfit’s central leadership to hold talks with the government for an amicable solution to the “Assam-India” political problem. Since then the leaders of the groups had been going around holding discussions with a cross section of society to gauge the people’s pulse. “From today, we will no longer take any orders either from Arabinda Rajkhowa or Paresh Barua and henceforth, we are dropping the sovereignty issue, as the people of the state are no longer interested in a sovereign Assam. Instead we will demand an autonomous Assam. We will be known as the pro-talks faction of Ulfa,” Mrinal Hazarika, one of the former commanders of the outfit’s 28 battalion said. Dutta, however, warned that there was no question of depositing arms with the government. He said they would live in the designated camps only and the option to return to the jungles would always be open. “Arabinda Rajkhowa and Paresh Barua, who are living a lavish life in Bangladesh, can no longer feel the pain and agony of the people of Assam. We have realised this a long time ago, but still, we decided to remain within the fold and waited patiently for a positive response. But so far there has been no response. Therefore, it would be totally illogical for us to keep on waiting,” said Dutta, the former commander of the Alpha and Charlie companies of the 28 battalion. The group also announced that it would now offer to sit for direct talks with the government — both Delhi and Dispur — with their agenda of an autonomous Assam. The group also circulated a handout of their draft proposal of autonomous Assam to the media. Around 125 cadres of the outfit staying at the designated camps in Kakopathar, Sadiya, Moran, Nalbari and Tinsukia were present during the formal announcement of the autonomous Assam proposal. The group had decided to form a three-tier committee — central, district and regional level — to maintain its relations with the public. “We will also include all those former Ulfa cadres who have earlier surrendered or just walked out of the outfit. However, we will maintain a distance from all those who have earned a bad name in society for their wrong deeds,” Dutta added. |
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