NEW DELHI: Historic talks with the banned outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) got underway as an "ice-breaker" on Thursday with the government getting the insurgent group on board to work for reaching a "just and honourable solution" within the framework of the Indian Constitution.
Both sides agreed to set up a seven-member committee -- comprising three Ulfa members and two officers each from the Centre and Assam government -- to look into the issues of the outfit's camps, its locations, cadres, status of their arms, surrender policy and detailed modalities for discussions before the "substantive" round of talks begin after the assembly polls in May.
The outlawed group made it clear that it would not take part in the election, and also would not become an obstacle before "desire and aspiration of the people of Assam". The eight-member Ulfa delegation -- some of whom are out on bail -- was led by its chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa during the talks.
Terming Thursday's formal parleys as a "confidence building round", Ulfa `foreign secretary' Shashadhar Choudhury later said, "We did not raise any demand today. We will discuss broader issues when we meet next".
After the group's discussion with a team of officials comprising home secretary Gopal K Pillai and secretary (internal security) U K Bansal, Choudhury also made it clear that though the outfit had been in constant touch with its commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, his (Baruah) absence would not cast any shadow over the talks. Ulfa opted for the talks after the `General Council' -- the group's highest decision making body -- gave its assent.
Choudhury maintained that "Baruah is still our commander-in-chief". But, security agencies believe that the stance might have been taken just to give an impression that the outfit's C-in-C may bounce back in case talks fail at a later stage.
Stating that the outfit is hopeful that the insurgency problem in Assam can be solved through an amendment in the Constitution, Choudhury -- flanked by `vice-chairman' Pradip Gogoi and `finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika -- said, "We have noted a recent statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Indian Constitution is flexible enough to accommodate the desire and aspirations of all people."
He added, "Through the talks, therefore, we proposed to evaluate various facets of the Constitution and to explore the viability of protection and enrichment of the sovereignty of the people of Assam in all its dimensions -- political, social and cultural, within the flexibility as mentioned by the prime minister."
Declaring that the agenda of the future talks with the government and ULFA's demands would be decided by the "people of Assam", he said it was necessary to amend the Constitution to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people.
On the possibility of declaring a ceasefire, Choudhury said the initiative has to come from the government. "Anyway, we have not indulged in violence in last one year,"he said, adding that Ulfa is still a banned group. He said though the members were still outlawed, they were trying to be "good citizen" to bring a lasting solution to the "conflict".
Before the delegation went for first formal talks, home minister P Chidambaram, whom the Ulfa leaders met, said, "I assured them that the government of India and government of Assam will engage them in sincere and meaningful talks and I am confident that we will find a just and honourable solution". The outfit's delegation will meet the PM here on Monday.
TOI
Both sides agreed to set up a seven-member committee -- comprising three Ulfa members and two officers each from the Centre and Assam government -- to look into the issues of the outfit's camps, its locations, cadres, status of their arms, surrender policy and detailed modalities for discussions before the "substantive" round of talks begin after the assembly polls in May.
The outlawed group made it clear that it would not take part in the election, and also would not become an obstacle before "desire and aspiration of the people of Assam". The eight-member Ulfa delegation -- some of whom are out on bail -- was led by its chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa during the talks.
Terming Thursday's formal parleys as a "confidence building round", Ulfa `foreign secretary' Shashadhar Choudhury later said, "We did not raise any demand today. We will discuss broader issues when we meet next".
After the group's discussion with a team of officials comprising home secretary Gopal K Pillai and secretary (internal security) U K Bansal, Choudhury also made it clear that though the outfit had been in constant touch with its commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, his (Baruah) absence would not cast any shadow over the talks. Ulfa opted for the talks after the `General Council' -- the group's highest decision making body -- gave its assent.
Choudhury maintained that "Baruah is still our commander-in-chief". But, security agencies believe that the stance might have been taken just to give an impression that the outfit's C-in-C may bounce back in case talks fail at a later stage.
Stating that the outfit is hopeful that the insurgency problem in Assam can be solved through an amendment in the Constitution, Choudhury -- flanked by `vice-chairman' Pradip Gogoi and `finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika -- said, "We have noted a recent statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Indian Constitution is flexible enough to accommodate the desire and aspirations of all people."
He added, "Through the talks, therefore, we proposed to evaluate various facets of the Constitution and to explore the viability of protection and enrichment of the sovereignty of the people of Assam in all its dimensions -- political, social and cultural, within the flexibility as mentioned by the prime minister."
Declaring that the agenda of the future talks with the government and ULFA's demands would be decided by the "people of Assam", he said it was necessary to amend the Constitution to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people.
On the possibility of declaring a ceasefire, Choudhury said the initiative has to come from the government. "Anyway, we have not indulged in violence in last one year,"he said, adding that Ulfa is still a banned group. He said though the members were still outlawed, they were trying to be "good citizen" to bring a lasting solution to the "conflict".
Before the delegation went for first formal talks, home minister P Chidambaram, whom the Ulfa leaders met, said, "I assured them that the government of India and government of Assam will engage them in sincere and meaningful talks and I am confident that we will find a just and honourable solution". The outfit's delegation will meet the PM here on Monday.
TOI
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