New Delhi: With several top ULFA leaders
deported to India from Bangladesh, the Centre is treading
cautiously on holding deliberations with the outlawed outfit
as it does not want to repeat the 1992 experience when five of
the militant leaders, released for talks, used the opportunity
to go underground and regroup.
Though Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has favoured safe
passage to the group`s leaders if they came for talks and Home
Minister P Chidambaram showed willingness for dialogue with
ULFA if the group abjures violence, it was not clear whether
any such peace process will be initiated immediately.
Home Ministry officials said they will have to work out
modalities for any future talks but ULFA chairman Arabinda
Rajkhowa, who surrendered today, will first have to declare
publicly that he would give up the demand for `sovereignty`.
But despite both sides showing willingness for talks,
officials in the Home Ministry are not willing to jump the gun
as previous attempts of talks during former prime minister P V
Narsimha Rao`s tenure ended up in an embarrassment to the
intelligence agencies, official sources said.
"We are looking at all aspects before anything concrete
can be declared. We do not want to take any chances," a source
said.
In 1992, attempts to bring ULFA leadership to the table
failed as the leaders, including general secretary Anup
Chetia, who were released from jail for talks took the
opportunity to go underground and later fled to Bangladesh
where they set up camps.
In 2005, the ULFA nominated a 11-member team called
People`s Consultative Group (PCG) headed by Jnanpith-winning
author Indira Goswami, which held three rounds of talks with
National Security Adviser M K Narayanan in an attempt to bring
lasting peace to Assam.
However, that did not go anywhere as no ULFA leader was
involved in the peace process despite Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh`s announcement that he was willing to discuss "all
issues bothering" Assam, but within the framework of the
Constitution.
ULFA is now considered a weak force as almost its entire
top leadership is in jail and not in a position to bargain
with the government, sources said. And if at all any dialogue
starts, the ULFA cadres have to abjure violence and the group
has to give up its demand of sovereignty.
"We also want to ensure that the ULFA does not use the
opportunity of dialogue to strengthen the organisation as they
did in the past," a source said.
Besides, different cases were registered against all ULFA
leaders and all of them will first have to face the court. And
in case the government wants them to participate in any
possible future talks, it first has to take permission from
the appropriate court, the source said.
However, it is not clear whether any such dialogue with
ULFA would be fruitful as the outfit`s military wing chief
Paresh Baruah is still at large and not interested in any
talks.
PTI
