ULFA peace initiative hits roadblock

Stalement continues over insurgent outfit's demand for leaders' release and Govt's insistence on a commitment.

The peace process between ULFA and the Centre appears to have hit a roadblock with both sides refusing to back down from their respective stands.

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While the banned group is insisting that the government should release its top leaders from jail before direct talks, the Centre has maintained that it would consider the demand only after receiving a written commitment about ULFA's willingness to participate in parleys.

The current ceasefire in Assam ends in three days and there is no indication of flexibility from either side.

"Yes, it seems we are not moving forward," noted author Indira Goswami, who has been mediating on behalf of ULFA for almost two years, told on Tuesday.

Goswami said there was a very slim chance of the Centre extending the truce in Assam beyond September 15.

"It seems it (ceasefire) will not be possible," she said, adding she was not expecting any communication from the ULFA before the end of the current truce.

Goswami said she had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in an effort to break the deadlock, requesting him to release the jailed ULFA leaders and to take a sympathetic approach in resolving the nearly three-decade-old insurgency in Assam.

"I sent a letter to the Prime Minister on Sunday, requesting him to take a sympathetic view and release the top ULFA leaders from jail," she said.