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ULFA faction delegation in Delhi for talks ahead of inking of peace pact
Anup Chetia, the organisation’s general secretary, said the talks were expected to begin on Tuesday and that the Union government would decide the date for signing the agreement
A delegation of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA)’s pro-talks faction arrived in Delhi on Monday ahead of expected talks for a peace agreement it is likely to sign with the Union and the Assam governments by the December end.
Anup Chetia, the organisation’s general secretary, said the talks were expected to begin on Tuesday and that the Union government would decide the date for signing the agreement. “...they are indicating that it will happen before the end of this year.”
The separatist ULFA was formed in April 1979 in the aftermath of an agitation against undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). It split into two groups in February 2011 with the Arabinda Rajkhowa-led faction giving up violence and agreeing to unconditional talks with the government. Paresh Baruah, who leads the other rebranded ULFA-Independent faction, is against the talks.
The pro-talks faction has sought constitutional and political reforms for the protection of the identity and resources of Assam’s indigenous people including their right to land. The Union government in April sent it a draft agreement. An earlier round of talks between the two sides was held in Delhi in August.
A series of talks were expected before the deal would be inked. Chetia and Sasadhar Choudhury, the ULFA pro-talks faction’s foreign secretary, were set to meet AK Mishra, the Union government’s interlocutor, to discuss the agreement. People aware of the matter said the two will also meet Union home minister Amit Shah and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma before signing the deal.
“Once we talk, all issues will be discussed in detail and sorted out before inking the agreement,” said Chetia.
Sarma this month said the agreement would be signed either towards December end or in the first half of January. He added a series of meetings involving the Union home ministry, the Assam government, and the pro-talks faction have taken place. “Once that [agreement] happens, we will have to see how to bring the anti-talks faction of the outfit for talks,” Sarma said on Monday.
The Union government has signed peace deals with rebel Bodo, Dimasa, Karbi, and Adivasi outfits in Assam over the last three years. The banned ULFA-Independent would be the only major insurgent outfit in the state once the deal with the ULFA pro-talks faction is inked.
