Guwahati: Belligerent posturing by both the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and New Delhi over a one-line letter of commitment needed to hold direct peace talks has pushed Assam to bleed once again.
The central government on Sunday resumed military operations against the rebel outfit by calling off a six-week-old ceasefire, blaming the group for stepped up attacks in the state and extortion demands.
"It is very unfortunate that the peace process has suffered a major setback. We appeal to the ULFA to refrain from all violent acts and at the same time want the government to reconsider calling off the truce to give peace a chance," said Sammujjal Bhattacharyya, leader of the influential All Assam Students' Union.
There was tremendous optimism when on Aug 13 New Delhi announced a unilateral ceasefire against the ULFA for 10 days despite the rebels triggering a string of explosions ahead of Independence Day.
A week later, the ULFA reciprocated the government's 'goodwill gesture' by announcing cessation of hostilities for an indefinite period. There had been an absolute lull since then with the ULFA-chosen People's Consultative Group (PCG), a group of 11 civil society leaders, meeting government negotiators to facilitate direct talks with the rebel leadership.
The ULFA had set a precondition for the direct talks by seeking the release of five of its jailed leaders, saying it was important for the group to have their imprisoned central committee leaders freed in order to chalk out strategies for the face-to-face negotiations.
The government responded positively saying that the jailed leaders would be freed, but insisted the ULFA commit in writing to come for direct peace talks. The militants, who have been fighting for an independent Assamese homeland in the resource-rich state, said they cannot give such a pledge until the jailed leaders are freed. The two sides stuck to their stand and the peace process started faltering over the last fortnight.
The ceasefire from the government's side lapsed last Wednesday, but it did not announce resumption in anti-insurgency operations. Instead on Friday it once again asked the rebels for a formal letter as a condition for renewing the truce.
The letter did not come and things started looking ominous.
And what was not expected happened Friday - the ULFA killed a policeman in eastern Assam in a gunfight and the following day cadres of the group shot dead a plantation manager for refusing to pay extortion money.
The sudden spurt in attacks and extortion demands prompted New Delhi to call off the truce.
"That the ULFA took advantage of the ceasefire to extort money and step up attacks is enough indication that they were not sincere in holding talks and just wanted to bide time," said an army commander who wished not to be identified.
People in general are unhappy over the turn of events. "The ULFA shouldn't have broken the wishes of the people of Assam who were craving for peace. Now Assam will be in turmoil once again," said Arun Madhab Sharma, a retired police official, blaming the rebels for the ceasefire breakdown.
Questions are being asked as to the role of the PCG - whether the ULFA representatives had failed to rein in the rebel leadership so that they do not indulge in anything messy while the truce was on.
"I would appeal to the ULFA for restraint. I know this is a very difficult phase. At the same time I shall try to ensure that the peace process doesn't get derailed," Indira Goswami, noted Assamese writer and PCG leader, said.
Comments
0 comment