Centre's ultimatum to Ulfa
As differences within the Ulfa leadership delay the start of direct talks with the Centre, the government is unwilling to give the outfit more than a fortnight to come on board before doing a rethink on the truce in Assam.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: As differences within the Ulfa leadership delay the start of direct talks with the Centre, the government is unwilling to give the outfit more than a fortnight to come on board before doing a rethink on the truce in Assam.
This essentially means that if the Central government’s efforts to use PCG member Rebati Phukan’s proximity to Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah to convince the latter to shed his “reluctance“ and accept New Delhi’s pre-conditions for talks do not bear fruit within the current extension of the cessation of operations, security agencies may end the truce and resume operations against the secessionist group.
Though Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and another senior leader support the peace process with Delhi, and are willing to offer a letter accepting talks ahead of the release of five jailed leaders, Paresh Baruah and his close aides are not in favour of smoking the peace pipe yet, and are insisting that the leaders be set free before they can mull on the talks offer.
Known for his close ties with the ISI, Baruah is said to be under pressure from the Pakistani agency not to dilute his demand for secession. However, the Centre wants to give the interlocutors some more time to talk the commander-in-chief into accepting the Centre’s demand for a written communication indicating the schedule and Ulfa team for talks.
The Centre has also made it clear to the Ulfa leadership that it must stop all acts of violence, including extortion, before it sits across the table with the government. Though the cessation of operations against Ulfa was first declared on August 13 and extended on September 5, the security agencies have already reached a consensus that the truce in Assam should not be extended beyond December 20 in case Ulfa fails to come on board.
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In fact, the Army has warned the agencies that Ulfa may not be sincere about the talks proposal at all, and may merely be using the truce period to regroup and rearm.Ulfa had earlier suffered huge reverses during the Royal Bhutanese Army’s crackdown upon its camps in Bhutan in ’3. With the Indian Army too stepping up pressure on its bases in Upper Assam, Ulfa was forced to rely on its havens in Bangladesh for logistics and training.
With a truce now in force, the Army is worried that the current halt in operations may offer an ideal opportunity for the secessionist outfit to regroup and regain lost ground.
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