Dr Goswami-led body bid to break stalemate on ULFA talks

Guwahati, June 28 (UNI) Peace interlocutor Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami today said a constructive approach is needed from both the government and ULFA to end the decades-old insurgency problem, and negotiation is the only way to usher in peace in Asom.

Speaking to reporters after returning from New Delhi where she met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Dr Goswami said the Nagarik Shanti Manch of Asom has submitted separate representations to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister seeking immediate resumption of the peace talks, stalled since last September.

She said the Manch had decided to convey the 'conditions' of the Union Government to the ULFA, anticipating a positive outcome.

''Lack of sincere efforts so far from both the government and ULFA to hold talks have resulted in irreparable loss of human lives.

The government, as a visible guardian of its citizens, should handle this problem with proper understanding, wisdom and human sympathy, so that no inside revolt and insurgency can get a chance to breed the violent tendency which is seen among the Naxalites and Maoists in some parts of the country,'' she said.

Dr Goswami, who is also the president of the Manch, said the organisation had also advocated release of the five top jailed leaders to facilitate the talks, and disclosing of the whereabouts of the ULFA cadres who went missing after the 2003 Bhutan operations.

''The sovereignty issue should not be a hurdle in the talks, and the issue should also be a part of the talks. ULFA has demanded sovereignty to free Asom from perpetual neglect of the state's interest. The demand should be considered as a voice of protest against injustice,'' she said.

Hopeful of a positive response from the Centre, the eminent writer also said the Manch believed that there was no bar in discussing the pros and cons of all the 'subjects' for a permanent solution of the problem.

On the release of top jailed ULFA cadres, she said, ''There are instances when the government of India released more dreaded terrorists to recover Indian citizens from the clutch of extremists in the past. If the freed insurgents are released, they may be kept under strict vigil so that they cannot sabotage the peace process,'' she added.

While three rounds of talks between the Centre and the People's Consultative Group (PCG), a mediator group nominated by the ULFA, failed to make any headway for negotiations, the unabated violence sponsored by the outfit saw the killing of more than 130 people since January this year.

The ULFA wants a commitment from the Centre that all core issues, including the issue of 'sovereignty', would be discussed during the proposed direct talks. While the Centre so far is not willing to give in to the demand, it has been insisting on a direct communication from the outfit regarding the place, time and participants of the talks.

UNI