ULFA agrees for talks with Government

Guwahati, July 11 : The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) is ready for peace talks within 48 hours, provided the Central Government creates a congenial atmosphere for the free movement of its central leaders to convene an executive council meeting.

ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said here today in a statement to an Assamese daily that they favour a peaceful solution to their issues through political dialogue.

Rajkhowa said ULFA's earlier demand for holding peace talks in a third independent country under the aegis of the United Nations had been abandoned following a request by the Jnanpeeth Award winner eminent Assamese litterateur Dr. Indira Goswami.

He also alleged that the Central Government of making efforts to establish ULFA as a terrorist outfit in the public mind.

The ULFA leader clarified that 'sovereignty' was neither a condition nor a demand for sitting in peace talk, while reacting to writings by noted writer Susibrata Rai Choudhury.

He further stressed that ensuring the sovereignty of Assam was a subject for discussions.

ULFA was started as a revolutionary movement on April 7, 1979. It is a militant group from Assam which seeks to establish a sovereign Assam via an armed struggle. The Government of India had banned the organization in 1990 and classifies it as a terrorist group.

ANI