Ulfa, one of the biggest rebel armies in the tea and oil-rich region of Assam, has been fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Assamese since 1979.
“We are ready to hold preliminary discussions,” said Bhimkanta Buragohain, 75, one of the slews of top jailed leaders of the powerful United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), told reporters after a brief courtroom appearance.
“Everybody should respect the wishes of the people of Assam for peace talks,” Buragohain said.
The Ulfa leader’s statement came on the same day as PC Haldar, a former director of the Indian Intelligence Bureau, arrived in Assam state’s main city of Guwahati to explore the possibilities of opening peace talks.
“I am here to prepare the ground for talks,” said Haldar, who was named last week as New Delhi’s chief representative for talks with Ulfa.
A fragile peace process between the federal government and Ulfa representatives collapsed in 2006 with New Delhi accusing the rebels of stepping up violence and extortion in the region.
Barring Ulfa’s elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, many of Ulfa’s leaders are behind bars including Buragohain who has been in custody since 2003.
Ulfa’s chief Baruah, however, is against holding peace talks and is believed to be hiding in the Myanmar-China border area.
In the past, the rebel group has demanded that the issue of sovereignty or independence be discussed at any talks, which the government rejects.
At least 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the Assam state because of fighting between government forces and the various rebel groups.
India has been wracked by separatist conflicts since its independence in 1947, with deadly insurgencies embedded in its northwestern Kashmir region and the northeast.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2010.
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