Ulfa talks seem to be merely killing time

Mahendra Ved / TNN / Feb 9, 2006, 01:02 IST

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Tuesday's talks between the govt and the Ulfa-appointed People's Consultative Group appear to have enthused both sides.

Ulfa talks seem to be merely killing time

NEW DELHI: On the face of it, Tuesday's talks between the government and the Ulfa-appointed People's Consultative Group (PCG) appear to have enthused both sides. But in reality, it is just shadow boxing in time for the assembly polls due in May.
The two sides will meet again in March-end or early April, in time for the Bihu festival and of course, the polls.Some detained Ulfa leaders may also be released. But long-term convergence of interests is difficult to discern for peace and development in Assam.
The government's political compulsions of cushioning the ruling Congress in the state has been fully matched by protagonists of the banned Ulfa who want a breather from military operations to be able to recoup and reorganise its forces, while also gaining a measure of respectability in the public eye.
Ulfa and its supporters are also working on the divide in the government - the political leadership wants to further its talking-to-all policy in the North-East, as in J&K, while the military and the bureaucracy have been opposed to any reconciliation with the militants.

In Assam's case, governor Ajai Singh, a former Army officer who, while in service, headed "Operation Rhino" against the Ulfa, has been critical of talks before a surrender by the militants.
The PCG leaders left the talks held in the PMO happy since the joint statement said that "both sides" had agreed to maintain a peaceful atmosphere and that the government agreed to probe allegations of human rights violations.
There is also a delicate 'external' angle, like in J&K, to the Assam imbroglio: Top Ulfa leaders operate from neighbouring Bangladesh, a fact which Dhaka denies.
One of the PCG's demand has been to get these fugitives home for talks. Why, at all, and how, New Delhi would achieve this, without making diplomatic and political concessions, remains a moot point.

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