From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: “Like all other insurgent groups in truce with the government, the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) too would have to enter into a formal agreement for suspension of operation (SoP) and surrender weapons before starting dialogue with the government of India,” Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Friday.
Talking to media here, Gogoi said the current peace process with the ULFA led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa was progressing on the right track and the outfit had informed the Centre’s interlocutor P C Haldar that they would soon take a formal decision to begin formal political talks with the government.
“Once they (the ULFA faction) have decided to hold formal talks, they will have to surrender and enter into agreement of suspension of operation (SoP) with the government. Till that there hasn’t been a formal suspension of operation with them though both the sides are not operating against each other. But suspension of operation agreement has to be in place before beginning of the formal dialogue,” Gogoi said.
It has been alleged by some other militant groups in ceasefire that the ULFA faction had been given special treatment by the government as they had been allowed to hold onto to their weapons even after the peace process had been initiated while all other outfits had been made to surrender their weapons.