Guwahati, May 11: The pro-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has expressed reservations against the draft peace agreement given to it by the central government, stating that the draft has “no mention of its primary demand of 88 percent seat reservation for the indigenous people in all levels of elections.”
“Hence, the joint meeting of the central executive committee of pro-talks ULFA has, keeping in mind the future of the indigenous communities of Assam, appealed to the central government to lay emphasis on safeguarding the political and constitutional rights of the indigenous people of the state,” pro-talks ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia informed mediapersons on Thursday.
However, the pro-talks ULFA leader acknowledged that the other demands of the faction, including land rights, have been mentioned in the draft.
Notably, the draft of the peace agreement was given to the pro-talks ULFA by the government ahead of Rongali Bihu.
Peace talks with the outfit started in 2011, during which it put forward a “memorandum” with various demands.
Urging the central government to keep the peace discussions with the outfit going, Chetia said all parties, irrespective of their ideological differences, need to come together in the greater interest of the state and put forth their submissions before the central government for safeguarding the future of the indigenous people of Assam.
“In this regard, we seek the support of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma since this (safeguarding the political and constitutional rights of indigenous people) is a political issue,” Chetia said.
Last month, chief minister Sarma had said that discussions with the pro-talks faction of ULFA were underway and that he was hopeful that a peace agreement would be signed with the faction by the end of May. “However, if the draft is unacceptable to them (pro-talks ULFA faction) then the process might have to be deferred,” the chief minister said.
It may be recalled that the pro-talks faction of ULFA had in January last year expressed reservations about the Centre’s earnestness in taking forward the peace parleys with the faction, claiming that there was no dialogue held in the past two years and there was no government interlocutor to take the process forward.
“In regard to the discussions with the Paresh Barua-led ULFA-I (Independent) faction, while there has been communication between the government and the militant outfit from time to time in various phases, the process to facilitate the peace talks with the group is yet to gain the desired pace and impetus,” the chief minister said.
IANS