M A I N   N E W S

No conditional talks, Swami tells ULFA
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 28
In a firm response, the Centre today rejected the outlawed ULFA’s offer for conditional talks through a neutral mediator on its demand for sovereignty, saying the sovereignty and integrity of the country could not be compromised.

“There is no question of any compromise on the sovereignty and integrity of the country,” Minister of State for Home I D Swami told newspersons after the 64th Anniversary Parade of the CRPF here.

Responding to a question on ULFA ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Paresh Baruah’s reported statement that the outfit was ready for peace negotiations with New Delhi on its main demand of sovereignty with a “neutral third-party mediator” acting as a facilitator, Mr Swami said “there cannot be talks with pre-conditions”.

Mr Barua had reportedly demanded that the neutral third party had to be a ‘nation state’ as ULFA could not trust mediators from within India to be “neutral”.

Mr Swami, however, clarified that as a matter of principle, the Centre was ready for talks with any insurgent group which laid down arms and did not put forward any conditions.

The minister hoped that ULFA would respond to the amnesty offer of the Assam Government and join the mainstream.

He said after the operation of the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA), ULFA was demoralised and its cadres were on the run.

The minister thanked the Bhutan Government for having launched the operation against the insurgent outfit and said New Delhi persuaded the Himalayan kingdom for it through diplomatic channels as it was in the interest of both the countries.

On another issue, Mr Swami asked Pakistan to ‘change its mindset’ and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and stop cross-border infiltration before any meaningful dialogue could begin between the two countries.

Asserting that India would emerge victorious in the proxy war thrust on the country by its neighbour, he lauded the CRPF’s role in the fight against cross-border terrorism, saying the force was playing an important role in counter-terrorist operations.

Mr Swami said India’s peace initiatives, right from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Lahore bus journey, had been appreciated by the world which now understood New Delhi’s position better.

Mr Swami recalled the Prime Minister’s address to the US Congress a year before the September 11, 2001, attacks in which Mr Vajpayee had cautioned America that it should not think that it would remain untouched by the menace of terrorism.

“The Prime Minister’s remarks proved to be prophetic and the world’s tallest building was destroyed in minutes. Thousands of people hailing from different parts of the world perished in the disaster,” he lamented.

The minister said nations had now realised that the world has to collectively face the challenge posed by terrorism.

ULFA seeks Chinese help, asks for shelter

Guwahati, December 28
The ULFA today sought “Chinese help and shelter’’ for the fleeing militants, who are being driven out by the Bhutanese Army.

In an e-mail statement, the ULFA pleaded on behalf of the KLO, the NDFB, and the Arunachal Dragon Force, seeking “sanctuary and shelter’’ for their cadres, “who are struggling to survive in sub-zero temperature’’.

Through the e-mail, which was received this evening, ULFA chairman Aurobindo Rajkhowa said, “At this moment, they (rebels) have no option but to enter the territory of People’s Republic of China extra-legally to save their lives, who are negotiating with sub-zero temperature and starvation without any cloth and foodgrain.’’

“We would like to request you and your people to permit them safe passage to your territory and minimum temporary hospitality necessary for their survival,’’ Mr Rajkhowa said.

This appeal has shocked the security agencies as for the first time since the seventies any militant group of the North-East has sought direct help from China. In the seventies, the NSCN had gone to China seeking support.

“We, the United Liberation Front of Asom, the Arunachal Dragon Force, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland and the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation, who have been spearheading the flame of freedom struggle against Indian occupation have been taking shelter along the Assam-Bhutan border to escape from the brunt of Indian military,’’ he alleged.

“Of late we have come under massive military attack of Indo-Bhutan joint forces and our combatants are forced to retreat to the Sino-Bhutan border due to all-out air and artillery campaigns. We will be obliged if you show your traditional kindness and great revolutionary zeal to our brothers-in-arms in this very moment of exigency,’’ said Mr Rajkhowa.

Reiterating its long-standing demand for third-country mediation, the ULFA today rejected the offer of talks and denied it had mellowed down after the Bhutan operation. ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua last night told journalists over the phone that there was no change of the stand as reported by a section of the press.

“There is no softening of stand and we can talk only on our known stand,’’ said Mr Paresh Barua, rejecting the Indian Government’s demand for an “unconditional talk’’. The new statement of ULFA had dashed any chance of the peace process restarting. — UNI