Barua for talks with condition

Guwahati, Dec. 5: A magistrate’s court in Assam remanded Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa to 12-day police custody on Saturday, while the outfit’s elusive “commander-in-chief” Paresh Baruah reiterated his reservations on a dialogue with the government, saying he was ready for talks only if “sovereignty” for Assam was on the agenda. The government has made it clear this is completely out of the question.

Baruah, in a statement, also said he had “full confidence” in Rajkhowa and denied that there was in any split in the militant outfit.

As huge crowd gathered before the chief judicial magistrate’s court here to get their first glimpse of the militant leader, who has not been seen publicly in the state for many years. Rajkhowa said, meanwhile, that he had not “surrendered” and would not do so in future.

Besides Rajkhowa, his deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah and Rajkhowa’s personal security guard Raja Bora were also remanded to 12-day police custody.

Rajkhowa, in his first face-to-face interaction with a group of reporters in many years, said: “I have not surrendered... I will never surrender. We are the victims of a conspiracy.”

When asked for his views on peace talks, he said in Assamese: “Hathat handcuff lagai peace-talks na hobo ... mukti lagibo mukti (With handcuffs in hand, peace talks are not possible. We will have to be freed from custody, only then can talks be held).”

His deputy, Raju Baruah, also said they had not surrendered to the Indian government.
On Friday, the Ulfa chairman had led a dramatic surrender before the Indian authorities at Dawki in Meghalaya.

Among those who surrendered were Rajkhowa, his wife Kaveri and two children, Raju Baruah, his wife and one child, Raja Bora, and the wife of Ulfa “foreign secretary” Sasha Choudhury and their son.

The police did not produce the wives and children of these men in court on Saturday.

The statement of the Ulfa chairman has come as a great relief for its elusive “commander-in chief” Paresh Baruah, who has been claiming repeatedly through press statements that there was no split in the organisation and that Rajkhowa and their associates had not surrendered.

In what is seen as a damage control exercise, Baruah — who on Friday had asked his arrested chairman to clarify his stand on peace talks, modified his stand on Saturday, saying the “sacrifice” made by Rajkhowa and other arrested comrades in the past 30 years could not be ignored.

Baruah, who is learnt to be against peace talks, said on Saturday that he had “full confidence” in his chairman and that the outfit was ready for a dialogue provided “sovereignty “ for Assam was discussed.

“There is no confusion in the minds of Ulfa cadres on talks as right from the grassroots-level cadre to the chairman, all were ready ... provided the government ... includes sovereignty for discussion,” said Baruah in a statement via email on Saturday. He denied there was any split in Ulfa, saying: “There is no split ... and we have full confidence in our chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa.”

He said: “The question of difference of opinion does not arise, and now it is up to the Indian government to show their sincerity by taking the process forward.”

The Ulfa chief also said news reports of a split in Ulfa was a “conspiracy by the Indian government ... as a part of its divide and rule policy and misinformation campaign to create confusion among the people of Assam.”

Meanwhile, two senior Ulfa cadres trained in Burma surrendered before the security forces on Saturday at Thakurbari in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district. Defence spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia said self-styled Ulfa “sergeant” Angshuman Bora and another senior cadre Rinku Verma surrendered to the Army Saturday morning along with arms and ammunition. They also deposited one G-3 rifle with four magazines and 104 rounds of ammunition and one 9 mm pistol and a magazine.