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This is the usual Sentinel fare. Some points they make are interesting. Highlights are mine.
"We have time and again said that although proper and balanced civil society involvement in the peace process is always welcome, yet a populist approach to the issue would be of little help."
I didn't quite get what the paper is trying to tell us.
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Whither Peace Talks? The peace process between the Centre and the United Liberation Front of Asom which had raised high expectations among the people of the state, seems to have hit a wall. While the fragile ceasefire has been extended unilaterally by the Centre for another five days, there seems to be no move whatsoever on the part of the Ulfa to work out the modalities for direct talks with New Delhi. The Centre has made clear its position by asking the insurgent group to name the persons who would take part in the dialogue as also the date and place. But the Ulfa has been insisting on the release of its leaders on the plea that without their presence, the central committee cannot arrive at a decision about the talks. Recently, one of its top leaders Bhimkanta Burgaohain made it clear that only after the release of the leaders could there be any possibility of Ulfa writing to the Centre. This is certainly a difficult demand to accept on the part of New Delhi, especially given its past experience of such releases. Meanwhile, the credibility of the People's Consultative Group (PCG) stands eroded and it seems to have lost its moorings. Unable to convince the Ulfa to open direct talks with the Centre, the PCG is frittering away its energies in trying to build up public pressure upon New Delhi and Dispu r to agree to Ulfa's demand on the unconditional release of its leaders. It has now put the blame squarely on the Centre by accusing it of wilfully delaying the peace process by refusing to agree to Ulfa's demand. This is not at all a convincing argument on the part of an organisation which has, after three rounds of talks with New Delhi, failed to bring the Ulfa to the negotiating table. We have time and again said that although proper and balanced civil society involvement in the peace process is always welcome, yet a populist approach to the issue would be of little help. The experience of peace-making in conflict situations has shown that negotiating peace quite often turns out to be more difficult than carrying on an insurgency. This is evident from the nature of the peace process in neighbouring Nagaland. Despite a strong civil society involvement coupled with meticulous home work by the NSCN(I-M) helped by international experts in the field, the Naga peace process has got stuck on several issues. That has, however, not brought the talks to a final halt and the NSCN has displayed its maturity by keeping the process alive. As for the Ulfa, its prime difficulty seems to spring from the fact that it is yet to work out an agenda for the peace talks. That is exactly why it has been insisting that the Centre should not sideline the PCG which, in turn, does not have anything concrete to offer. In all these years of armed struggle, the Ulfa has not been able to present before the people of Asom any viable political or economic agenda. Nor has it attempted to work out any programme which would address the aspirations of the ethnic nationalities of the region. In such a situation, how would it tackle the bureaucrats in New Delhi who are experienced and well versed in dealing with insurgent groups. The Ulfa needs to keep in mind the fact that unlike many of its neighbours, India has succeeded in large measure in working out peace agreements with both populist and insurgent groups and has been able to accommodate to a great extent the wishes and aspirations of several small nationalities within the ambit of the Indian Constitution. Therefore, it would be unrealistic on the part of Ulfa to be dismissive of New Delhi's capabilities of working out a viable peace for Asom. It is high time that the Ulfa, instead of harping on swadhin Asom and the Indian occupation Army, seriously applied itself towards working out its agenda for direct talks with the Centre. For, if it fails to make use of the present pro-peace atmosphere, then it would only hasten its further alienation from the people of Asom. |
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