Outfit sorry for killing Children in 2004
Stay away to keep options open, ULFA to military chief
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network
Guwahati, January 09 2011:
The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) wants its military chief Paresh Barua to remain elusive so that the outfit has the option of returning to guerrilla warfare if talks with New Delhi fail.
The outfit's leadership out on bail has also said sorry for killing 13 schoolchildren at Dhemaji on 15 August 2004.But a formal apology "depends on whether the government apologizes for state-sponsored terrorism on those who believed in fighting for Assam's cause" .
"We had in our meetings with officials in New Delhi pointed out that a peace negotiation is possible without Paresh Barua," said Mrinal Hazarika, president of the ULFA's pro-talks group.
"One of the reasons is that we want him away to keep our options to return to the jungles open if the talks head nowhere.
But we must also ensure that Barua or his men do not throw a spanner into the wheel of the peace process" .
Barua is the only top ULFA leader on the loose, believed to be holed up in northern Myanmar bordering China.
All the other leaders including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa are either dead, in jail or on bail.
Hazarika's take on Barua coincided with Rajkhowa saying the Dhemaji incident was collateral damage in the fight between the ULFA and 'Indian' forces.
"I am ready to hang for the accident that should never have happened," he said.
But the outfit maintained that certain sections were highlighting the Dhemaji blot to derail the peace process.