Source: The Sangai Express / PTI
Guwahati, September 26:
The ULFA has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of launching a "false propaganda� against the group and blamed the Centre of adopting double standards on the issue of talks.
The Central Government by showing "false interest in talks with ULFA managed to hold polls in Assam and then again staged a drama by suspending operations against us to ensure peaceful celebration of Independence Day,� ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement e-mailed to the local media here last night.
The Prime Minister himself launched a false propaganda against the ULFA at the Congress Chief Minister's conclave when he said that a section of the ULFA wanted talks while another did not want it, he said.
"The Government was trying to create division among the ULFA members and put the blame of Army operations on the outfit,� Rajkhowa said.
The Government first declared a unilateral suspension of operations for a period of ten days and extended it to ensure peaceful celebration of Independence but has now "again resumed its atrocities on the people of Assam.� "The ULFA does not want ceasefire but wants an end to the conflict.
On the one hand, the Centre announces ceasefire but on the other hand, imposes pre-conditions for the ULFA which are not acceptable and people of Assam have also realised the double standards of the Government,� he added.
Meanwhile, sit-in protests were organised across the State today by the People's Committee for Peace Initiative in Assam (PCPIA), which demanded a halt to the renewed army offensive against the ULFA, release of five jailed leaders and immediate direct talks with the Centre.
Lachit Bordoloi, PCPIA leader and a member of the ULFA-nominated People's Consultative Group, threatened a "public protest movement� would be launched if the army operations were not stopped and the peace process resumed.
"After the Durga Puja, the PCPIA, a grouping of 27 organisations, will go for a continuous movement in support of the demands as all sections of people in Assam want the peace process to go forward,� Bordoloi told PTI.
"The Government has to pay heed to the people's opinion for political negotiation to solve the ULFA issue.
The Government can't have a truce for just 10-15 days.
Relying again on the army will destroy the peace process, Relying again on the army will destroy the peace process,� he said.
"That the army is not a solution in the north east has been proven time and again.
The government has to find a political solution for lasting peace.� On ULFA's demand for sovereignty for Assam, he said, "Sovereignty is not a condition for the talks but a necessity to the discussion.
During our meetings the Centre had agreed to it.�
About Centre's insistence on a letter from ULFA on holding direct talks, Bordoloi said, "This demand for a letter was raised later.
If the Centre wanted a guarantee or surety from ULFA then it should have raised it before the PCG instead of going to the media.
"We are still very optimistic about the peace talks as we understand the people's backing for a political negotiation,� he added.