A crucial dialogue between the Centre and outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which can pave the way for permanent peace in Assam may     take place in mid-October as the underground outfit expressed its desire to come to the negotiating table.

Jnanpith award winner Indira Goswami, who for quite some time now was trying to bring ULFA to negotiating table informed that ULFA commander-in-chief called her from an unknown destination and expressed his desire for talks.It was bit surprised as he had asked me to contact the PMO. I immediately contacted the PMO and then briefed National Security Adviser M K Narynanan. He sought some time and after some time gave the green signal.According to Ms Goswami, the ULFA C-in-Chad informed that an eight-member team would go for negotiations to finalise the modalities as well as terms of the prospective ceasefire.

Efforts were on for a negotiated settlement between the Centre and ULFA were on for a long time. In early nineties one such move was mooted. Five ULFA leaders were flown to Delhi and for a meeting with the Prime Minister. At that meeting with the then Prime Minister, the late P. V. Narasimha Rao, the ULFA leaders agreed to shun the path of violence. However, the ULFA suffered a split soon after that as the hardliners within the organisation were not interested in negotiated settlement.

Since then the hardliners kept on acting as a stumbling block to any peace initiatives. To scuttle the peace moves ULFA placed few conditions before the Centre. Its main demand was that ¡¥sovereignty issue¡¦ should be discussed. Other demands of the organisation were that the talks should be held in a third country and a neutral observer should be present during negotiations. However, the Centre rejected all the demands and expressed its desire for an unconditional dialogue.

Now, with the ULFA agreeing for a discussion, it seems that it has dropped all such conditions. Yet, the ruling Congress in Assam has reacted cautiously to this unexpected developments. A government spokesperson informed that the Chief Minister would like to react after some time as he was watching the developments keenly.

The offer became sweeter as ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in a recent statement accused the Centre for not holding talks.It appears that government of India is not interested in holding peace talks. If they were sincere, by now we should have got a response from New Delhi,¡¨ he said. ULFA chairman further revealed that in early July the organization sent a formal letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offering to hold talks if the government agrees to discuss the outfit¡¦s core demand of sovereignty or independence.

Interestingly, the offer to hold talks with the Centre came at a  time when Bangladesh is facing immense international pressure to  act tough on the fundamentalists, who are indulging in all sorts of terrorist activities. Though the neighbouring country is denying the fact that its soil is being used by Indian rebels, it¡¦s a fact that all top leaders of various underground groups active in the North-Eastern part of the country have taken shelters in Bangladesh.

Earlier, ULFA set up its base in Bhutan. But since Operation All Clear, the outfit is looking for safe hideouts from where it can carry out its subversive activities easily.  With Bhutan hideouts gone and Bangladesh coming under international pressure, ULFA, beyond doubt, is in a tight spot.Moreover, popular cry for peace has also put ULFA in a bind. The people of Assam, on number of occasions, made it clear that they want violence to come to an end. But as ULFA was ignoring the popular sentiment, it was fast loosing grounds in the State.

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