Date:08/04/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/08/stories/2005040807651200.htm

National

Amnesty offer a new deceptive trick: ULFA

By Our Special Correspondent

GUWAHATI, APRIL 7 . The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today rejected the pre-Bihu general amnesty offered by the Assam Government to four militant outfits, including the ULFA, and described gesture as "a new deceptive trick."

In its mouthpiece, Freedom, the ULFA said that the Assam Government's announcement was "nothing but a farce" as it has come at a time when noted litterateur Indira Goswami (a.k.a Mamoni Raisom Goswami) and many socio-political organisations and intellectuals of Assam were taking the initiative to bring the outfit and the Centre to the negotiation table on the "sovereignty issue."

The State Government on April 4 issued a notification declaring general amnesty to the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) and the Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) till April 30 to enable the cadres to surrender and return to the mainstream. While the UPDS and DHD have already entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Centre the NDFB has declared a unilateral ceasefire and begun the process of working out the modalities of ground rules of ceasefire with the Centre.

Earlier, the UPDS and DHD also rejected the offer and described it as "another ploy" to delay political negotiation.'

Both the outfits said that the offer meant nothing to them as they had already entered into ceasefire agreement with the centre and were demanding political negotiations.

"It is not the first time that the colonial rulers have made the plot of hoaxing the common people of Assam. But each time they have experienced failure.''