NEW DELHI, May 7 ? Reiterating Centre?s conditional offer for talks with the outlawed ULFA, Union Minister of State for Home, I D Swami today while ruling out the possibility of unilateral ceasefire said the offer has to come from the militant outfit. Talking to a group of newsmen on the sidelines of the national seminar organized by All Assam Students Union (AASU), the Minister said the outfit has to first abjure violence and give up arms before negotiations. ?It is the first stated policy of the Government of India to talk to any militant outfit provided they give up violence,? he said.
On the often-repeated demand for declaration of unilateral ceasefire by Government of India, the Minister ruled it out for now citing an assessment made by the Union Home Ministry that the militants of the outfit were on the run. ?But when such a situation comes we will consider,? Sri Swami assured. The Minister further drew a parallel with the ongoing ceasefire pact with the NSCN(I-M) arguing that offer for ceasefire pact ? as it happened in case of the Naga outfit ? has to come from the other side. The ULFA should first come forward and give up arms for peace in Assam, the Minister said reflecting the hardened stand of the Home Minister. The Minister also revealed that though India was keen to launch joint operations in Bhutan to flush out the militants the Government there was yet to seek India?s assistance in this regard. Suggestion or offer will have to come from them, he said.
The Minister asserting that Bhutan has been cooperating with India and has assured not to allow the militant outfits to misuse its soil, said the problem of ULFA militants running camps in the country was as much theirs? as India?s. The Minister also sought to set the record straight about the ongoing peace negotiations with the NSCN (I-M) saying that though the Centre was willing to guarantee safe passage to the I-M leadership, the cases and arrest warrants against the leaders would stay. The arrest warrants are in the courts and Government on its own cannot withdraw the cases, he clarified.
However, he said the government was prepared to approach the Court to ensure non-execution of the warrant of arrest against the NSCN (I-M) leadership. ?We will ensure them a safe passage? he said. The Minister also denied that the Government of India has withdrawn the ban imposed against the NSCN (I-M).