NEW DELHI, Nov 15 ? The outlawed ULFA is willing to sit for dialogue with the Government of India unconditionally but wants sovereignty as the core issue of the discussion. This was conveyed by Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami to Prime Minister?s security adviser, MK Narayanan. The preliminary meeting with the Prime Minister?s Office (PMO) official was described as cordial and Dr Goswami was assured of an appointment with the Prime Minister in a day or two.
The over-one-hour-long meeting between the Prime Minister?s security pointsman and Dr Goswami ended with preliminary discussion on the preparation of ground work for a possible peace dialogue. Dr Goswami handed over a copy of the appeal she had drafted. Today?s discussion centred around the draft appeal, in which the eminent author has called for unconditional dialogue with the ULFA without deviating from the core issue of sovereignty as desired by ULFA commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah.
She has also mentioned about the long hardship suffered by the people of the State and the need for resolution of the conflict. The response from the Prime Minister could be in form of an appeal to the insurgent outfit when Dr Manmohan Singh visits Assam later this month. The tricky part for the Centre would be to accept the demand for discussing the core issue, as suggested by Dr Goswami.
Dr Goswami, however, was clear about what she had written and told newsmen that there was nothing wrong in hearing out what ULFA leadership had to say. ?The Government of India is free to ask the ULFA leadership to explain their demand for sovereignty,? She said.
The outfit has already dropped the demand for negotiations in a third country and in presence of an UN observer, she pointed out. The talks itself could be unconditional but on the agenda the core issue of sovereignty has to be kept, she asserted.
When asked if she was willing to act as a mediator, Dr Goswami said that her understanding was that there was no room for a mediator and Government of India and ULFA could start dialogue directly. ?In any case I am there in whichever capacity ULFA wants me to be,? She added.
Dr Goswami?s meeting with PMO official created quite a flutter when a TV news channel reported that ULFA has dropped its demand for sovereignty and was willing to sit for dialogue unconditionally. It was later clarified by Dr Goswami that there was no change in the situation and her appeal was clear about what the outfit wanted.
Meanwhile, according to a PTI report Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today welcomed the reported offer by ULFA for 'unconditional? peace talks with the government and said he had no objection to sovereignty being discussed ?as a subject? only in the parleys. ?Sovereignty per se could be discussed as a subject in the negotiations and also the reasons behind the proscribed outfit?s demand for sovereignty,? he told reporters here.
However, he said, the sovereignty of Assam could not be negotiated. Stating that he was not aware if Jnanpith awardee and eminent Assamese writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami would be the mediator in the talks, Gogoi said it was not known as to what would be her status as she was the only one communicating with ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua.
Appreciating ULFA's willingness for talks, the Chief Minister said the Centre would certainly respond positively to its offer. The Assam government is not involved in the proposed talks and as such he would not insist to be included in the talks. At some stage, the state government would certainly be involved in the parleys when the details would come up for discussion.