Ulfa leader Mrinal Hazarika in Guwahati on Wednesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Aug. 18: The pro-talks group of Ulfa today said the outfit’s jailed leaders has asked the group to “go slow” on its peace initiative and wait for the leaders to join them.

“This was the reason we have stopped our activities to take forward the peace process,” leader of the pro-talk group, Mrinal Hazarika, told reporters here today.

Hazarika said the pro-talks group held a series of meetings with the jailed leaders in the past few months and it was directed by the leadership to wait for some time so that they (jailed leaders) could join them.

He, however, said that this (“go slow” on the peace process) would not mean that the pro-talks group would wait forever for the leadership to join them.

“Many of our cadres, who are currently lodged at designated camps, are getting frustrated over the delay, if things do not move in the right direction soon we will take our own stand on the issue,” Hazarika said.

Soon after declaring a unilateral ceasefire in June 2008, the Ulfa pro-talks group had started discussions with various organisations to find ways to go ahead with the peace talks with the government.

The group had also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stating a charter of demands.

The group had also been appealing to the Ulfa leadership to come overground and join them in the peace initiative in the “greater interest of Assamese society”.

However, the activities of the pro-talks group were subdued following the arrests of the top leaders of the outfit, including chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in Bangladesh late last year.

Apart from the outfit’s commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua, almost all the central committee members — finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika, foreign secretary, Sasha Choudhury, cultural secretary, Pranati Deka and adviser Bhimkanta Buragohain are lodged in Guwahati jail.

Ulfa vice-president Pradip Gogoi and publicity secretary Mithinga Daimary were released on bail only recently.

Hazarika said all the jailed Ulfa leaders have shown positive response to carry forward the peace process and were ready to hold discussions with the Union government.

The Centre’s interlocutor P.C. Haldar recently held discussions with the jailed leaders to carry forward the peace talks with the proscribed outfit.

The pro-talks group also expressed its views regarding the foreigners’ issue and said that there should be an open discussion on it.

“If March 25, 1971, has been decided as the cut-off date to identify foreigners in Assam, the same rule should be applicable to the rest of the country,” Hazarika said.

“This kind of attitude of the central government only provides grounds for youths to take up arms,” he said.

Hazarika said the group would hold talks with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other organisations on the issue.

“We will hold informal discussions with AASU in this regard,” he added.