[Assam] Assam’s IDENTITY is written in GLODENLETTERS from PRAGJYOTISH (meaning a place beyond recorded time)days to 600 years of a Sovereign Kingdom, capable of resisting the even mighty Mughals AND it is India’s hands dripping with innocent Assamese blood.

[Bartta Bistar]

*IN EXCHANGE *

*http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060815/asp/opinion/story_6611658.asp*

Goodwill gestures make sense only if they are reciprocated. There is nothing
objectionable about New Delhi's 'gesture' of temporarily suspending the
counter-insurgency operations by the army in Assam. Only superficially, it
is a pre-Independence Day 'gesture' to the United Liberation Front of Asom.
The real context must be the initiative to persuade the rebel outfit to join
the peace talks. True, the Ulfa, like several other insurgent groups in the
North-east, routinely call for a "boycott" of the Independence Day
celebrations. It is also true that, despite sporadic violence, such calls
rarely receive a popular response. It would be wrong, therefore, to see the
decision to suspend the army's operations as an attempt to avoid such
violence. It should be seen as a political move to take the current peace
initiative further. The questions as to whether it is actually a ceasefire
or how long it will last are secondary to this central concern. The curious
thing about the decision is that it comes at a time when the violence
unleashed by the Ulfa has increased. That explains why even sections in the
state government or the army are somewhat surprised at New Delhi's decision.
Clearly, the Centre sees it as a gamble worth the risks.

The onus now is on the Ulfa to respond to the government's gesture. Whether
it allows the people to peacefully participate in the Independence Day
celebrations will give some indication of its response. But the really
positive response would be the rebels' participation in the peace talks. The
Ulfa-appointed peoples' consultative committee has been arguing that a
ceasefire could set the stage for the rebels' direct participation in the
peace talks. It is up to these chosen members of the Assamese civil society
to persuade the Ulfa to do so. The Centre's decision has given them an
opportunity that the rebels should not miss if they are really serious about
giving peace a chance. Even the Ulfa's other demand — the release of five of
its leaders from prison — should not be a major problem for New Delhi if the
rebels decide to join the talks table. Whichever way the rebels decide will
make or mar the chances of an early resolution of the conflict in Assam. For
far too long Assam has seen innocent people being killed, oil pipelines
being blown off and the violence holding the state's economy to ransom.
Peace and dialogue may give Assam an identity that the rebellion never can.



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