Feb 21, 2005

Nagalim: Chances of ULFA-Delhi Talks Dim: NSCN


The Khaplang faction of the NSCN has said that it was not putting any pressure whatsoever on its Assamese ally, the ULFA, to enter into peace talks with New Delhi

The Khaplang faction of the NSCN has said that it was not putting any pressure whatsoever on its Assamese ally, the ULFA, to enter into peace talks with New Delhi. The group has also claimed that it was receiving feelers from kilonsers or ministers of the rival NSCN(IM) with offers to join the organization. "If at all the ULFA has reconciled to the idea of starting peace talks with New Delhi it is not due to pressure from us. But, anything like that can begin only if the ULFA first reaches a ceasefire agreement with the Government," Kughalo Mulatonu, NSCN(K)’s ‘deputy information minister’ told this writer by telephone today.

Mulatonu, speaking from somewhere in Nagaland, said, however, that the chances of an ULFA-Government dialogue was bleak in the near future. "The possibility of talks between New Delhi and the ULFA is dim because the peace talks with the NSCN(IM) has reached a deadlock and this has given out wrong signals to all the rebel organizations in the region," the NSCN(K) leader said. He added that if the ULFA were to seek his group’s assistance at any point in time to act as a facilitator for entering into peace talks with the Government of India, it would be happy to lend its services. "But, I must tell you that the ULFA is a strong group and is quite capable of handling its own affairs," the NSCN(K) leader said. Mulatonu said that the ULFA was still ‘militarily strong’ and denied reports in a section of the media that the NSCN(K) was charging Rs 100,000 per ULFA cadre to train them up in the jungles of Myanmar where the Assamese rebel group has its bases alongside those of its Naga ally. He said several NSCN(IM) ‘ministers’ have expressed their desire to switch sides and join his group. "The peace talks between the NSCN(IM) and the Indian Government has reached a deadlock and having realized that things were not going to move much in the near future, many of their (NSCN-IM) ministers have offered to join us," Mulatonu claimed. He said that a meeting of the NSCN(K) council of ministers that ended yesterday at a place in Nagaland, six kilometres from the border with Myanmar, decided to keep their doors open to let those wanting to cross over come and join the group. "We cannot allow any Naga to waste his or her time for nothing. We welcome those who want to join our group," Mulatonu added. He said that the decision has been conveyed to the NSCN(K) ‘collective leadership’ currently based in Myanmar.

Source: Guwahati