Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said the government had got ?some positive signals? from Ulfa leaders for holding peace talks, but the process could not start unless there was a formal communication from them.
?We have been getting some positive signals from the Ulfa leaders. But we are waiting for a formal communication from them in this regard. Talks cannot start unless there is a formal communication from their (Ulfa ) side,? he said.
The chief minister said he would not mind whether Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Barua came (for talks) or not. ?I don?t mind if he does not come. He is still outside our network. If he comes, it is well and good,?? he said. ??We are trying to persuade everyone.?
Describing the arrest of Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa as one of the biggest breakthroughs in the past year, Gogoi said, ?We have been able to catch most of the top leaders, including Arabinda Rajkhowa and Raju Barua.? Rajkhowa was picked up from Bangladesh and arrested in Meghalaya inside the Indo-Bangla border on December 5.
When pointed out that Rajkhowa had said he would not sit for talks with handcuffs on, the chief minister said once they (Ulfa leaders) sent a formal communication, the government would hold talks in a dignified way.
?Once they are willing to talk, we will talk with full dignity. But there will be no talks if they keep insisting on sovereignty. There is no point in wasting time. The people of Assam do not want sovereignty, and they (the people) have been repeatedly asserting this by taking part in the elections,? he added.
Asserting that Ulfa had lost its support base, Gogoi said, ?Earlier, people were scared. They did not have the courage to speak out against the Ulfa . Today everybody is speaking openly. People must come out, otherwise how will the militants know that there is no support??