ULFA favours plebiscite over Assam sovereignty demand

GUWAHATI, February 26: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has said his organisation favours a plebiscite in Assam to decide once and for all whether the people support his outfit's demand for sovereignty or prefer to stay with India. The ULFA leader, however, made it clear that any plebiscite would have to be held under the supervision of a "neutral country or an international body", and with an electoral list comprising only indigenous people. In an exclusive interview with TheNewspaperToday through e-mail, Rajkhowa, 45, on Thursday answered questions on the ULFA's stand on a possible dialogue with the Indian government, its role in the coming Assembly elections, charges of ULFA-politician nexus, and the issue of its stay and exit from Bhutan. The ULFA for the first time stated categorically that it was against any illegal influx into Assam from Bangladesh, Nepal and elsewhere. Rajkhowa said a solution to the cause for which his organisation was engaged in an armed struggle could be evolved through negotiations with the Indian government. At the same time, he said his outfit "firmly believed" in its ability to achieve a military victory over the Indian Army "if we chalk out a proper overall strategy against it". Asked about the ULFA's latest stand on the issue of a possible dialogue with New Delhi, Rajkhowa said: "The talks must be held in a third country under the mediation of United Nations representatives, and the sovereignty of Assam must be on the agenda of talks. However, during the recent hue and cry over talks, the ULFA even expressed its willingness to review two of its conditions, if the third one, that is the sovereignty of Assam, was on the agenda of talks." The ULFA leader stated in no uncertain terms that his organisation was against any organisation or individual from Assam acting as an intermediary between it and the government of India as in Nagaland where NGOs like the Church and others have played a key role in brokering peace. He also indicated that the ULFA might oppose the forthcoming Assembly elections in Assam in April. Asked about the outfit's role in the coming polls, Rajkhowa replied: "In the strict stance (sic), we will try to resist any function or programme of occupation India in Assam from and within our limited resources. Coming Assembly election will not be defined otherwise." On the charges of politicians or political parties in the state having a nexus with the outfit, Rajkhowa said: "The sole aim of the Indian political parties is to grab power. As ULFA is the basic force in the political arena of Assam, they (political parties) try to get advantage airing our name, for or against, just before an election. Indeed, they all are the same wine in different bottles." The ULFA has been accused by certain quarters in Assam of deliberately ignoring the issue of illegal influx from Bangladesh in view of the general belief that its top leaders operate out of that country. For the first time, the ULFA has made its stand clear on the issue of illegal infiltration into Assam. Replying to a question on this issue, Rajkhowa said: "In fact, many organisations are using this issue of influx as a means of their political survival. We, in no ambiguous terms, want to say that we are vehemently against any illegal influx from Bangladesh, Nepal, India (perhaps meaning from states outside Assam) or elsewhere." Rajkhowa said the ULFA would resume talks with the Royal Government authorities in Bhutan on the question of its stay or exit from the Himalayan kingdom (top ULFA leaders held two rounds of talks with Bhutan's home minister earlier). He said ULFA had, in fact, already started the process of withdrawing from Bhutan to locations outside the kingdom. The ULFA chairman admitted his organisation has a large support base worldwide but denied links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Khmer Rouge. Some ULFA leaders in the Nineties had talked about the outfit's contacts with the LTTE while security agencies had reports that the outfit had purchased military hardware from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia through a third party. On the ULFA's global allies, Rajkhowa said: "It is very difficult to mention the long list of our worldwide support base." He, however, said the ULFA support base could be seen in the fact that New Delhi could not get detained ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia extradited to India from Bangladesh.