GUWAHATI, Nov 27 ? Militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today alleged that the Government of India was maintaining double standard on the issue of talks and demanded a plebiscite on the issue of sovereignty of Assam. In a statement released to the media on the occasion of protest day observed by the outfit, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa assured that they would follow the verdict of the plebiscite and the Government of India should also follow the same.
Rajkhowa said that the ULFA has been trying to solve the issue through peaceful means through dialogues, as ?we know that war is not a solution but a tool of solution.? He said that over the years, the ULFA had very bad experience of its efforts to solve the problem through dialogues.
Referring to the recent statement of Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on the issue of talks, he said that the statement proved that the Government of India is not serious on peaceful solution of the problem. He said that on one hand, the Government of India called for talks without any pre-condition, but at the same time the Prime Minister imposed pre-condition for talks by ruling out the possibility of talks on the issue of sovereignty of Assam.
The ULFA chairman expressed the view that though the Prime Minister tried to win over the people of Assam by claiming that he is a representative of Assam, ?he is the Prime Minister of India and not of Assam and development of Assam is impossible under him.?
He, however, said that Dr Singh is not only a politician, but also an intellectual and hoped that he would be able to realise the hopes and aspirations of the people of the State. He also asserted that the ULFA is keen on solving the problems through talks and that is why the outfit supported the move of noted litterateur Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami to initiate talks.
Rajkhowa said that though colonial rule by India over Assam has been going on since 1947, it added a new dimension from November 28, 1990 as the Government of India imposed Army rule on the people of Assam and since then, the Government of India has been treating the protests of the people of Assam as a law and order problem.
In the statement, the ULFA chairman referred to the widespread protest by the people of Manipur against the killing of Manorama Devi. He said that over the years, the Government of India has been using the black laws to suppress the voices of the people of Assam and violated the fundamental and human rights of the masses.
Referring to the Assam agitation, the ULFA chairman said that the Government of India also ignored the six year long agitation by not implementing the Accord signed in 1985.