Guwahati, Jan. 17: The banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) today said it was willing to follow in the ?footsteps? of the Naga peace process, but added a crucial proviso. It said its commitment to a peaceful solution lay in New Delhi ?handing back independence to the Naga people?.
Commenting on the Naga peace process for the first time since the two NSCN (I-M) leaders arrived in the country last week, the Ulfa said the ?endeavour (Naga talks) will be regarded as the acid test of the sincerity of India to solve the conflicts of our region politically. Otherwise, all hopes for peaceful settlement of the other conflicts will be submerged under mistrust and battle-cry?.
The outfit?s observations on the Naga peace process, which came in the editorial of the latest issue of its mouthpiece Freedom, was a virtual reiteration of its earlier stand on secession.
The Ulfa, which has been waging an armed struggle to free Assam from the ?colonial? yoke of Delhi, said the solution to any conflict in the region was impossible ?without giving back sovereignty?.
?The Ulfa does believe that India will withdraw its occupational forces from Nagaland and return independence to the Naga people with total honour. And it may be the basic hope for the Ulfa and other revolutionary parties to search for a peaceful solution to the Indo-Assam conflict in the same way,? the outfit said.
The Ulfa added that though each of the ?struggles waged by every nation of our region against Indian occupation? was unique, they were bound by ?historical, cultural and emotional bonds?.
?Hence, a sustainable resolution of any conflict will surely be regarded as pathfinder to solve the other conflicts,? the Ulfa said.
But it also accused Delhi of ?trying to hammer a wedge among the revolutionary parties of the region since a very long time as part of its divide-and-destroy policy to escape the fury of a united struggle?.
Significantly, the Ulfa was silent on the NSCN (I-M)?s concept of ?Nagalim? which comprises parts of Assam. The Ulfa had opposed this earlier.
After the extension of the Centre-NSCN (I-M) ceasefire beyond the state of Nagaland in 2001, the Ulfa had issued a statement opposing the Naga outfit?s claim over parts of Assam as well as Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
?We are hopeful that the Naga leaders will review their stand concerning their Nagalim, extended over others? territories. Otherwise, it will reflect their chauvinistic nature,? the Ulfa had said in a statement in July 2001.