Centre, Assam govt and ULFA to sign Memorandum of Settlement on Dec 29

The peace agreement will take care of a host of long-standing political, economic, and social issues concerning Assam. It will also provide cultural safeguards and land rights to the indigenous people of the State.

New Delhi:The stage is all set for the signing of a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) between the Government of India, the Government of Assam and representatives of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA-pro talk) in New Delhi on Friday aiming to pave the way to end decades-old insurgency in Northeast. Making an official announcement, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that Home Minister Amit Shah will be present during the signing of the peace agreement.

“A Memorandum of Settlement will be signed between the Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” the Home Ministry said. The signing of the peace agreement will be held at North Block at 5 pm.

A 16-member delegation of the outfit led by its chairman Aurobindo Rajkhowa as well as representatives from several other communities will be present during the signing of the memorandum of settlement. “The peace agreement will take care of a host of long-standing political, economic and social issues concerning Assam. It will also provide cultural safeguards and land rights to the indigenous people,” a government official told ETV Bharat.

All 16 members of the outfit already reached the national capital and they held a final review meeting over the peace agreement with IB director Tapan Deka, government interlocutor and former special director (IB) AK Mishra and several other Home Ministry officials on Thursday. Two top leaders of the pro-talk faction, including Anup Chetia and Sashdhar Choudhary, have been in New Delhi since last week and gave the final touches to the peace agreement, along with government interlocutors.

Significantly, the hardline faction of the ULFA, led by its elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, will not be part of the agreement as he has been consistently rejecting the olive branch offered by the government. The ULFA was formed in 1979 with the demand for a “sovereign Assam”. Since then, it has been involved in subversive activities, which compelled the Central government to declare it a banned organisation in 1990.

It is worth mentioning that the pro-talk faction of Ulfa led by Rajkhowa began its unconditional talks with the Central government way back in 2011, despite opposition from hardliner Paresh Baruah. The Rajkhowa faction joined peace talks with the government on September 3, 2011, after it signed an agreement for Suspension of Operations (SoO) with the Central and State governments.