Pro-talks ULFA signs peace pact with Centre, Assam govt
ULFA) on Friday signed a peace agreement with the Centre and the Assam government and agreed to surrender weapons, shun violence, disband the organisation and join the democratic process.
Union home minister Amit Shah, who was present along with Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the signing of the accord here, said it was a big day for the people of Assam.
A 29-member pro-talks ULFA delegation signed the agreement.
«Assam has suffered for a long due to the violence of ULFA and 10,000 people have lost their lives in this violence since 1979,» the home minister said, adding that ULFA, the oldest insurgent group of Assam, agreed to abjure violence, disband the organisation and join the democratic process.
Shah said a big development package will be given to Assam as part of the accord. Every clause of the pact will be implemented fully, he added.
«I want to assure ULFA representatives that...a programme will be made in a time-bound manner to fulfill everything, without you asking for it. Under MHA, a committee will be formed, which will work with the Assam govt to fulfill this agreement,» he said, adding violence in Assam has come down by 87%, deaths by 90% and kidnappings by 84%.
Sarma termed the accord «historic» and said it has fructified due to the guidance and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Shah.
The accord came after 12 years of unconditional negotiations between the ULFA faction, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, and the government, officials said. The hardline faction of ULFA, headed by Paresh Baruah, is not a part of the agreement.
Chronology of ULFA Insurgency
- April 7, 1979: United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) formed at Rang Ghar, an Ahom era amphitheatre, in Assam's
