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Advani rules out Kashmir-type ceasefire in Assam

Nitin Gogoi in Guwahati

Union Home minister L K Advani on Monday ruled out the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire with the banned militant groups in Assam on the lines of the one already operational in Jammu and Kashmir, but said the Centre was willing to have talks with them if they stopped their violence.

"Kashmir is a class by itself. Pakistan's role there is direct and therefore we are proactively dealing with the militant groups there. In Assam a ceasefire has no relevance," the home minister said.

Advani, who has been on a two-day tour of the state since Sunday, told a press conference in Guwahati on Monday morning that the Centre has an open mind about discussions with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom. "But violence has to cease for discussions to begin," Advani emphasised.

The home minister, however, remained vague over the ULFA's demand to include the question of sovereignty on the agenda for any talks. The ULFA has been saying that it will negotiate with the Government of India only if the issue of sovereignty is included on the agenda.

The home minister lauded the ruling Asom Gana Parishad government for its handling of the law and order and the insurgency in the state. "The level of violence has come down in the state except the killing of soft targets like the Hindi-speaking people," Advani said. He met the families of victims of recent massacres in the state in which over 200 people were killed between October and December 2000.

"In our assessment, the militants chose to kill these soft targets to make their presence felt," the home minister said.

Talking about the ceasefire in Nagaland with the Issac-Muivah group of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, the home minister admitted that there has been no substantial achievement in terms of issues with the NSCN. "However, the very fact that the ceasefire has lasted more than three years is in itself a big gain," Advani said. The ceasefire in Nagaland has been in force from July 1997.

The home minister, however, ruled out the extension of the ceasefire area to the neighbouring states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Assam without taking the respective state governments into confidence.

The home minister also denied that a judicial probe, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge to enquire into the alleged politico-militants' nexus in the north-east, has either been ordered or contemplated by the Union home ministry.

This directly contradicts repeated statements made by GK Pillai, joint secretary in the ministry in-charge of the north-east. "There may be complaints lodged with us but there is no investigation against any politician for links with militants in the north-east, " the home minister said categorically.

On the political front, Advani did not rule out or commit anything about a possible alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling AGP in Assam for the forthcoming assembly elections. "Our party president will sit with the high command and leaders from Assam to discuss the question and only then we will decide on the issue," Advani said.

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