ULFA Signs Historic Pact With Centre But Paresh-Barua Faction Abstains: What Does The Pact Entail?

In what is being touted as a significant milestone in Assam's journey towards peace and development, there has been a 'landmark resolution to the ULFA insurgency problem of Assam.'

The Centre, the Assam government and a key faction of Assam¡¯s oldest insurgent group signed a tripartite peace agreement on 29 December. But a major extremist faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), led by Paresh barua, has stayed away from the agreement.

PTI

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Except one person (Paresh Baruah) who is leading the anti-talks faction of ULFA, all the founding members of the outfit were here in Delhi today... They have assured us that ULFA will be disbanded, they will leave the designated camps where they were staying (after coming forward for talks in 2011), they will deposit their arms and 726 cadres will join the mainstream."

On Saturday, 30 December, Paresh Barua who is the leader of the ULFA (independent) said, "The outcome of the talks is zero. We are not dismayed, discouraged or surprised by this. We don¡¯t feel like commenting on it. For me the deal is less descriptive and more ruminative."

Who signed the ULFA pact and what does it entail?

The faction of ULFA led by Arabinda Rajkhowa signed a peace pact with the Centre and the Assam government, agreeing to shun violence, surrender all arms and disband the organisation.

ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa with other leaders/ BCCL

These are the significant points that the agreement includes:

• ULFA will hand over all arms and disband within a month
• ULFA will vacate designated camps and submit a list of cadres within a week
• The government has promised a lump sum payment to cadres, funding of their economic activities, skill and vocational training, and recruitment in government jobs as per their eligibility. Criminal cases for non-heinous cases could also be withdrawn
• The deal also promises Rs 10 lakhs each to family members of 31 ULFA cadres who have been missing for over two decades.
• The government has also agreed to a key ULFA demand which is to ¡°expedite the process¡± of giving Schedule Tribe (ST) status to six communities from the state-Tai Ahom, Koch Rajbongshi, Chutiya, Moran, Muttock, Tea Tribes
• On NRC, the document states that foreigners detected after preparation of a ¡°corrected and error-free¡± National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be dealt as per law of land.
• The agreement notes a list of 68 projects to be implemented by the Centre in Assam, such as setting up of specific railway lines and roads, measures to control flood and soil erosion, laying of oil and gas pipelines, setting up of industrial estates and a research centre for nanotechnology.

What is the ULFA and what has been the history of their demands?

The ULFA was set up in 1979 as an armed separatist outfit with the demand for a "sovereign Assam" consisting of indigenous Assamese people. It began as an ¡°anti-foreigner¡± agitation against the influx of undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh.

By the 1980s, ULFA had launched armed operations and by the 1990s, it was considered one of the deadliest outfits.

The Rajkhowa-led faction joined peace talks with the government in 2011, while the hardline Paresh Baruah faction of the ULFA is anti-talks.

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