Skip to content Skip to navigation

Another Logjam in Peace Process

Our Correspondent
Guwahati: A war of word between Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and peace broker Mamoni Roisom Goswami may put the peace process in yet another logjam.

Talking to a vernacular daily on its Monday issue, the award winning writer says she is not satisfied the way Mr Gogoi urges her to rush to Bangladesh.

“If need be I am ready to leave for Bangladesh with Rebati but it must be a decent appeal.”

“Let the Government make necessary arrangement to go to Bangladesh. I will do it tomorrow itself. But it will not be my personal initiative. The Chief Minister knows: how a top ranked leader of a banned outfit can be met.”

She rues that she finds it difficult it ti understand what Mr Gogoi says these days.

Notably, in a recent press conference Mr Gogoi said, “let Mamoni Raisom Goswami meet Paresh Baruah or Arabinda Rajkhowa and convince them to come forward for talk, as direct contact with them is necessary for talks.”

Mr Gogoi also said it was strange that Mamoni Raisom Dr Goswami was maintaining silence on the Hajo blast. According to Mr Gogoi, “she has not condemned the incident, which I feel is rather strange.”

It may be recalled the entire peace process was revived recently while a forum headed by the professor with Delhi University called on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in Delhi and urged him to revive the process.

When the delegation called on National Security Adviser MK Narayanan sought a direct proposal to the Government from the ULFA top brass to this effect.

The Chief Minister further asserted that the Centre’s stand on talks with the ULFA was clear, he said direct contact with the top leadership of the outfit was necessary for the purpose.

Comments

Sanjoy Hazarika's picture

What is this" peace process" that people are writing about and so excited about, especially the media. You have a group of well-meaning people who do not have any independent contact with Ulfa, as far as I can see, and certainly no clear authorization from them to negotiate. All that this group is doing is requesting the Govt. of India to "talk". The GOI has said it won't until Ulfa leaders come for talks unconditionally. This, the latter have said, they won't. So what peace process are we talking about -- it has no support from either side and is obviously not regarded seriously by too many people in the state and other parts of the NE. It would be better is the media took a dispassionate look at the whole issue instead of rushing into print or broadcast every time. In this case, we have a group of well-meaning citizens wanting to promote peace, which of course is commendable but does not go very far. It is important to note that the PCG, which has set up by Ulfa, may be defunct but it has not been disbanded.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Engineers body to observe golden jubilee from Nov

15 Oct 2007 - 4:58am | pbaruah
The Institution of Engineers here has arranged to celebrate its year-long golden jubilee starting November next.According to information, a number of programmes have been lined up, like science...

8 dead after consuming liquor

19 Apr 2009 - 2:07pm | editor
In yet another tragic incident of consuming liquor, altogether eight persons died after consuming poisonous country liquor on Sunday in Dibriugarh district.According to information, the incident took...

We’re the World; we’re the Music!

29 Jul 2009 - 6:58pm | Aiyushman Dutta
Almost five decades back, virtuoso saxophonist Albert Ayler had proclaimed: “Music is the healing force in the universe”. Ayler was right on mark when he said the above words for his...

Poetry: My Beloved Brother

25 Mar 2009 - 10:00pm | Ran
O' my beloved brother; You are a Divine soul, Although departed but Beautiful and bold. Happy were the days; Life together we faced...

Other Contents by Author

A home ministry team visited Dhubri to take stock of the prevailing law and order scene in the district in the wake of the spreading ethnic clash. Led by home ministry’s joint secretary attached to the north eastern region, Sambhu Singh the team left for Dhubri at 12-30 in the afternoon from Guwahati with a group of high level officials of para military forces. The team reviewed the situation with senior civil and police officials during the day long visit.
Three persons died and several others have been injured at an incident of landslide on the National Highway leading to Shillong on Thursday. The incident took place in Byrnihat at around 5 in the morning when two trucks and a hut were covered with mud on the roadside. Meghalaya policemen rushed to the spot and rescued some of people. The injured people have been sent to the hospital. The entire portion has been undergoing expansion work. Meanwhile, the landslide has resulted in a huge traffic snarl to and from Guwahati.
A magistrate was seriously injured on his stock taking visit to Kokrajhar on Thursday. The incident took place in the morning when circle officer Bipul Saikia was on the way to inspect the refugee camp in Kokrajhar. All of a sudden, unidentified miscreants started pelting stones at his vehicles leaving him seriously injured. His vehicle was also damaged in the incident.
Assam governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik has appealed to the trouble mongers to abandon the path of violence in any form and work for the promotion of peace, amity; communal harmony. Patnaik, who is currently in Delhi has expressed his deep shock at the on going strings of disturbances in Kokrajhar and Chirang where 41 people lost their lives. In a statement, he stated that the growth, progress and prosperity of the people are totally dependant on the maintenance of peace, amity and good neighborliness’ among all communities.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is on a stock taking visit to Kokrajhar on Thursday five days after the ethnic clash claimed 42 people in BTAD areas. Gogoi, who flew on helicopter from Guwahati reached the trouble torn Kokrajhar at 11 in the morning and met senior civil, police and para military officials. He further visited a few refugee camps to oversee the relief measures in the district. Significantly, he skipped his proposed visit to Gossaigaon during his day long visit to BTAD areas. Over two lakh people from 400 villages are living in some 120 relief camps after moving out of the violence hit areas.
Fresh orgy of clashes reported in Bagsa where three people have been on Thursday. The incident took place in Bennabari area under Musolpur police station where three persons have been shot at in the wee hours. They have been rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, 13 columns of the Army have been deployed in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Dhubri and Bongaigaon. Idefinite curfew and shoot-at-sight orders are also in place in these four districts that are most affected by the violence.
Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is visiting the Kokrajhar, the worst-hit in the ethnic clash where over 25 people were killed during the last five days. Gogoi is leaving for Kokrajhar in the morning where he is scheduled to hold a high level meeting of army, police and civil heavyweights. Apart from this, Gogoi is scheduled to visit a few refugee camps in the district where displaced people are pouring in. Meanwhile, five cabinet ministers are camping in the trouble torn areas to monitor the situation.
Army on Thursday claimed to have partially brought the situation under control in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts. There is no report of any fresh orgy of clash during the last 12 hours. Meanwhile, passenger and goods trains services had partially resumed on Wednesday evening and the delayed trains were expected to resume their journey with the ‘improvement’ in the situation. Earlier a total of 30 passenger trains and 20 goods trains carrying grains and medicines were stranded along a thin passage that connects Assam from rest of India.
The ethnic flare up forces thousands of people in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri to flee to north Bengal. These people, mostly, taking shelter in Alipurduar. But road transport in the West Bengal border district was severally hit near Kumargram area in Jalpaiguri district after borders areas were sealed. A 12-year-old girl was admitted to the Alipurduar Hospital after being shot at by the miscreants on Wednesday.
Amarjyoti Kalita was brought back to Guwahati a day after Assam police got five days transit remand of the main accused in the GS Road case. A three member team led by senior police officer Ranjan Bhuyan, landed at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in the evening. He was straightly rushed to the Panbazar police station where the special investigation team set up to probe the case start interrogating him in this connection. He was handed over to Assam police in Varansi on Tuesday when he was produced before a local court.