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| Wednesday, 24 November 2004 |
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Indian PM rules out talks on "Assam's sovereignty" GUWAHATI, Tuesday (The Hindu,AFP) Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, ruled out any discussion on "Assam's sovereignty" as demanded by the United Liberation Front of Asom. "Assam is an integral part of India. And there should be no doubt about it anybody's mind," Dr. Singh said when reporters asked him about the ULFA's insistence that they would sit for talks if the issue of "Assam's sovereignty" was included in the agenda. Addressing a press conference Dr. Singh told the militant groups to shun violence and come forward for a meaningful dialogue. Earlier addressing the golden jubilee of The Shillong Times, Dr. Singh said: "Our door is always open to all groups who are committed to the economic uplift and the social and political empowerment of the region. There is no issue, no grievance that is so intractable that it cannot be resolved through a patient, constructive dialogue, free from preconditions. This is the only possible way forward. In the final analysis, power in India can only flow from the ballot box, never from the barrel of the gun." On the Centre's reaction to the appeal submitted by the Assamese litterateur Mamoni Raisom Goswami, he said that some informal contacts had been established with ULFA. He announced a special plan assistance of Rs. 240 crores for flood damage repair and infrastructure development during the current financial year. Stating that Rs. 41 crores had been sanctioned for protecting the world's largest river island, Majuli, in the first phase, he said that more funds would follow. Earlier Singh asked Bangladesh to stop anti-Indian militants from crossing into India's revolt-hit northeast and said Myanmar had already agreed to comply with a similar request. "We have sent many representations to Bangladesh and Myanmar not to allow their territories to be used by Indian insurgent groups," Singh told reporters. "We have got positive assurances from Myanmar but have not succeeded as far as Bangladesh is concerned, but we are not going to lose hope," Singh said in Guwahati, the main city in the oil-rich state of Assam, which borders Bangladesh. India says there are 195 militant camps, including training bases, in Bangladesh. Dhaka has denied the charges, alleging in turn that India is sheltering Bangladeshi criminals on its soil. Dozens of rebel groups are fighting for greater autonomy or independence in India's northeast. Singh, who criss-crossed the states of Manipur and Assam since Saturday, said New Delhi was determined to put an end to cross-border militancy both in disputed Kashmir and in the northeast. |
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