By India Blooms News Service Dec 30, 2023
New Delhi/IBNS: A tripartite peace deal was signed in Delhi on Friday between the Centre, the Assam government, and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in which the insurgent group in the northeast agreed to abjure the path of violence.
The ULFA (Independent) faction led by Paresh Baruah remains opposed to talks.
The peace deal with the oldest insurgent group of Assam attempts to address issues such as illegal immigration, land rights for indigenous communities, and a financial package for Assams development.
Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters in Delhi that the Centre will ensure to look into all the reasonable demands by ULFA and will try to meet those in a time-bound manner.
ULFA the oldest insurgent group of Assam agreed to abjure the path of violence. Speaking on the signing of a memorandum of settlement with ULFA. https://t.co/6H1DIHmmHy
Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 29, 2023
He announced that ULFA as an organisation would stand disbanded.
We want to assure the ULFA leadership that their trust in the Centre to ensure the success of the peace process will be honoured, Shah said, and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing peace and stability to the northeast.
Shah said the removal of the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act (AFSPA) from many areas of Assam and other northeast states is a testament that insurgency is nearly extinct in the region.
A historic day for Assam. Fulfilling PM @narendramodi Jis vision for a prosperous, peaceful and developed Northeast, today we have arrived at a landmark resolution to the ULFA insurgency problem of Assam. The Government of India and the Government of Assam have signed a pic.twitter.com/bWVOnEKOdo
Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 29, 2023
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who sat beside Shah, said the peace deal with ULFA will solve the problem of insurgency in the region to a large extent.
Founded on April 7, 1979, in Sivasagar, Assam, ULFA emerged to establish an independent sovereign state for the indigenous Assamese people. The group began its armed operations in the late 1980s, led by figures such as Paresh Baruah, Arabinda Rajkhowa, and Anup Chetia.