'Create jobs to stop youths from taking up arms'

Anup Chetia was on the list of "most wanted" rebel leaders in India for years since the birth of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a banned insurgent group, in 1979. "Sovereign Assam" was Ulfa's core demand. Chetia, one of the founders of Ulfa and its general secretary, was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997 and was jailed. He was deported to India in 2015 and subsequently joined the peace talks led by Ulfa Chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, which began in 2011. Talking to Sumir Karmakar of DH, Chetia said that apart from signing final agreements with the rebel groups, the government must focus more on job creation to dissuade youths from taking up weapons and giving birth to new insurgent groups.

Ulfa has been in talks with the government since 2011. What is the status of the talks as of today?

Our talks with the Centre remained stuck since 2020 mainly on two major demands – our demands for the constitutional safeguards for the indigenous people of Assam and an upper house in the state’s Legislative Assembly to ensure representation of the indigenous people. But the talks gained momentum after the Centre appointed A K Mishra (a former director of the Intelligence Bureau) as the new interlocutor. Since March this year, we have had three rounds of talks. The talks are moving in the right direction. The solution depends entirely on the Centre.

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But another Ulfa group led by your former colleague Paresh Baruah is still out of the peace process with the demand for "sovereign Assam”.

The government is trying to initiate dialogue with them too. We can only hope that both parties reach a point where they can initiate dialogue and bring about a solution.

You are in touch with groups in other north-eastern states, who are also in ceasefire and holding talks for long. Why is the final solution taking so long?

Different states have different problems. In Nagaland, the problems and the demands are different from us. The NSCN (IM) is demanding a separate flag and a separate constitution for the Nagas. This is beyond the parameters of the Constitution of India. Our demand is not against the Constitution and democratic principles. The government can amend the Constitution if required to ensure constitutional safeguards of the indigenous people. The Constitution of India allows amendments to suit people's needs. The people of Assam want such constitutional safeguards.

It has become a trend in the Northeast that once an agreement is signed, another group comes up and resumes violence. Why is the trend so?

Things have improved in the past few years. But some vested interest persons in the same groups, which are pursuing peace processes with the government, are still forming new groups for personal benefits. There could be genuine reasons too in some cases.

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The Centre wants to end the conflicts in the Northeast by 2024. What, according to you, should be done to end the insurgency problem in the region?

Unemployment is a serious issue in the northeastern region and this may push the youths toward taking up arms. The Centre and the state government should focus more on the creation of jobs to stop our youths from taking up arms.