A tripartite Memorandum of Settlement was signed in New Delhi among the Centre, the Assam government, and ULFA on December 29, 2023.
The signing event occurred at North Block, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and 16 leaders from the pro-talk faction of ULFA in attendance.
ULFA’s pro-talks faction has agreed to shun violence, disband the organisation, and join the democratic process as part of the peace talks. “This will result in Assam’s long-lasting peace. I apologise for any offence that we may have caused”, a ULFA spokesperson reportedly remarked.
“A historic day for Assam”, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared to the media. 8,700 members of militant groups have signed on to the peace agreement. After three agreements, the tribal insurgency ended. Everyone has embraced the mainstream. ULFA took up weapons after thousands of people, including civilians and security officers, had been killed in the 1980s”.
Speaking on the matter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared, “Today is a great day for the future of Assam”. For many years, Assam and the Northeast experienced conflict. In the last five years, the Northeast has seen nine peace agreements. Northeast now enjoys peace. Over 9,000 cadres have given up, and AFSPA has been eliminated from 85% of Assam”.
“Since 1979 all those who were killed were citizens of the country’s citizens. Today, a package and development projects were decided upon”. Shah was quoted by the media as saying, “All the terms of the settlement will be implemented today with the surrender of 700 cadres, bringing the total number of surrendered cadres to 8,200 cadres”, he added.
Home Minister Amit Shah shared on X with the caption, “A historic day for Assam”.
A historic day for Assam.
Fulfilling PM @narendramodi Ji’s 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
During the 1979 Assam Agitation, which demanded that the Assamese people have their own sovereign state, the ULFA was founded. In addition, the settlement will give the indigenous people land rights and cultural protections, but it is also expected to address a number of long-standing political, economic, and social challenges related to Assam.
“Indeed a landmark occasion in Assam’s history, Dada. Our people longed for permanent peace with ULFA so that the development journey can continue unbridled”, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, while replying to former CM Mr Sarbananda Sonowal, on X.
Indeed a landmark occasion in Assam’s history, Dada. Our people longed for permanent peace with ULFA so that the development journey can continue unbridled.
With the blessings of Hon PM and Hon HM & with peace prevailing in the State, Assam is poised for greater heights. https://t.co/Doksev2Qyb
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 30, 2023
A 12-point charter of requests submitted by the pro-talks faction to the central government in 2012 was eventually addressed earlier this year. The trilateral peace accord on Friday came after a series of talks in April between Rajkhowa’s group and the Centre.
Veteran writer Rajeev Bhattacharya, who has spoken with Paresh Baruah before, said that “this peace deal is certainly a step in the right direction and will contribute to the peace and development of Assam”. Bhattacharya acknowledged that there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the specifics of the arrangement, even though he would not say how “complete” it is. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, however, expressed confidence that a “complete solution” had been achieved after signing the deal. With this tripartite accord, Assam is entering a new era of peace, he declared.
