GUWAHATI, June 22 - �The ULFA has faltered on many occasions in its struggle to achieve independence for the State of Assam as its method of struggle remained debatable, but the entire issue is still relevant even in the face of the changing times in today�s world,� said Anup Chetia, general secretary of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
Addressing a gathering at the Kanaklal Baruah auditorium of the Assam State Museum here today on the occasion of the launching of his poetry collection, Karabandee, the top ULFA leader, who had been imprisoned at the Rajshahi Jail in Bangladesh for nearly 20 years, today sought forgiveness from all the people who lost their kith and kin in the hands of ULFA cadres throughout the State.
Lamenting that lack of an internal control mechanism among the various cadres of the outfit at different times led to many unfortunate and heart-rending incidents, including killings, Chetia remarked that the struggle for a sovereign Assam is at a crossroads now, though the concept has become somewhat misplaced.
Urging the intelligentsia, media and the common people of Assam to suggest and advise the outfit at this crucial period when the ULFA is involved in peace talks, the ULFA leader, who was among the few who gave birth to the armed struggle, stressed the need to relocate the movement in the context of the demographic and other crises currently plaguing the indigenous people of the State.
Reminiscing the birth and progress of the ULFA since its inception in 1979, Chetia�s candid speech revealed many hitherto unknown facts about the people and the activities behind the outfit for the last many years.
Several distinguished people, including parliamentarian Kumar Dipak Das, poet Anis-uz Zaman, Arup Barbara, Dilip Patgiri, former ULFA leader Sunil Nath, among others, attended the function.
The poetry collection has been published jointly by NL Publications and Faculty Books of Panbazar and will be distributed by Bhabani Books.
