Paresh Barua not opposed to talks

Intellectuals from Assam today formed a committee to facilitate talks between the Centre and the ULFA and said the group's military chief Paresh Barua was not opposed to talks.
   
"The intellectuals have taken the initiative to form the committee after Paresh Barua has assured us that he has no objection to talks and wants a respectable solution to Assam's problems," said Sahitya Akademi litterateur Hiren Gohain, chief of the 11-member committee.
   
The committee had been formed to create a conducive atmosphere for talks and help restore peace in the state, he said.
   
"There is also no difference of opinion between Barua and jailed ULFA leaders, including its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa for a negotiated solution to Assam's problems," Gohain said.
   
The committee comprises noted litterateur Indira Goswami, former Peoples Consultative Group (PCG) members Lachit Bordoloi and Dilip Patgiri and Sahitya Akademi award winner author Harekrishna Deka among others.
   
The PCG was formed by the ULFA in 2005 to facilitate talks for a negotiated settlement with the Centre but later its members resigned as the process did not progress further after two rounds of talks with the Centre.