Daimary slams amnesty offer but ULFA to talk

‘‘We had been repeatedly requesting the Bhutan government to act as a mediator and convince New Delhi to agree to focus its discussions on our main demand for sovereignty. Bhutan sought time from us on this,’’ Baruah said. He made it clear that mediators from within India were not welcome as ‘‘we cannot trust them to be neutral’’.

‘‘We are keen on any scientific talk process by which we can make a beginning in achieving our demands or find that there is scope to make progress,’’ Baruah said.

‘‘But the talks need to centre around the question of sovereignty. New Delhi must demonstrate its sincerity. It can argue its point of view on our demands in direct talks in case we meet,’’ he added.

Daimary, however, sent an e-mail to the local media that said: ‘‘The amnesty and the call to join the mainstream are meaningless as the solution does not lie in surrender but only on meaningful and sincere dialogue.’’

Meanwhile, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee called up Bhutan king Jigme Singhye Wangchuk to congratulate him on the RBA’s success in flushing out militants.