TRIPURA INSURGENTS HOLD PEACE TALKS WITH GOVERNOR

29 April 2004, (ANI)

Agartala, Apr 28 (ANI): A faction of a prominent insurgent group fighting Indian rule in Tripura on Wednesday held peace talks with the state governor.



Leaders of Nayan Basi Jamatia faction of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) met Dayanand Sahay as a part of the ongoing peace process.



Sahay said the talks were positive. 'I am sure that it is going to bring about peace and prosperity for the whole of the state which it had been suffering so long,' Sahay told reporters in state capital Agartala.



Both Nayan Basi Jamatia and Montu Koloi, two factional leaders of the NLFT, had earlier this month, met Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani in New Delhi for the first time to seek a solution to their problems.



Jamatia, chief of Nayan Basi faction, hoped a solution to their problems is possible wthout secession.



'It is the time we have got to talk with the government. Political dialogue will continue within the constitution of India. When the time comes we will discuss the matter,' Jamatia said after the talks.



Jamatia and Koloi command 250 to 300 cadres of the rebellious group.



The NLFT has been one of the main insurgent groups of Tripura. It was formed in 1989 and ever since has been responsible for a large number of violent incidents and killings.



Tripura, plagued by insurgency for two decades, shares an 870- kilometre long border with neighbouring Bangladesh, accused of sheltering militant groups active in India's northeast.



The group, along with dozens of other separatists are fighting for either autonomy or independence in India's heavily forested and hilly northeastern region where many political movements are linked to tribal feuds or ethnic fights.(ANI)