Guwahati: As the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) was clearing the Himalayan kingdom of the separatist Northeast based insurgents, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) vowed to carry on its "struggle" accusing the Centre of "failing to respect the rights of the people of Assam by rejecting its offer for talks".

Official sources in Guwahati today (Jan 02, 2004) said the militants either captured or surrendered to the RBA were being handed over to the Indian Army, which in turn was handing them to the police in the districts along the Indo-Bhutan border.

Meanwhile, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in an e-mail to a local daily, "has resolved to carry on with the outfit's struggle despite its reverses at the hands of the RBA".

Rajkhowa also charged the Central Government of rejecting his offer for talks by putting up unacceptable conditions that the outfit give up arms and abide by the Constitution, instead of holding the discussions for finding ways to restore the "rights of the exploited masses of Assam and improve their lives and economic condition".

As the ULFA's offer for talks had been rejected by the Government, he said, "The outfit has no option but to continue with its struggle to secure the liberty for Assam's people."

Asserting Centre's conditional negotiations would not solve Assam people's problems, Rajkhowa pointed to the Assam Accord of 1985 alleging, "It failed to deliver the goods for the people of Assam except making MLAs and Ministers out of the agitation leaders."

He also justified his cadres' surrender to the RBA, as they did not "want to acquire the notoriety of surrendered ULFA (SULFA) in Assam. They preferred to surrender before the Bhutan authority so that they are thrown into jail than be converted into SULFA."