Guwahati:
It's a very significant day in the timeline of Northeast India's insurgency movement, particularly Assam, when United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) - still number one in the list of banned organisations of the government of India - declared that they are ready for formal unconditional talks with the government which is expected to begin on the 10th of this month.
The move is also significant because after three decades of armed movement in which several thousand civilians were killed, the ULFA has admitted that all killings were wrong.
"Let's be pragmatic. Right from the beginning all killings by ULFA and government have been wrong. All killings were wrong, yes," said Sasha Choudhury, Foreign Secretary, ULFA.
But the victims are not convinced. The families of those killed by ULFA are on a silent protest saying they will fight for justice.
ULFA's elusive Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah, who has been calling the shots, is still at large issuing threats and carrying out attacks. He wants sovereignty as a pre-condition for talks.
"Paresh Baruah is the Commander-in-Chief and he will remain unless he rejects the general council resolutions," Choudhury said.
Given the poor record of government's peace talks with armed outfits in the Northeast, it's unlikely that any resolution will be achieved soon. But it is an opportunity for peace that nobody wants to let go.