TURA, DEC 15: “Welcome my dear friends”, said Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma to the ANVC and ANVC (B) cadres at the disbanding ceremony even as he termed it as “historic chapter” in the annals of Meghalaya’s Garo hills district.
The chief minister expressed pride and humility as the two outfits had shown exemplary maturity, courage and farsightedness in joining the peace process and finally returning back to the mainstream.
The chief minister said,“It is an exemplary courage to be part of the mainstream. It demonstrates that violence can never be a solution to problems. I feel humbled that God has given the wisdom for our friends (rebels) to come forward. The pain and misery can now be a thing of the past. We have reasons to believe that the cult of violence will stop with this historic day.”
Terming that many have taken advantage of the “vicious trap” of violence and perception that “Garo hills is neglected”, the chief minister said, “The wrong perception has subjected militancy in Meghalaya. Through violence they will not be able to set things right. The last two decades have been virtually the ‘lost decades’ for us.”
The chief minister stated that development programme and economy of Garo hills have suffered due to insurgency. “I hope that with the disbanding of ANVC and ANVC (B) there will be an era of peace in Garo hills”.
The chief minister also stated that many other outfits have send feelers to join the mainstream. He urged others to emulate ANVC and its breakaway faction to come forward and shun violence saying that it will enable the government to strategize investment and development agenda.
“Government is willing to create a conducive atmosphere for peace. We need to be aware of potential and capabilities to realise our dreams. We can’t expect people to alienate from our societies. Everyone should avail of the opportunities role out by the government”, the chief minister added.
Branding the two factions for being the pioneers for unleashing violence in Garo hills, the chief minister said, “I believe that the move of the outfits will touch the hearts of all other friends (rebels). The disbanding of ANVC and ANVC-B rekindles the hope that the era of peace and stability will return to Garo hills”.
The chief minister said that the government will provide all the cadres with aggressive spiritual and career counseling so that they can avail the multiple job opportunities, which are available for the people for sustained livelihood.
“Everyone should be able to contribute for peace and development”, the chief minister said.
However, the chief minister informed that it is “a one-time offer as a gesture of goodwill along with time lines”, so as not to send a wrong message to others who would take undue advantage of the government’s offer.
On the criticism from some quarters over the peace pact and rehabilitation package, Sangma said that the programmes of the government are designed to provide livelihood to all the people of the state, quoting Mathew 16: 14-15, he stressed on the need to forgive, saying that the “selfish mindset of the people is due to lack of love and compassion”.
The chief minister informed that the government has also initiated the process for carrying forward the opportunity to its logical conclusion and appointment of interlocutors to hold negotiations with such outfits has been done for Garo hills and identification of interlocutors in other parts of the state is also under examination.
The chief minister, however, said that the outfits who wish to come overground should refrain from unlawful activities and desist from further recruitments in order to create a conducive atmosphere for talks to proceed and achieve the common objective of peace, progress and prosperity of the state.
The chief minister also said that in order to wean away the youth from the path of militancy, the government has initiated several ambitious developmental programmes specially designed to enable the people, particularly the youth to realize their dreams and potentialities and called upon the people to join hands with the government in its continued endeavour to maintain peace and harmony and forge ahead on the path of growth and development.
Terming that militancy problem is complex, the chief minister said all northeastern states should come together to resolve the issue with co-ordinated and comprehensive approach designed to understand the root cause of the problem that leads to militancy.- From Our Correspondent
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