THE Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) has unleashed a virulent form of manhunt. We wonder how an armed militia has so much fire power and why the state response has been ineffective at neutralising this armed group whose objective is just to kill and extort. At no time in the history of Meghalaya were government employees targeted for extortion by a militant group. Even the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) at the height of its operations never targeted the salaried class, knowing full well that they would lose whatever little support they enjoyed among the masses if they did so. The GNLA on the other hand is a viciously brutal group that sends scathing messages by the number of deaths it can cause. There was a time when politicians in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills played footsie with militant outfits. Some have used them for political one-upmanship and to garner votes. Others have shared closer ties. This had made tackling militancy problematic. The GNLA too received the support of a section of Garo politicians. In fact it has now come home to roost. The point is to know who those politicians who support militancy and to name and shame them. Then was a time when the Government headed by Dr FA Khonglam with RG Lyngdoh as Home Minister took a stand to file FIRs against all those who were paying money to the HNLC. They also threatened to reveal the names of all politicians who broke bread with the outfit. That was when politicians started distancing themselves from the HNLC.
For some reason there does not seem to be a concerted strategy to deal with the GNLA today in the way that the HNLC was dealt with in the 2001-2002 period. It looks like the Government is hesitant to go all out to deal with an armed gang that goes by the euphemism of an ideologically spawned outfit. As a result we are losing our policemen who are not adequately armed. The way to deal with militancy is to choke the source of income of the outfit/outfits. There are already examples of such strategic measures undertaken in this State in the past. Why are such examples not replicated? Meghalaya police has the right leadership today. It is hoped that this State does not go the Manipur way where militants rule the roost while ordinary citizens pay the price.
