Govt twist to ANVC peace pact
SHILLONG: Giving a new twist to the draft peace pact signed last year with ANVC to herald peace in Garo Hills, the Commissioner and Secretary in-charge Home (Police) Jopthiaw Lyngdoh has said that the ANVC (B) chairman Rimpu R Marak had signed the agreed text of settlement as a member of the ANVC.
“In the same meeting before the agreement was signed, he (Marak) had told infront of the officials of the Union Ministry that he did not see the need to have another organisation. It was for this reason that the Ministry allowed the ANVC (B) to be part of the agreed text of settlement,” Lyngdoh said while addressing newsmen here on Monday.
When asked as to why the ANVC (B) was allowed to be part of the agreed text of settlement when the group was not part of the tripartite ceasefire agreement which was signed in 2004, Lyngdoh said that its cadres were made part of the agreement after receiving the necessary directive from both the Centre and State Government.
To a question whether they will adopt the same yardstick in case the GNLA wants to be part of the text of settlement especially when the outfit commander in chief Sohan D Shira was a signatory to the tripartite agreement, Lyngdoh said the inclusion of GNLA in the agreement which had already been signed, is now out of question.While referring to the recent allegation made a section of the cadres of the ANVC (B) against Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, the Commissioner and Secretary said that it is only an attempt to create a division especially at a time when the agreed text of settlement is set to get the approval of the Centre.
“This is the kind of allegation which is going to have a negative impact on the intention of the Government to bring lasting peace in Garo Hills,” he said.