ANVC peace pact gets Centre’s seal
SHILLONG: The Union Cabinet has approved the proposed peace pact with ANVC and its breakaway faction — ANVC (B).
Informing this, JPN Singh, Director in-charge North East, Ministry of Home Affairs, on Friday said the new Government to be formed after the Lok Sabha polls would sign the agreement with the Garo rebel outfit.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Singh said that the Union Cabinet had cleared the peace pact with ANVC to pave way for a final settlement before the announcement of poll dates.
“With this, we can formally sign an accord with ANVC and the formal ceremony will be held after the formation of a new Government at the Centre,” Singh said.
He said that as far as the political demand of increasing the seats in GHADC from 30 to 40 is concerned, the Parliament will take the call “as it requires the amendment of Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.”
According to the MHA official, there is no harm to sign the agreement with ANVC as there is no bar on implementing the development packages associated with the settlement.
Moreover, as per the proposed text of settlement, ANVC will also be disbanded as an organization once the final accord is signed.
Truce extended: Meanwhile, the Centre has decided to extend the tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the banned militant group ANVC, for another year.
The fresh extension would come into force from April 1, 2014, and continue till March 31 2015. The present SoO agreement will expire on March 31.
“We have decided to extent the SoO by one year during a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG),” Union Home Ministry director in charge of North East JPB Singh informed after the meeting here on Friday.
He also informed that they also discussed the prevailing law and order situation in the Garo Hills.
“Besides these issues, they have not discussed any other matter,” Singh said. “The meeting strictly revolved around the extension of the SoO,” Additional Chief Secretary in charge of Meghalaya Home department KS Kropha said. ANVC representatives did not raise any other issues in the meeting. The SoO was extended, pending the decision of the Centre to sign a tripartite permanent peace accord with the ANVC to bring lasting peace in the Garo Hills. The four-member ANVC delegation which attended the JMG meeting was led by its general secretary Wanding R Marak. On July 24, 2004, the Union Government had suspended operations with the ANVC paving way for the tripartite talks. Since then the SoO agreement has been extended periodically.