SHILLONG: As many as 10 militant groups are operating in Meghalaya as per the official list of the State Government tabled in the State Assembly by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Friday.
These include – Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Achik National Volunteer’s Council (ANVC), Achik National Volunteer’s Council – Breakaway (ANVC-B), Achick Songa An’pachakgipa Kotok (ASAK),United Achik Liberation Army (UALA), Achik National Liberation Army (ANLA), Achik National Liberation Co-operative Army(ANLCA), Achik Tiger Force (ATF) and Achik National United Force (ANUF).
It may be added that of these 10 groups, the centre of activity of nine are in the Garo Hills.
While HNLC, formed in 1992, has over 40 cadres, ANVC, which came into existence in 1996, has 163 cadres under ceasefire in the designated camp.
GNLA, formed in 2010, has over 200 cadres with around 110 new recruits and the ANVC-B, formed in 2012, has as many as 151 cadres.
The strength of UALA (2013) is around 40 while ASAK (February, 2014) has around 60 cadres. .
The cadre strength of ANUF (2013) is 10, while ANLA (October, 2013) has around 15 cadres.
ATF (January, 2014) has 10 members while ANLA (2010) has five cadres.
UALA is the break-away group of ANVC-B, while another breakaway group of GNLA is ASAK. ATF is the splinter group of parent outfit ANVC.
The Chief Minister said that some of the outfits had access to state of the art weapons.
Replying to a question by Donkupar Roy (UDP), the Chief Minister said that HNLC is the only militant group in Khasi and Jaintia Hills which is promoting secessionist ideology.
In reply to a supplementary question, the Chief Minister said that out of the 10 militant groups only HNLC is a banned group due to its anti national ideology and the gravity of the crimes committed by its cadres.
He also said while HNLC is a banned organization, the GNLA has been declared as a terrorist organization.
“The major militant outfits operating in Garo Hills region have been demanding a separate Garoland, while the new outfits are mostly groups of deserters from ANVC, GNLA and others who are mostly engaged in extortions and kidnappings and have no specific demands or ideology,” the Chief Minister said.
Sangma, however, has omitted the name of Liberation of Achik Elite Force (LAEF) from the official list by saying that the Government does not want to give undue credibility to LAEF as it is a minor group. Earlier, the name of LAEF had been included among the 11 names of the militant groups in reply to a starred question raised by Donkupar Roy during the Budget session in March.
In reply to a question by James Sangma (NPP), the Chief Minister said that besides mushrooming of militants, some militant outfits like LAEF which had ceased to exist have once again re-surfaced.
He said one reason for mushrooming of militants was that the members of a parent militant outfit deserted and formed new organizations. “Splinter groups are created by vested interests for easy money and these groups do not have any ideology”, he said.
Replying to the questions of Paul Lyngdoh and Jemino Mawthoh (UDP), Ardent Basaiawmoit (HSPDP) and Clifford Marak (GNC), the Chief Minister said that operations against the splinter militant groups would continue.
Raising a question, Basaiawmoit wanted to know when the people could expect peace to return to Garo Hills.
Basaiawmoit noted that the militant groups in Garo Hills have gone to the extent of killing innocent people at a time when the Government still believes that the ban on militant groups are based on their ideology.
In his reply, the Chief Minister said that the Government agrees that there is a problem in Garo Hills and added, “We will put an end to this at the earliest.”
The Chief Minister, however, admitted that he would be telling a lie to the House if he gave a time frame for an end to the violence in Garo Hills.