Garo rebel outfit wants to sit for peace talks
TURA: United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) has threatened to call for an ‘indefinite stir’ in protest against the state government’s failure to initiate peace talks with the former.
All six months have passed since the initiative was proposed.
The political secretary of the outfit Rangdat Garo told the media that the state government was dragging its feet on the peace talks with UALA and accused it of failing to bring any group to the negotiating table with concrete conclusion.
The UALA chief Norrok X Momin is in the state police’s ‘wanted’ list for the attack on the Williamnagar Jail over a year ago.
Hitting out at the government for the ongoing violence, UALA claimed that “it was waiting to return to the mainstream and construct effective measures jointly for peace, growth and development of Garo Hills.”
Meanwhile, a little known group calling itself the A’chik Revolutionary Force (ARF), believed to be having close ties to the UALA, has voiced its support for the group in its endeavour for peace talks with the government.
“If the government finds difficulties in preparations at once for all the groups then it should at least bring UALA to the negotiating table to prove its sincerity since the group has declared its willingness to accept the government’s offer of return to the mainstream and shun violence,” claimed a self-styled Lieutenant Chugrim of the ARF.
However, Meghalaya Government, particularly the state police force, has taken the demands of UALA and ARF with a pinch of salt.
Meghalaya police claim that there is no such group as ARF other then UALA using the same name to exert pressure on the government.
“UALA is desperate to hold peace talks to escape police operations. They are using the name of ARF to show the government that a conglomerate of outfits under the banner of ARF is supporting them. The ARF is UALA,” police sources claimed.