Norrok crucial for progress of pact

SHILLONG: Though UALA chairman Novembirth Marak and general secretary Nagra D Shira( former publicity secretary) signed the peace pact, the absence of commander-in-chief of UALA Norrok Momin in the meeting in Tura, is likely to delay the surrender of all the cadres of the outfit.
The pattern is like the signing of tripartite peace pact by ANVC in Delhi in July 2004 as a faction of ANVC abstained from the meeting in Delhi which led o the formation of ANVC-B.
Sources said that UALA was formed by Norrok, the former action commander of ANVC-B.
It was after the formation of UALA in February 2013 that Novembirth Marak, a former self-styled general secretary of GNLA, joined the outfit as its chairman in October, 2013.
Novembirth, was arrested twice -first in November 2010 from Siliguri and again in June last year from a hospital in Guwahati.
During the signing of Agreed Text of Settlement in Tura, the chairman of UALA said that since Norrok was ill he was not able to attend the function.
However, sources said that since Norrok was not willing to accept certain conditions in the Agreed Text for  Settlement, he abstained from the meeting.
According to sources, Norrok wanted the state government to withdraw all the criminal cases against him other cadres which, however, was not acceptable to the government.
Police in the past had alleged that Norrok, who was with ANVC-B, was the mastermind behind the attack on Williamnagar jail in February, 2013 resulting in the death of two jail officials – Assistant Jailer Neil Warjri and Warder Sarai Singh Thabah, but the ANVC-B had denied the charges.
There are also charges against UALA for killing seven people, six from Rabha tribe in Goalpara on November 3, 2013 prior to the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council elections as UALA  had opposed inclusion of Garos in Assam in the  Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC)