By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: At a time when the State Government is going all out to neutralize the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), the cadres who had surrendered have so far allegedly not been provided any rehabilitation package.
Earlier this year, twenty cadres of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), led by its chief instructor Mingran T Sangma surrendered before Meghalaya Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh but the State Government has so far not provided any support to the surrendered insurgents.
Two of the surrendered GNLA militants while speaking to scribes here on Wednesday said, “We were promised a job and a sum of Rs 2 lakh but nothing has been given to us till date.”
According to these surrendered insurgents, who did not wish to be identified, eighteen of them are presently lodged in different police stations.
“The police in the Thana told us that they have run out of funds and can no longer feed us. If this is the case what will happen to us. Our lives are at stake after we had surrendered,” one of them said.
Irked with the step-motherly treatment, two of the GNLA cadres on Wednesday sought the intervention of Leader of the Opposition Conrad Sangma in this matter.
“We are staying in fear and we are on the run from one place to another because we are hunted by the GNLA,” the cadres confessed.
It may be mentioned that the cadres, led by Mingran T Sangma, had surrendered before the police with huge cache of arms and ammunitions. According to these militants many GNLA cadres, who are willing to surrender, might be discouraged by the shabby treatment meted out by the Government to those who have already surrendered and are awaiting rehabilitation.
“We came out of jungles for a better life but nothing good has happened to us so far,” one of the surrendered cadres said.
The surrendered militants claimed that police is using them while executing many operations against the GNLA militants but nothing is being paid to them.
“Some times we are given arms and some times not but we are given police uniforms during operations, the cadres added.
Meanwhile the Leader of the Opposition has taken strong exception to the treatment meted out to the surrendered GNLA militants.
Sangma stated that the Government’s policy of tackling insurgency is misconceived as they are only using only force instead of calling them for dialogues.
“It is a failure on the part of the Government. They should call the NGOs, church leaders, political parties and seek their views on how to tackle the issue of insurgency,” Sangma added.