End Of "Ethnic Militancy": Assam Signs Final Pacts With 4 Armed Groups

The Assam government on Sunday signed memoranda of settlement with three Kuki armed groups and one Hmar outfit, claiming that the agreements mark the end of "ethnic militancy" in the state, an official statement said.

The four groups had laid down arms in 2012 in the presence of the then Union home minister and the chief minister, and signed the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact.

The Kuki groups which signed the pacts are United Kukigam Defence Army (UKDA), Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and Kuki Liberation Organisation (KLO)/ Kuki Liberation Army (KLA).

The Hmar People's Convention-Democratic (HPC-D) also inked the final pact with the government at a programme here.

The UKDA was formed in 2010, and the KRA in 2000 in Karbi Anglong district, while the KLO and KLA were formed in 1992 and 1993, respectively, in Dima Hasao. The Hmar outfit was formed in 2003-04.

Several rounds of tripartite talks were held, with the process accelerated under the present government and culminating in the agreements, the statement said.

The two pacts, one each with the Kuki and Hmar groups, envisage the formation of welfare and development councils for the Kuki and Hmar communities, with headquarters in Guwahati.

There will be a budget provision for both councils, which will be prepared by them as per their requirements and submitted to the state government's Transformation and Development department for approval.

The government also assured the armed groups of rehabilitating its cadres and providing financial compensation to the families of militants killed during insurgency.

"With these two pacts, the ethnic militancy comes to an end in the state of Assam," the statement said.

It further said during the last few years, the central and state governments have signed MoS with Bodo, Karbi, Adivasi groups and ULFA, and rehabilitated more than 9,000 cadres.

These groups deposited 1,012 arms, 25,488 rounds of ammunition and 34 grenades.

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