UALA to formally lay down arms on Feb 29

Militant outfit United A'chik Liberation Army which signed a peace pact with Meghalaya government will formally lay down arms at a ceremony at Tura on February 29 as a step for lasting peace in the Garo Hills region, officials said today.
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and his cabinet colleagues will be present at the disbanding ceremony which would also be witnessed by church leaders, NGOs and senior citizens, they said.
"United A'chik Liberation Army (UALA) shall lay down arms formally on February 29 at Dikki Bandi Stadium at Tura where all the surrendered cadres of UALA shall be present for the ceremonial handing over of arms and weapons and formal disbanding," chairman of the Committee for Peace and West Garo Hills district deputy commissioner, Pravin Bakshi said.

The ceremony, he said, is part of the completion of the peace process following the signing of the formal agreed 'text' by UALA chairman Novembirth Ch Marak alias Chiindik in Tura in December last year.
Marak was directed to ensure that the disbanded cadres report to the district police for verification and also submit the list of such cadres and the weapons, he said.
Following the ceremony, there shall be a period of psychological and spiritual counselling for the disbanded cadres and they shall be linked up with skill development programmes for self employment opportunities.

The outfit, which has a cadre strength of 71, was formed with the demand for a separate Garoland to be carved out of the state.

Several rounds of dialogues had taken place between the outfit and the government in the past one-and-a-half year before the declaration of the peace pact on December 18 last.
Chief Secretary P B O Warjri said the government will facilitate rehabilitation of the UALA cadres and give Rs 2.5 lakh to each of them as seed money for income generation initiatives.