Two of Meghalaya's oldest and notorious Garo militant organisations-- the ANVC and ANVC-B today laid down arms, marking the beginning of a long drawn peace process after they signed a tripartite ceasefire agreement.
The leaders of the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) Dilash Marak and Bernard N Marak of the ANVC-B, its break-away faction, signed the affirmation for disbandment and surrendered their arms before Chief Minister Mukul Sangma and his cabinet colleagues at the Dikki Bandi stadium here.
Over 500 cadres of both the outfits were also present at the grand function, the first such ceremony in the state.
Addressing the gathering on the historic occasion, the Chief Minister said the two outfits had shown exemplary maturity, courage and farsightedness in joining the peace process and finally returning to the mainstream.
This has reinforced the essential truth that violence can never be an option for finding solutions to any grievances, he said.
The perception that Garo Hills have been neglected by governments in the past has led to the youths taking up arms, believing that they would be able to set things right through violence, he said.
However, it only further deteriorated the situation as developmental programmes suffered, he said, adding that the last two decades have virtually been the "lost decades" for us.
"The disbanding of ANVC and ANVC-B rekindles the hope that the era of peace and stability will return to Garo Hills and together we will be able to re-plot the path of peace and development," he said.
On the criticism from some quarters over the peace pact and rehabilitation package, the Chief Minister said that programmes of the government are designed to provide livelihood to all the people of the state.
The Chief Minister informed that the government has also initiated the process for carrying forward the opportunity to its logical conclusion and appointment of interlocutors to hold negotiations with such outfits has been done for Garo Hills.
Identification of interlocutors in other parts of the state is also under examination, however, he said that those organisations should refrain from unlawful activities and desist from further recruitments in order to create a conducive atmosphere for talks to proceed and to achieve the common objective of peace, progress and prosperity of the state.
