GUWAHATI: The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) is the latest insurgent group from the Northeast to have made peace overtures.
The outfit’s leaders, who operate from the soil of Myanmar and work in coordination with other insurgent groups, are believed to have sent feelers to the government to join the mainstream. This was evident from a tweet of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Sarma wrote on the micro-blogging site: “In Continuation with Govt of India’s efforts to bring lasting peace in the region, I welcome the desire of KLO leadership to join mainstream at an early date to resolve all issues through political dialogues.”
He said the Assam government would fully reciprocate the KLO’s goodwill gesture.
The outfit was formed on December 28, 1995, to liberate Kamtapur from India by slicing off six districts of West Bengal, four adjoining districts of Assam and one district each of Bihar and Nepal and thereby, address the problems being faced by the Koch-Rajbongshi people such as unemployment, alleged neglect of Kamtapuri language, economic deprivation, etc.
Over the past few years, several insurgent groups from the Northeast, particularly Assam, signed peace accords with the government and were, subsequently, disbanded.
Last month, 46 members of Dimasa National Liberation Army, including its military chief, had joined the mainstream. Similarly in July, 23 militants of the National Liberation Front of Bodoland, including some top leaders, had laid down weapons.
In Assam, the Paresh Baruah faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) is lying low after announcing a unilateral ceasefire. The government is trying to reach the outfit thorugh back channels as it attempts to initiate a peace process.
In Nagaland, all, except one group, are in a peace mode. Similarly in Manipur, barring four-five groups, the rest, over 30, are lying low after signing separate suspension of operation agreements with the government. One group is active in Meghalaya.