Karbi Anglong Gets Development Booster

KLNLF surrenders arms, to ‘fight for homeland on talks table’; DHD-D finds nomenclature ‘meaningless’

KLNLF rebels during the surrender ceremony in Diphu on Thursday.

Nagaon, Feb 13 : Dispur today announced a Rs 50-crore package for Karbi Anglong district in the wake of the Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front formally laying down arms at a ceremony in Diphu, the district headquarters, this morning.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi, while announcing the bonanza for the district, also said the surrendered militants would get Rs 2 lakh each as a one-time grant.

Altogether 419 cadres, led by the outfit’s acting chief, Habe Tokbi, handed over 156 types of arms in one of the biggest surrender ceremonies in the Northeast.

Gogoi, who also holds the home portfolio, was accompanied by a high-level team from Dispur to the Karbi Anglong Sports Association ground in Diphu where thousands had gathered for the arms surrender ceremony. Hills area development minister Khorsing Engti and Diphu Lok Sabha member Biren Singh Engti were also present as special guests.

The chief minister received each KLNLF cadre with a poho (a traditional Karbi gamocha), a gamocha and a red rose.

Tokbi was the first to hand over arms. The outfit’s general secretary Thong Teron and publicity secretary Rejek Dera followed suit.

Though Union home minister P. Chidambaram could not make it to the ceremony despite the outfit insisting on his presence, in a letter to the KLNLF, he welcomed the rebels’ return to the mainstream. The home minister also promised to be present during the tripartite talks with the outfit and to monitor the progress for early resolution of the outfit’s demands.

The ministry of home affairs was represented by N. Verma, the joint secretary, Northeast.

“There is no sign of development in this hilly region of Assam and like its local people, we want equal development of the region along with other parts of the state. And for it, a special economic package is most urgent. I am very sympathetic to the problems of the district. I even consider myself to be a Karbi,” Gogoi said.

Dispur will enhance the rehabilitation package of each cadre by Rs 50,000, taking it to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh each.

In his five-minute speech in Karbi, KLNLF publicity secretary Rejek Dera asserted that the arms surrender should not be seen as a sign of weakness.

“It is a sign of our sincerity to the peace process. We hope both Delhi and Dispur will be very sincere in con-sidering our legitimate demands, which include Hemprek Kanthim (self-rule homeland). Our struggle for a homeland would continue unless the long-cherished dream of the Karbis is fulfilled,” Dera said.

“We have only surrendered our arms, not our demands. We have stopped fighting with guns but we will start our actual fight for our homeland on the talks table,” he added.