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Our Correspondent
Diphu, June 13 (EMN): All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC), Hill State Demand Council (HSDC), Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS), Hills Tribes League (HTL) Convening Committee for Unification (CCU), Karbi Anglong Women Justice Forum (KAWJF), former UPDS Welfare Society, UKAWA and Karbi Students Association (KSA) of Karbi Anglong have jointly submitted a memorandum to the CEM of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, Tuliram Ronghang on Sunday.
The memorandum stated, 'At the very outset, we the signatories here under, for and on behalf of our respective organisations, would hereby express our gratitude to you for facilitating the proposed and most expectantly awaited Peace Accord with the KLNLF, the PDCK, the KPLTs and the UPLA. It is a fact that the hill people of Karbi Anglong (bifurcated in 2016 and Dima Hasao, the remaining Hill Districts and two of the three Tribal Areas of Assam have been demanding for creation of an autonomous state within the state of Assam as provided under Article 244-A of the constitution since 1986.
The long unresolved autonomous state issue has been the root cause of major issues and problems, including militancy, confronting the hill people of these particular hill areas of Assam. In the long span of 35 years of the ongoing demand for autonomous statehood, two accords. MoU in 1995 and MoS in 2011 have been signed, but the Accords failed to fulfil the political aspirations of the hill people and the third accord which is going to be signed with the KLNLF, the PDCK, the KPLT and the UPLA should fulfil it'.
While highlighting the expectation of the hill people the group stated, 'the piecemeal solution agreement in the MoU in 1995 and the MoS in 2011 could not address the real issue confronting the hill people of Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong, the general expectation of the hill people that a comprehensive peace accord would be signed and the real issue confronting the hill people including the demand for Autonomous statehood would be addressed to usher the lasting peace in these particular hill area of the state'.
'The hill people of Karbi Anglong are looking forward to the proposed peace accord with the great expectation that it would resolve the ongoing longstanding autonomous state issue and usher in peace in Karbi Anglong. For peace to prevail in Karbi Anglong (bifurcated in 2016) and Dima Hasao and to enable the hill people of these particular hill areas of Assam to contribute their best to the nation, the long unresolved autonomous state issue needs to be resolved once and for all and that too without further delay', the group asserted.
Further, it stressed on the general apprehension of the hill people in their memorandum saying, 'The hill people in general are deeply apprehensive that something prejudicial to their political rights and interest may be incorporated in the proposed peace accord. The organisations, with which the peace accord would be signed with, are not allowed to consult with the people they are struggling for. The principal stakeholder is the public but they have not been taken into confidence. They are totally in the dark about their future that is going to be provided in the accord. We are not against development packages, packages for rehabilitation of cadres of the armed organisations and general amnesty but the political and administrative part of the accord should be made transparent.
Political party and autonomous state, therefore, should be dropped from the peace accord'.
'We welcome the KLNLF, the KPLTs, the UPLA and the PDCK for laying down arms and joining the mainstream of the society. We welcome the peace accord. But we want the present political and administrative setup to remain as it is until creation of an autonomous state as provided under Article 244-A of the constitution', added the group. The group also urged the CEM to allow the armed organisation to consult the hill people, if it is sincere and committed to bring lasting peace in hill districts of Assam.