A faction of the separatist organisation United Liberation Front of Asom disbanded on Tuesday, nearly a month after signing a tripartite peace accord, reported PTI.
The United Liberation Front of Asom was banned in India in 1990 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967. Since 1979, the group has sought to create a sovereign nation of Assam for the indigenous Assamese people through an armed struggle.
On December 29, the Arabinda Rajkhowa-led faction of the organisation had agreed to shun violence by signing a peace accord with the Centre and the Assam government. The hardline faction of the organisation led by Paresh Baruah was not a party to the peace deal.
The pro-talks faction on Tuesday held a meeting in Assam’s Darrang district, during which it decided to form a seven-member monitoring committee to ensure the implementation of various clauses of the tripartite agreement, the outfit’s general secretary Anup Chetia told PTI.
The group also agreed to form a socio-cultural organisation named Asom Jatiya Bikash Mancha “that will work towards protecting the cultural and linguistic identity of the society”.
Mrinal Hazarika, a senior leader of the outfit, said that they also discussed a possible organisational set-up for the rehabilitation of the cadres and to involve them in productive economic activity.
The United Liberation Front of Asom’s pro-talks faction had been in talks with the Centre since 2011 when an agreement paving the way for violence to stop was signed between the separatist group, the Union and the state government.
Since then, the outfit’s cadre and their families were staying in designated camps, that they would now have to vacate.
The peace deal signed on December 29 was aimed at addressing issues of illegal immigration, land rights for indigenous communities and a financial package for Assam’s development.
However, critics of the deal have said that the group could not negotiate for the rights of the indigenous communities on the state’s land and resources, or secure them against the alleged influx of immigrants from Bangladesh. The pact also makes no mention of the United Liberation Front of Asom’s demand for reserving seats in the state Assembly for the state’s indigenous communities.
Also read: Why ULFA, once formidable militant group in North East, failed to strike a better deal with Delhi
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