Tura: The violent era of the United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) came to an end on Thursday with 68 cadres of the outfit laying down their arms in an official disbanding ceremony held at the SMELC Building in Tura.
The disbanding took place in the presence of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, Home Minister Roshan Warjri, church leaders, senior police officers, government officials and other dignitaries.
There was however, no formal ceremony of laying down arms as the same was done prior to the disbanding ceremony. The arms that were displayed during the disbanding included two AK series rifles, a LMG, a double barreled shotgun, three pistols, a rocket launcher and grenades. Dreaded UALA commander in chief Norrok X. Momin was also present at the ceremony, reported Northeast Today.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, while speaking on the occasion hailed the decision of the UALA to come over ground and assured that the government would provide the cadres of the outfit to resume normal lives through several welfare programmes. Stating that militancy was not confined to the state of Meghalaya but the entire Northeast, he said other states could follow the example to bring militant groups to the mainstream. Sharing the concern of UALA chairman Novembirth Marak over negative remarks from certain quarters on the State government’s rehabilitation package for militant outfits who give up arms, Sangma said that the State government was moving ahead with complete clarity to achieve the shared objective of bringing lasting peace in the region.
The UALA chairman informed that the outfit had tried to convince five other outfits to come together under the banner of the A’chik Revolutionary Front (ARF) to come to the mainstream. He added that the same however could not be achieved due to certain differences. Nevertheless, he urged other militant groups to accept the call of the government for peace. Former militant turned politician, Julius Dorphang, who was also present on the occasion spoke of his ordeal as a militant leader and termed the official surrender of the UALA as a welcome step towards peace and development.
It may be mentioned that UALA, formed in 2012, had responded to the overtures of the State government and, had signed a peace agreement with the government on December 18, 2015 after a series of dialogues. The disbanding ceremony was chaired by West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi.