Proscribed outfit KLO to join mainstream soon: CM Himanta

Sources informed that the senior leaders of the outfit have already dispatched their cadres from Myanmar to India for the formal surrender, and the same will transpire in due course of time.

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GUWAHATI:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the Northeast based proscribed militant outfit, Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) has decided to resolve issues through political dialogues and will join the mainstream soon.

“In continuation with Government 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. Government of Assam would fully reciprocate this goodwill measure. @AmitShah (sic),” Sarma tweeted on December 1.

The KLO, a member of the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia, will be the newest rebel group from the Northeast to have made peace overtures, thus paving the way for calibrated dialogue between the government and the outfits.

While welcoming the move of the outfit, the CM mentioned that the Assam government would reciprocate the KLO’s goodwill gesture. 

Sources informed that the senior leaders of the outfit have already dispatched their cadres from Myanmar to India for the formal surrender, and the same will transpire in due course of time.

A senior police officer mentioned, “The talks are going on at the political level, however, the outcome of the talks is something that remains in grey at the moment.”

KLO was formed on December 28, 1995, to liberate Kamtapur from India by slicing off six districts of West Bengal, 4 adjoining districts of Assam, and one district from Bihar and Nepal and thereby, tackle the issues of unemployment, financial deprivation, and neglect of the Koch-Rajbongshi communities.

It must be recalled that the Chairman of KLO - Amir Das alias Jibon Singha - was arrested in 1999, but after he was released by the Assam Police to make other cadres surrender, he regained control of the outfit and there was a subsequent resurgence of the group.

KLO was declared a terrorist group by the Centre after the outfit organised an armed liberation struggle, demanding a separate Kamtapur nation, to be carved out of India.

As per their demand, the Kamtapur nation would include six districts of West Bengal — Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, four districts of Assam, Bihar’s Kishanganj district, and Jhapa district of Nepal.

In its effort to bring peace to the Northeast, the Centre had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with six militant outfits of Karbi Anglong including, Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK, United People’s Liberation Army (UPLA), and several others groups operating out of the Northeast. 

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