"Agreement With DNLA Will Bring Peace In State": Assam CM After Signing Tripartite Pact

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the historic tripartite pact between the Centre, Assam government and insurgent group Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA)/Dimasa People's Supreme Council (DPSC) will bring peace to the state.

"This agreement will bring peace to the state. DNLA representatives have agreed to abjure violence, surrender all arms and ammunition, disband their armed organisation, vacate all camps and join the peaceful democratic process as established by the law," he said.

"We have signed a tripartite pact between the Centre, Assam government and insurgent group Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA)/Dimasa People's Supreme Council (DPSC) with the blessing of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he added.

"Except for the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), all the problems have been solved till now. Slowly-Slowly all the problems in all northeastern states will be solved," the chief minister further said.

Earlier yesterday, the DNLA and the Assam government, in a significant milestone towards making the Northeast insurgency-free by 2024, signed tripartite Memorandum of Settlement in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Speaking at the occasion, Amit Shah said, “With today’s agreement being signed, all tribal militant groups have laid down their arms and have joined mainstream and become a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development journey. This is a step towards progressive Northeast that the prime minister had visualized and promised. With the signing of this treaty, all kinds of violence and terrorism from Dima Hasao district have ended.”

According to the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the DNLA will lay down its arms and abide by the Constitution. A total of 179 DNLA cadres will surrender their arms and ammunition. A Special Development package of Rs 500 crore each, will also be provided by the two governments over a period of five years, for the all-round development of NCHAC as well as Dimasa people residing in other parts of the State.

Further, as part of the agreement, Dimasa Welfare Council will be set up by the Government of Assam to protect, preserve and promote a social, cultural, and linguistic identity to meet political, economic and educational aspirations and will ensure speedy and focused development of the Dimasa people residing outside the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Council.

Along with this, the agreement also provides for the appointment of a Commission under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution to examine the demand for the inclusion of additional villages contiguous to the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) with the Council.

On September 2021, the DNLA had declared a unilateral ceasefire for a period of six months following an appeal by the chief minister. The ceasefire has been extended since then. The DNLA announcement in 2021 came two weeks after the insurgent group allegedly fired upon on a convoy of seven trucks in the Dima Hasao district, killing five people and injuring one. The DNLA was established in April 2019 seeking a sovereign territory for the Dimasa tribals and launched an armed insurgency to achieve its goal.

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