A CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The Centre, the Tripura government and the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) on Saturday signed a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) bringing the decades-old insurgency problem of Tripura to an end.
The Memorandum was signed by Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary (North East) of Ministry of Home Affairs, Kumar Alok, Addl. Chief Secretary (Home) government of Tripura and Sabir Kumar Debbarma and Kajal Debbarma of NLFT (SD).
After signing the memorandum, NLFT representatives called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The NLFT has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 1997 and has been involved in violence, operating from their camps across the international border. The outfit has been responsible for violent activities including 317 insurgency incidents in which 28 security forces and 62 civilians lost their lives during the period 2005-2015. Peace talks with NLFT were initiated in 2015 and there has been no violence by NLFT since 2016.
The organization has agreed to abjure the path of violence, join the mainstream and abide by the Constitution of India. It has agreed to the surrender of its 88 cadres with their weapons.
Officials said that the surrendered cadres will be given surrender benefits as per the Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation Scheme, 2018 of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“The State Government of Tripura will help the surrendered cadres in housing, recruitment, education etc. Government of India will consider the proposals of Tripura State Government regarding economic development of tribal areas of Tripura,” the official said.
An insurgency is a rebellion against authority (for example, an authority recognized as such by the United Nations) when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents (lawful combatants). An insurgency can be fought via counter-insurgency warfare, and may also be opposed by measures to protect the population, and by political and economic actions of various kinds and propaganda aimed at undermining the insurgents' claims against the incumbent regime. As a concept, insurgency's nature is ambiguous.
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