DIPHU, Feb 26 - If all goes well, the Centre will probably soon sign a �principal agreement� with the Karbi Longri and North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), which is in ceasefire with the government since 2009, the KLNLF publicity secretary Rijak Dera said here.
�Our talks with the government are at an advanced stage. Peace interlocutor AB Mathur is preparing a draft agreement for us and the same will be discussed in our general council meeting before it is given a final shape,� Dera told this correspondent at Diphu.
KLNLF came out from the United People�s Democratic Solidarity, which signed a memorandum of settlement (MoS) with the Centre on November 22, 2011. The group came overground in 2009 and signed the ceasefire agreement with the Centre for starting the peace process in 2010. The chief demands of the KLNLF is a separate State within the proviso of Article 3 of the Constitution of India (Hemprek Kangthim) comprising three autonomous hill districts of Assam. However, the Centre has already rejected the core demand of the group for separate statehood.
The principal agreement is likely to stress on an economic package and political demands for the three hill districts.
�We took part in 50 rounds of talks with the Centre through interlocutor AB Mathur. The last round of talks were held on October 9 and 10 last year, where I and general secretary Thong Teron took part. The outcome of the talks was positive,� Dera said. Presently, 365 activists of the outfit are sheltered in the three designated camps at Taralangso, Parokhuwa and Rongmongve.
Other demands of the KLNLF includes creation of one Rajya Sabha MP seat from the three hill districts of Assam, one helipad at Hamren and one at Diphu and a Sainik School in Karbi Anglong.
