TURA, Dec 31 � The surrendered cadres of various outfits in Garo Hills have decided to form a new NGO to fight for their rights and try to ensure they get the package they were promised when coming overground.
The announcement comes in the wake of complaints about the �surrender package� still taking time to come about even though some of the cadres surrendered more than six months back. The NGO encompassing cadres of all outfits in Garo Hills is likely to be named All Garo Hills Surrender Association (AGHSA) with Romeo Sangma as its president. Most of the surrendered cadres belong to GNLA, ASAK and UALA, while a few are from AMEF.
�We have decided to form an NGO to pressurise the government on our demands. We, the AGHSA will fight for our rights. We will be holding a meeting in North Garo Hills and would like to call on all surrendered cadres to come for the meeting�, said Sangma. The association is likely to hold its first meeting in January next to decide on their future course of action.
A senior police officer in Garo Hills confirmed that the surrender package was still being processed and that there was no news on how quickly it would be done. �There are quite a few things still being worked out and we are not sure by when the package will get done. For now, most of the surrendered cadres live in the general camp in West Garo Hills, with food and shelter being provided by the government�, said the official.
