ITAGAR, Feb 7: Several youths of Changlang district who had gone astray in the past and joined different insurgent outfits in the region have surrendered before the security forces on several occasions in recent years. Now the surrendered militants, irrespective of their past affiliations, buried their differences and came together here to form the Surrendered Militants Welfare Association (SMWA), aimed at seeking redress to their grievances. “The government and the civil societies often appeal to militants to give up arms and join the tiol mainstream, but the day they come overground they are deprived of facilities and isolated by the society,” SMWA chairman Khultu Mossang stated in a release. “We, surrendered militants, are victimized physically, emotiolly and socially,” he said and lambasted the State Government for not initiating any concrete policy for their rehabilitation. Mossang, who gave up arms two years ago and conceptualized the SMWA, said, ‘We are not against any individual, group or organization. The sole aim of forming the SMWA is to find ways for rehabilitation of the confused and frustrated surrendered youths. We wish to guide them in following the right path and the mantra of peaceful coexistence.’ The association appealed to the State Government to provide the surrendered militants with adequate loans to start small-scale industries, besides housing schemes, special quota in IT institutes, and special quota in police and army recruitment “so that they can start life afresh with dignity and honour”.
