KLO Outfit Offers Peace Proposal: Assam Official

GUWAHATI: The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), which was historically active in Assam and West Bengal, had made diplomatic efforts to the Assam government and has called out for a peace proposal.

The KLO, which functions out of Myanmar, has lately sent positive vibes to the government in Assam, according to a senior government source who refused to reveal the nature of the KLO's offers.

"We are presently in the first stages of the investigation. The Assam administration is in contact with the Centre over the KLO's peace initiatives", according to the source, who declined to be named.

Further, he said that as Bangladeshi security services began counter-insurgency measures targeting militant groups in northeast India such as the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), and the KLO, most of its cadres fled to Myanmar. 

"The KLO's reconciliation offering is a very encouraging step after the ULFA-I unilaterally extended their truce for another three months last month," the official added. "In furtherance with the Government of India's attempt to restore lasting peace to the province, I welcome the desire of KLO leadership to join mainstream at an early point to help solve all problems through democratic discussions," Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted in response to the KLO's proposal. Assam's government would definitely repay this gesture of kindness."

Several other extremist organisations in Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya, in addition to the ULFA-I and the KLO, have agreed to a cease-fire.

The KLO, which was founded in 1995, has been advocating for the creation of a separate Kamtapur state that would include six West Bengal districts (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur, and Malda) and four western Assam districts (Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara). 

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