ULFBV militants at the surrender ceremony in the city on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Sept. 30: Ubati Reang, a social worker from the Reang tribe in Barak Valley was all smiles during the surrender ceremony of a militant outfit, held at the ITA centre here today.

After all, her struggle for a better deal for the deprived tribal population residing along the state’s border with Mizoram and Tripura is likely to reap dividends.

“The chief minister’s assurance to take up development measures in the Reang-dominated areas would usher in a new era of hope for us,” Ubati, in her late fifties, said on the sidelines of the ceremony.

Altogether 305 cadres of the United Liberation Front of Barak Valley (ULFBV) laid down their arms before the chief minister at the ceremony.

Ubati is not a member of the outfit but of the Banabasi Kalyan Achoni, an NGO. In spirit, though, she has been in sync with the ULFBV, a group that has been waging an armed struggle for the uplift of the Reangs in Barak Valley, particularly in Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, since 2001.

“There are simply no roads, schools and hospitals in the region. And the Reang tribesmen are constantly harassed by government officials, often being tagged as illegal settlers,” she said.

The ULFBV, involved in the abduction of 42 people and sundry other crimes, declared a unilateral ceasefire on June 7.

Led by the outfit’s president, Pancharam Apeto, the cadres deposited a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including AK series and M16 rifles.

This is the third militant outfit to have come overground this year, with two companies of the Ulfa’s 28 battalion and DHD (J) already entering the peace process.

Apeto said that a sense of deprivation and frustration had forced the youths of the Reang tribe to take up arms. “We hope that the government will take up development work in the areas dominated by tribesmen,” he said.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has assured the community of a special package for development of the areas dominated by the tribe. “This is a happy moment for us. Militant outfits are starting to realise that violence will not solve any problem. They need to talk and join hands for a peaceful and prosperous Assam.”

He also called on the Ulfa leadership to come to the negotiating table.