Rumblings in the hills

The United People's Democratic Front's (UPDF) opposition to the CHT Peace Accord of 2 Dec 1997, which occurs primarily from their opposition to the Parbattya Chattagarm Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) per se, and not so much on matters of principles or issues, is well known.

In the midst of local rivalry to establish dominance in the region the peace process that the December Accord was intended to initiate, remains a non-starter. And it is the non-implementation of the Accord, even eight years after its signing, which has allowed those opposed to it to reinforce their anti-accord stand.

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And this is what begs the question. The signing of the accord demonstrated a pious desire to see the winds of peace blow through the hills that had for more than 20 years been in a state of turmoil; to see its non-implementation gives the wrong signals to the detractors of the Accord as well as to our friends abroad.

The present government has inherited the problem but cannot afford to shelve the issue hoping that it would go away on its own. If there are genuine problems that resist implementation of some provisos of the Accord, the government should seize the problems by the scruff of the neck and go the whole hog to remove those predicaments that stand in the way of full implementation of the Accord.

Although it was signed between the National Committee on CHT and the PCJSS, state support to the Accord must continue unabridged.