Meghalaya’s banned militant outfit HNLC ready for peace talks sans conditions

Shillong: Banned militant outfit Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on Tuesday said they’d give peace a chance and are now open for talks without any pre-conditions.

A statement issued by HNLC general secretary-cum-publicity secretary Saiñkupar Nongtraw said the organisation has decided to give peace a chance after receiving a lot of requests from elders and social organisations over the past few days. 

It said the peace process was derailed after last year’s killing or the fake encounter of the militants former GS (L) Cherishterfield Thangkhiew. Nongtraw said that Thangkhiew’s death brought sadness to the whole Hynñiewtrep region, adding that “Che was also in favour of the peace talks and he was assigned the task to carry forward their message to the Government of India”.

“After much consultation with some elders recently, we have decide to come into a peaceful agreement with the Govt of Meghalaya and the Govt of India. As of now, we are ready to talk within the ambit of the Indian constitution and we are ready to have talks without any pre-conditions. This is for the general information that the Standstill Agreement (SA) and Instrument of Accession (IOA) shall not be included . If the GOI is willing then we are ready to go for a dialogue,” stated HNLC General Secretary.

The outfit has reiterated that they will stand firm to defend the right of their people and land. Nongtraw in his statement mentioned that some elders assured that the peace talks shall provide an excellent opportunity for the government to set up and strengthen peace in the region. 

He urged the Government to immediately appoint an interlocutor and show its seriousness for peace talks.

“Now the ball is in the government’s court to decide whether it want to give peace a chance or to continue this conflict. Hence the appointment of an interlocutor at the earliest, before this conflict turns ugly the Government’s seriousness is the only solution,” added Nongtraw.

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