Centre receives peace talks letter
SHILLONG/TURA The Centre has received the recommendation of State Government on March 27 on holding talks with the banned GNLA, a Union Home Ministry official said on Friday.
In a related development, the GNLA has withdrawn its threat issued to the Congress party.
JPN Singh, Director in charge North East, Ministry of Home Affairs told The Shillong Times on Friday that the Joint Secretary in charge North East, Home Affairs Shambu Singh received the official letter of Meghalaya Government on the three names of negotiators for peace talks with GNLA on March 27 evening.
The Home Ministry official, however, refused to divulge the names of three negotiators saying “it is premature.”
“It seems there was a delay in receiving the letters from the State Government. Though the State Government had written letters a few days back, we received them only yesterday evening”, Singh said.
Earlier on Thursday, the GNLA had threatened to target the Congress party giving a deadline of three days if the Chief Minister does not clarify on the peace talks with the militant outfit.
After the threat, the Government on Friday clarified that the Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma and the Chief Secretary had written separately to the Centre on the need to hold talks with the Government.
Following the development, in a statement issued on Friday night, Bikdot Nikjang Marak, the Political Affairs Secretary of GNLA said that the militant outfit appreciated the stand of Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma for his clarification and Home Ministry’s confirmation on the serious matter..
“Hence, GNLA revoked its own circular on the threat. Let there be free and fair election. Every citizen should exercise his or her franchise without fear or threat”, Marak said.
According to the GNLA leader, any party or individual taking advantage arising out of the issue, will be dealt with firm hand and GNLA will ensure a conducive atmosphere.
Earlier, the statement of the Government in this regard said that it was waiting for the approval of the Centre on the three mediators it had proposed to initiate peace talks with GNLA.
“We have forwarded the names suggested by the outfit to the Centre, we are waiting for an approval,” Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said, addressing an election meeting in Tura during the day.
He asserted that his Government had never lied. It had forwarded the names of three persons for the approval of the Centre to act as a mediator between the outfit and the Government. He said his Government was committed to resolve issues relating to peace talks.
The outfit on Thursday warned that if the Government failed to clarify if the list of mediators had been forwarded to the Union Home Ministry, it would not allow Congress to campaign in Garo Hills. The outfit suspected that the Government was fooling the people of Garo Hills by giving false assurances. Joint Secretary (North East) in the Union Home Ministry Shambu Singh had said the Centre had not received any names of mediators.
The State Government statement, issued by the Meghalaya government joint secretary political department, said the chief minister had written a letter to the Union Home Minister on March 8, in which he had underlined the necessity for exploring options for finding a more enduring solution to the problem of insurgency. The chief minister had also suggested to the Centre that an interlocutor should be designated to initiate dialogue with the GNLA.
According to the statement, the Chief Minister had suggested the names of three persons of eminence who could be designated as facilitators for interaction between GNLA and the Interlocutor
According to the statement, the chief secretary had also written a letter to the Union Home Secretary on March 25 on the need for holding talks with GNLA and other militant groups in order to rid the state of the scourge of insurgency and ensure that developmental projects do not get stalled.
Stating that the government was committed to the peace talk, the State Government said that it was only awaiting the approval of the Centre on the three names it had suggested who would play the role of the mediators.