Govt yet to decide on Thangkhiew’s role as mediator

SHILLONG: Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said on Monday the state government is yet to decide whether it wants former HNLC general secretary Cherishstarfield Thangkhiew as a mediator for bringing other members of the outfit to the negotiation table.
“The former HNLC general secretary will be apprised about starting the initiative for negotiation if the government finally decides on the issue of appointing a mediator,” Tynsong told media persons.
After his surrender last week, Thangkhiew had offered to be the ‘mediator’ between the militant group and the government. The HNLC too had accepted the offer.
When asked if the Centre would be involved in the peace negotiation with HNLC, Tynsong said, “Let all cadres of the HNLC come over ground and the government will look into all those segments.”
On the Congress raising questions about the surrender, the deputy chief minister referred to the surrender of former HNLC chairman Julius Dorphang, who later became a legislator, during the tenure of DD Lapang as chief minister.
“Special passage has to be there for anybody who wants  to come over ground. Do they (the Congress leaders) want to say that we should allow them to continue to take up arms? The remark on the part of the Congress is very childish,” he added.
Tynsong denied that Thangkhiew had laid out conditions before surrendering and asserted that cadres of any militant group who want to come over ground would be welcomed.
Congress MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh had on Saturday questioned the nature of arrangement of the surrender and asked the government to make public the details.
When pointed out that Thangkhiew had mentioned that he did not “surrender” but “retired” from HNLC, Tynsong said, “There is no difference as the main objective was the comeback of the HNLC leader to the mainstream. The efforts of the government will be to see that all the HNLC cadres come back to the mainstream.”
When asked if 14 more HNLC cadres would surrender, the deputy chief minister said he was not aware of it.