SHILLONG, March 29: Social activist and HNYC president, Sadon K Blah has welcomed the decision of banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to appoint him as its interlocutor in the peace talks.
Stating that he has not received any official communication from the government except for talks over the phone, Blah said he would meet the government interlocutor, PS Dkhar this week.
He said his first step will be to have a discussion with Dkhar as well as the advisor to Ministry of Home Affairs (Northeast), retired IPS officer AK Mishra who is the peace talks coordinator between the Centre and the state government.
Blah said he had been discussing the issue of peace talks with the HNLC for some time and finally, the outfit chose him as its interlocutor.
He felt the reason the Centre and the state government were convinced was the HNLC’s offer that the talks will be held within the ambit of the Constitution of India.
On whether the peace process will be carried out in the manner it was done with the A’chik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), Blah said the HNLC has not divulged its agenda in details so far. He said the HNLC and the ANVC are separate entities with different sentiments and issues and as such, he cannot say anything now.
Stating that this is not the first time that the HNLC has made peace overtures, he said, “We fail to understand why the Centre and the state government at that point of time did not respond to it.”
The activist said since the state government and the Centre have now given a green signal by appointing an interlocutor, he is hopeful things will move forward. He added that an interlocutor is appointed only after discussions and sharing of feedback between the two governments.