SHILLONG, Aug 4: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said the state government will ensure the safety and security of the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) leaders coming for talks.
“It is the duty of the government to ensure the safety of each and everybody who comes for the talks,” he said while reacting to the concerns raised by the HNLC about the safety of their leaders.
“All the discussions we have had for the exercise over the last many months have led to this moment. We are hopeful that very the official talks will start soon,” Sangma said, declining to share the details of the discussion.
“We will do our best to reach a conclusion,” he added.
BJP legislator Alexander Laloo Hek on Thursday said he was happy that the peace talks with the proscribed HNLC would become a reality. He had volunteered to take up the HNLC’s offer for peace talks with the Centre when he was the health minister in June 2020. “The peace talks, long overdue, will go a long way in promoting harmony in the state,” he said.
“We want Meghalaya to be a militancy-free state. We have to speed up negotiations among the militant outfits, the state government and the Centre,” he added. While offering to mediate two years ago, Hek said the peace process should be in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Home Ministry, including that of surrendering before talking truce. He had met the then Union Minister of State (Home), G Kishan Reddy and apprised him of the HNLC offer, which the Centre had welcomed.
The state BJP unit had also offered to act as a mediator between the HNLC and the Centre. But the offer did not go down well with the militant outfit, which termed the saffron party’s attempt as a “political stunt meant to earn some brownie points”.
The HNLC had demanded an interlocutor when it first offered the olive branch in 2018. It made another offer in 2019 for talks “within the ambit of the Constitution of India or even outside the Constitution as per requirements”.
Meanwhile, the HNLC has authorised five of its members to participate in the tripartite peace talks involving the Centre and the Meghalaya government.
The outfit’s vice-chairman Manbhalang Jyrwa, political secretary Aristerwell Thongni and foreign secretary Phrangkupar Diengdoh will be accompanied by two of their personal security officers – Aiborlem Marbaniang and Storgy Lyngdoh.
According to a statement issued by HNLC’s publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw, the decision to send their top leaders to engage in the ongoing peace talks is due to the trust that has been built between the HNLC and the appointed interlocutors — A.K. Mishra from the MHA, Peter Dkhar from the state government and the outfit’s representative, Sadon Blah, who is also the president of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front.
