By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 3: The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has continued to maintain a stony silence despite appeals by the state government to come forward and take part in fresh peace talks.
The HNLC’s peace talks with the state and central governments were stalled last year after a few rounds. The proscribed outfit had withdrawn from the process after alleging that the government was not sincere in addressing its core demands.
On December 31 last year, HNLC “chairman-cum-commander-in-chief” Boby Marwein and general secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw had jointly written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announcing the outfit’s decision to withdraw from the talks.
Subsequently, the state government made several appeals to the HNLC to reconsider its decision and participate in fresh talks but it chose to remain silent.
Recently, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had stated that the HNLC’s demand for amnesty was under examination and a final decision would be taken by the MHA and not the state government.
“We are going into the peace talks with an open mind to find a solution. We will examine whatever is under constitutional provisions and how much we can accommodate,” Sangma had stated.
He had also said that the state government was determined to move forward with the talks and that it would try to address all concerns.
The statement reignited the hope about the resumption of the talks.
HNLC interlocutor Sadon Blah had stated the government’s signal to reconsider amnesty prompted them to think about the peace process again. However, there has been a lull ever since then.