Shillong: In a positive development relating to the peace talks with banned militant outfit Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), the Meghalaya government and Central Government have reached an agreement to provide safe passage to the leaders of HNLC for engaging in peace talks.
HNLC representative Sadon Blah on Tuesday held a press conference in Shillong to inform about the development of the peace talks and the decision of the HNLC to join the mainstream.
According to Blah, for the last three months, the executive committee of HNLC has held three rounds of meetings with the state’s interlocutor, PS Dkhar.
Blah, who is also the National Youth Front (HNYF) president, informed that there has been an agreement between the Central and State government with the HNLC concerning a safe passage for the leaders of HNLC who are engaged in the peace talks to come and go or stay within the territory of India, Meghalaya.
“The entire intention of a safe passage is to enable the HNLC to come and have a direct conversation with the direct authorities, be it from state or central government. It will also speed up the process of peace talks if the leaders of HNLC are able to join the discussion and negotiations that are needed to be done,” said Blah.
When asked for his comments on the ceasefire, Blah refused to comment citing that it was not appropriate to discuss right now since it was about the development of the peace process.
He said that if the ceasefire has to happen, it will happen only after HNLC leaders put forward their views in front of the Central and state governments. He added that they have yet to discuss the legality of allowing the HNLC to come to the negotiation table.
Concerning rehabilitation of cadres, he said this was part of the protocol that the government has to follow and will have to take a decision regarding the same in the days to come.
It maybe mentioned that the state government had appointed retired IAS officer Peter S Dkhar as the interlocutor for facilitating the peace talks with banned militant outfit HNLC.
On February 9, 2022, the state government welcomed the statement made by HNLC offering peace talks and sought official communication. On February 10, official confirmation was received by the government, which then appointed Dkhar on March 10.
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