Meghalaya Rebel Group HNLC gets safe passage for direct peace talks with Centre

In a major development, the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) President Sadon K Blah who is also the interlocutor for the banned Militant outfit the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has informed that there has been an agreement between the Central Government, the State Government and HNLC to provide a safe passage for the leaders of the banned outfit to enter the State in commencing the peace talk.

Blah informed that in the next few days the leaders of HNLC will be joining the discussion regarding the issues concerning the agenda of the peace process.

Notably, the Meghalaya government has appointed Peter S Dkhar, IAS (retired Indian Administrative Service) as the interlocutor for facilitating the peace talks with the banned military outfit HNLC.

 While the outfit has appointed the HNYF president Sadon K Blah to represent the outfit while having peace talks with the interlocutors appointed by the government.

Speaking to media personnel in the city on Tuesday, Blah said that during the last three months, the executive Committee of HNLC has held three rounds of meetings with the State’s interlocutor, P S Dkhar, IAS.

“Till date, there is a development that there has been an agreement from the Central Government, State Government and HNLC specifically with regard to the safe passage in the sense that the leaders of HNLC who are to be engaged in the peace process can come and go and can station themselves within the territory of Meghalaya,”

The safe passage is to enable the HNLC leaders to come forward and have direct discussions with authorities be it the Centre or the state government, said Blah.

 The move would speed up the peace process if they are able to join the discussion and do the negotiation with the centre and the state, he added.

On asked about the ceasefire, Blah has deferred commenting anything, stating that the question of ceasefire is not appropriate to be discussed at the moment.  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 the State Government even as he added that right now, they would have to discuss the legality of allowing the HNLC to come to the negotiation table first.

On asked about the strength and the rehabilitation of cadres, Blah refused to reveal the current strength of the outfit but on the rehabilitation concerned.

 Blah has said that in the coming days the government will have to make a decision as far as rehabilitation of cadres but rehabilitation programs is a normal and a due process that the Government has to follow.