Shillong: Peter S. Dkhar, the Meghalaya government’s pointsman on peace talks with outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) would soon start discussions with leaders of the rebel outfit.
“The interlocutor will now start doing the exercise so once that starts the entire picture will be clearer,” Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said.
“The communication has reached them (HNLC) and they have also verbally, in fact, informed us that they are agreeable to the individuals that we have named,” he said, adding that talks are happening at different levels.
On HNLC General Secretary Saiñkupar Nongtraw saying that the rebel outfit is waiting for official communication from the Meghalaya government with regard to the appointment of interlocutors, the Chief Minister said, “It is not as simple as just writing a letter or me calling somebody or somebody else calling somebody. There is a process we have to follow and those processes are being done. The communication is being done to them, maybe not in writing immediately, but we have informed them about this decision and they are aware about it.”
The Meghalaya government has appointed retired IAS Peter S. Dkhar as interlocutor for facilitating the peace talks with the HNLC. Dkhar will be assisted by former Intelligence Bureau (IB) special director Akshaya Kumar Mishra, who is the advisor in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (North East) and interlocutor for the Naga peace talks.
Mishra will be coordinating between the centre and the state governments for taking forward the process.
The HNLC had written to the state government expressing its willingness for unconditional talks within the framework of the Constitution of India.
