HNLC withdraws from tripartite peace talks with Centre & Meghalaya govt

Shillong: The outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has announced its decision to withdraw from the tripartite peace talks with the Centre and the Meghalaya, as the governments have not addressed its core demands, including lifting of ban from the Council.
In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs through the central government’s interlocutor A.K.Mishra, the chairman-cum-commander in-chief of HNLC, Boby Marwein and general secretary and publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw announced that the militant outfit.
Is withdrawing from the tripartite peace talks due to its “general demands” not being met.
“If the fundamental issues remain unaddressed, our political demands would also be dismissed,” the HNLC leaders said.
Stating that the peace process has come to such a “critical point’, Marwein and Nongtraw said : “nevertheless we feel compelled to persist in our armed struggle.”
The peace process with the outfit has barely begun and the Meghalaya government insisted that its top leaders come forward and sit across the negotiating table.
The HNLC, however, wants a general amnesty provided to its top leaders and other members of the outfit, which the government has not agreed to. Both sides have remained stuck to this sticking, which has derailed the talks.
“We seek the withdrawal of all pending cases against our “eaders and cadres in both lower and higher courts throughout the state, with special attention to cases in Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills. Resolving these cases will contribute to a more conducive environment for dialogue,” Nongtraw said in an e-mail press statement.
Claiming that the HNLC have demonstrated flexibility by engaging in discussions within the framework of the Indian constitution, Nongtraw said that it was the government that “remains rigid in its stance”.
“Such an attitude and policy will only exacerbate the situation moving forward. If the government continues to disregard our voices at the negotiation table, resorting to violence becomes the only option on the battlefield,” he said.
“We have to speak the language that the government understands – the government doesn’t understand the language of peace, but rather the language of violence. Only then can we hope to engage in a meaningful dialogue. The time of waiting and the era of patience are finally over; now is the moment to kick back and embrace relentless aggression,” the HNLC statement, which cited several points, said.