Shillong, Mar 15: The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) has blamed the National People’s Party (NPP) for the continued participation of non-tribals in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections, an issue that precipitated days of deadly and destructive violence in Garo Hills last week.
The NPP is the lead party in both the state government and GHADC and has held the reins of power for several years.
“At a time when the rights, identity and constitutional safeguards of the indigenous tribal people are under threat, the NPP has chosen to hide behind empty words, delays and calculated silence,” CoMSO said in a statement. “This issue is far too serious to be reduced to another round of political drama and deceptive assurances. The indigenous people of Meghalaya are no longer willing to tolerate a government that speaks loudly in public but acts timidly when it comes to defending the interests of the indigenous tribal population.”
CoMSO stated categorically that the NPP cannot continue to “fool” the people with promises of “looking into the matter” or to “resolve the issue” while allowing confusion, loopholes and legal uncertainty to persist.
If the NPP and the government truly respects the autonomy of the GHADC and the rights of the A·chik community, then it must prove it through immediate action, CoMSO added. “The continued failure to decisively resolve this matter only raises serious doubts about the sincerity, commitment and political will of the NPP-led government. A government that cannot protect the very foundation of indigenous tribal rights has no moral authority to preach about governance, justice, or indigenous welfare.”
