The proscribed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has termed the statement of Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong a “political nonsense.”
“It is clear that his words are simply political nonsense. The question that arises is: Who holds the authority to make the final appointments to the judges of the Supreme Court and High Court?” HNLC general secretary, Sainkupar Nongtraw said in a statement today.
He said that the power to grant amnesty to any banned organization lies within the executive branch of the government while the judiciary’s role primarily revolves around interpreting and applying the law, rather than granting amnesty.
“If Tynsong argues that the court process is merely a normal procedure, does this imply that if the Chairman or General Secretary receives an arrest warrant, the government is unable to intervene due to the separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary? If the government is indeed unable to take any action, it appears to be a pre-planned trap,” he said.
Referring to the withdrawal of all cases against the NSCN (IM) by the Nagaland government prior to formal talks in 2002, Nongtraw said, “The government should not deceive or mislead the HNLC. We expect the government to first withdraw the cases, similar to what the Nagaland government did. If the government of Nagaland could do it, then why is the Meghalaya government hesitant to follow suit?”
On Tynsong’s statement about crimes, Nongtraw stated his response contradicts the statements made by the Chief Minister, MHA officials, and interlocutor AK Mishra. He said, that the “crime is a crime” assertion by the Deputy Chief Minister conflicts with the notion that there may be distinctions in the seriousness or circumstances of various crimes.
