Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong saw little significance in the hoisting of the flag of the outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) in the city on August 14.
The HNLC flag fluttered briefly in Jaiaw before police quickly took it down. Both the government and militant group have publicly expressed hopes that peace talks will be successful.
Today, Tynsong said, “Don’t take it seriously. One person may have had the flag which was 10 years old, so out of curiosity and desperation he displayed the flag. And it happened only in one place and this isn’t a serious issue.”
What is more significant, the Deputy CM said, is that the HNLC did not call for a boycott of Independence Day this year.
“For the first time this year no statement was issued. I think that is the bigger story here, so we should not focus on this small issue (of the flag),” Tynsong said. “I am positive that the peace talks will reach a conclusion where both parties will be able to work together.”
