The outlawed Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has reiterated its demand that a general amnesty be granted and criminal cases be withdrawn before it comes back to the negotiating table.
The militant group had recently decided to withdraw from the tripartite peace talks unless the Meghalaya government agrees to withdraw all the criminal cases registered against the leaders of the outfit. However, the government has maintained that to do so is no simple matter as the law must take its own course.
Addressing a press conference today, the HNLC’s interlocutor, Sadon K Blah, emphasised the need for a “political” approach instead of a “legal” one.
Asked if the HNLC had taken a hasty decision to withdraw from the talks, Blah explained that there have been a handful of discussions with officials from the Union Home Ministry, Intelligence Bureau, state government, etc and in each one, the major sticking point was the demand for an amnesty.
The government had granted HNLC leaders safe passage to attend the talks but balked at granting an amnesty. Blah said that, even as discussions were going on, summons were being served to the HNLC leaders for various criminal charges, “which leads to a trust deficit”.
“So, if the cases are not dropped and if the general amnesty is not granted then the peace process is over,” he added.
Blah also described the HNLC conflict with the authorities as a war and stated that in all wars a political approach, not a legal one, has to be taken to bring the fighting to an end.
The HNLC go-between also said that, according to the representative of the central government, AK Mishra, the crimes that the militant leaders have been accused of are “not heinous” ones. According to Blah, the cases are all related to bomb blast incidents and the government should therefore consider withdrawing the charges.
