Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday categorically rejected the idea to issue a blanket order saying that all cases against the proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) are being withdrawn.
Talking to Mediapersons in Shillong, Sangma said that the matter related to amnesty has been discussed on the case to case basis.
Asked if the cases against the HNLC cannot be withdrawn, although the Chief Minister did not give any direct reply, he said, “We have discussed those matters and obviously on case to case basis, there are some which are very heinous in nature, so everything will have to be dealt separately but this cannot talked as a blanket order saying that all cases will be withdrawn, it depends on case to case basis.”
Sangma urged the proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to continue with the peace talks with the government.
He said, “There are standard conditions (as per MHA guidelines) that are there for all talks and hence if we change those conditions for some organizations then it becomes difficult to have a uniform platform which treats all the organizations because the terms and conditions cannot be changed. Therefore, whatever terms and conditions that we used and laid down for other organizations, the same conditions are being put for HNLC peace talks also.”
When asked, Sangma said that the government has only seen a letter from the HNLC conveying its decision not to continue with the peace talks. “Therefore, we have urged them that, look, there will always be challenges, there will always be certain things which can be ironed out and ultimately the desire to have peace is what is most important,” he said.
“We are open to discussion and talks and we urge them that they should continue with the peace talks,” he added.