Shillong, May 21: Mr Saiñkupar Nongtraw General Secretary cum Publicity secretary of the band outfit the HNLC said that time and again the words surrender and peace talk have become a political joke .
Mr Nongtraw said that they do not have any faith either in the Congress government nor the present government . they are being fed with assurances and lies. If the government is really serious then it should appoint an interlocutor and show its seriousness.
Now at this juncture the invitation of the government has injected doubts into thier minds. They were told to surrender and only after surrendering shall the government talk. How can they trust the Government when we had bitter experiences in the past.
Mr Nongtraw said, for the last five years they were kept into the dark, now they cannot take risks to lay down arms. He question what will happen to their ideology that they had been fighting for decades long, will that be wise enough, their appeal to the home minister is to consult the various stake holders NGOs, pressure groups ,church elders along with Hynñiewtrep cabinet ministers.
As to why should we not get an opportunity to come to the peace negotiations like our counterpart the Achik National Volunteer council(ANVC), will that not tantamount to being one sided and, will it not create a negative impact into the minds of our Hynñiewtrep people asked Mr Nongtraw.
After decades of confrontation and untold sufferings, the HNLC decided to have political dialogue with the Government of Meghalaya as well as the GOI as we in the view of acknowledgement that the government will seek a peaceful solution, leaving aside all bitterness.
Many lives have been lost and much blood has been spilled and lots of hard work has gone into ensuring the return of peace to our region. Any kind of political or military conflicts can only be eradicated by dialogue.
The General Secretary of the HNLC said that they have not seen any sincerity from the government and that makes us apprehensive. They do not subscribe to the word surrender. Now thier aim is to do or die. They have taken the matter of influx seriously and they support all the NGOs who are leading the movement against influx.
The General Secretary of the HNLC said that they do not subscribe anymore to peace as the government will never want peace rather than conflicts.
Now the ball is in the governments court as to decide whether it wants to give us a chance to enter the mainstream or to continue the bloodshed, said Mr Saiñkupar Nongtraw General secretary cum Publicity secretary, HNLC.
