HNLC Asserts Hope; Hints That Peace Talks in Meghalaya May Go in Vain.

SHILLONG: According to reports, the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has cautioned that the upcoming peace talks with the Meghalaya government may not be successful while simultaneously expressing hope for a positive end.

Sainkupar Nongtraw, general secretary of the HNLC as well as its publicity secretary, said in a statement that the group is not capitulating but rather seeking to debate and address the political issues that the Hynniewtrep community is currently facing.

According to him, the HNLC longs for its own piece of land to call home, much like the Mizos in Mizoram. Land is the foundation of all existence, he continued, so the government must devise a long-term answer.

Nongtraw claimed that once the HNLC has its own territory, it will be able to establish its own government and function as a free society. He continued by saying that the HNLC could develop and create jobs on its own property, support its own economy, and exploit its mineral and water resources to exist.

The HNLC chief added that the Garo people must comprehend the necessity of having their own land as well. He claimed that the Achik and the Hynniewtrep did not want to become the next group of stateless or landless people, like the Kurds, Rohingya, or Kuki.

Two days after Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma declared that formal peace negotiations with the group will begin during the first week of June, the HNLC made its declaration. The declaration was made during a meeting between Prestone Tynsong, the deputy chief minister in charge of home (police), and HNLC representatives in front of the interlocutor.

The HNLC has been engaged in an insurgency for more than 20 years, thus the peace talks between the government and the group are a big development. Through the discussions, both parties have an opportunity to settle their disputes and restore stability to the area.

Conrad K. Sangma, the chief minister, announced on Wednesday that negotiations for peace will start early next month with the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, a banned terrorist organisation in Meghalaya.

While Sadon K. Blah, president of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front and an HNLC interlocutor, stated that the group had presented "conditions" for the peace negotiations.

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