The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a militant outfit from Meghalaya, has initiated tripartite peace talks with the Central and Meghalaya governments. The dialogue is aimed at facilitating a peaceful resolution of the HNLC’s demand for a separate homeland for Khasi tribes in Meghalaya. The first day’s talks were described as positive by the peace process interlocutor, Sadon K. Blah. During the meeting, the HNLC requested the withdrawal of all charges against its members to foster an environment of trust between the outfit and the governments. In response, government representatives attended the meeting with open minds and expressed their desire for lasting peace.
The Centre-appointed interlocutor, A.K. Mishra, Meghalaya’s representatives, Ronnie Wahlang and Peter Dkhar, and seven HNLC leaders, including their interlocutor Blah, attended the meeting at Umiam guest house. The HNLC vice-chairman, Manbha Rynjah, said that the general amnesty would not disrupt ongoing peace talks. The HNLC has been responsible for a few low-intensity IED blasts since 2020 while demanding a sovereign Khasi tribal homeland in Meghalaya.
Last year, the government facilitated HNLC leaders’ safe passage to participate in the peace talks without any preconditions. Following the HNLC’s offer to hold peace talks, the Centre approved the peace process, and Meghalaya’s government formally initiated talks with the outfit. Dkhar, with extensive knowledge of Meghalaya’s ethnic issues, was appointed as the state’s interlocutor.
The HNLC is a breakaway faction of the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council, the first tribal militant outfit of Meghalaya, formed in the mid-1980s. While militancy has declined in the state over recent years, the HNLC’s peace talks with the government may serve as a turning point towards a peaceful resolution of the outfit’s demands.
