SHILLONG, June 4 – The Meghalaya Government will soon take up the issue of state-based militant camps in Bangladesh with the new government at the Centre, as part of a fresh approach towards tackling the menace of militancy. Chief Minister DD Lapang and Home Minister Robert G Lyngdoh will visit New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to discuss militancy in the state, besides the issue of North-east-based militant camps in Bangladesh after the state budget session in the end of the current month.
It may be mentioned here that the Border Security Force (BSF) has handed over a fresh list of 210 North-east-based militant camps in Bangladesh to the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) authorities. The crucial issue of holding dialogue with banned militant outfits would also figure during the meeting with the Union Home Minister, the Home Minister told reporters.
“The Government is open for dialogue with the militants. We can bring peace without bloodshed,” the Home Minister reiterated, even as he regretted the fact that neither the Garo Hills-based banned A’chik National Volunteers’ Council (ANVC) nor the outlawed Khasi outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) have responded to the Government’s offer for peace talks so far.
The Shillong Khasi Jaintia Church Leaders’ Forum (SKJLF) and the Garo Baptist Convention have been officially authorised to mediate between the government and the militants in the Khasi and Garo Hills respectively.
Meanwhile, expressing satisfaction over the gradual decline in insurgent activities in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills, the Home Minister said this was possible because of the active co-operation of all sections of the society in ensuring peace. “There is peace in Khasi and Jaintia Hills because of people’s realisation,” he said.
However, the situation in the Garo Hills is still volatile, Lyngdoh regretted, stating that due to lack of peace, the farmers in rural areas were experiencing immense hardships. The Home Minister reiterated his call to the militant groups to come forward for talks, even as he appealed to the people at large to extend co-operation to the government in its efforts to bring about a lasting solution to the problem of insurgency in the hill state.