SHILLONG, March 28 - The State Government today said that it is awaiting the response of the Central Government to initiate peace talks with the Garo National Liberation Council (GNLA.)
Stating that the proposal to initiate peace talks with the outfit has to be considered with the approval from the Central Government, the Congress-led Government said the Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has written a letter to the Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on the 8th of this month on the matter.
Officials said that the Chief Minister has underlined the necessity for exploring all options for finding a more enduring solution to the problem of insurgency to the Home Minister and had suggested to the Central Government to designate an Interlocutor to initiate a dialogue with GNLA.
The Union Home Minister was also impressed upon the need for a quick response to the proposal of the State Government so that the problem of insurgency could be tackled at the earliest.
The Chief Minister�s letter was followed up with another letter from the Chief Secretary to the Union Home Secretary on the issue.
�The Chief Secretary wrote a letter to the Union Home Secretary on Tuesday to impress upon the Central Government the need for holding talks with GNLA and other militant groups in order to rid the State of the scourge of insurgency and ensure that developmental projects do not get stalled,� officials said.
On the other hand the Chief Minister has also suggested the names of three persons of eminence who could be designated as facilitators to initiate talks between the GNLA and the Government Interlocutor.
The Government made the statement after the GNLA yesterday warned of disrupting the Congress party�s Lok Sabha poll campaign in Garo Hills if the State Government does not initiate peace talks with it within three days.
�The State Government would like to place on record its genuine commitment for bringing in peace and harmony among all sections of the people so that developmental initiatives reaches all sections of the society,� the officials said.
