Hold talks with rebels, women's group tells Meghalaya

Shillong, Aug 16 (IANS) A prominent women's group in Meghalaya Thursday asked the government to accept an offer of talks of a militant organisation, which is fighting for a sovereign homeland in the state.

The Civil Society Women's Organisation (CSWO) urged the state government to accept the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council's (HNLC) offer for talks.

"The state government should take the opportunity to initiate talks between the central government and the HNLC. There is a chance for talks across the table with the HNLC, who have made their offer clear," CSWO chairperson Agnes Kharshiing said.

HNLC general secretary Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, who is hiding in Bangladesh for over two decades, recently said his outfit is ready to come to the negotiating table.

HNLC, which stages hit-and-run attacks from its hideouts in Bangladesh, seeks a sovereign Hynniewtrep homeland in eastern Meghalaya.

"Solutions should be thrashed out across the table and not through arms," Kharshiing said.

Thangkhiew vowed to continue HNLC's armed struggle if the government ignored the offer.

HNLC is closely linked to the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland as well as the National Liberation Front of Tripura.