Shillong, May 18: Meghalaya government has an "open mind" in talking to militant groups of the state but is not interested in an "individual facilitator" for the same, state chief secretary J Tayeng said here. "We have an open mind. We are not really interested in who will be the facilitator. We are interested in ending the state of terror," Tayeng said when asked about the government's reported move of initiating talks with banned Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) extremists in the Garo hills region.

The government had earlier offered proposal of talks and now wanted to initiate dialogue, he said.

Tayeng said that the government earlier allowed church leaders of Khasi Jaintia Hills to negotiate with another separatist group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) but no headway was made in the exercise as the outfit refused to recognise the religious heads, he said.
Bureau Report