Need for a fresh approach
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: September 15 2011 -

Once again we have come back to the issue Sadar Hills district demand and for obvious reasons.

At the moment, it is the most pressing issue in the state which has a bearing on the whole populace for various reasons. For the people in the valley, their chief concern is the consequences of the twin economic blockades which they have been bearing for the last 40 days or so.

For those in the hills the issue is much more immediate, continues to arouse much passion, with those for and against Sadar Hills ranged against one another on the one hand, and both against the government on the other.

The second reason for coming back again to this issue, is because given the uneasy atmosphere all around the state, we feel that letting this issue fester for long could have disastrous consequences and we plan to keep reminding all the parties involved of just that time and again.

There hasn't been any positive move from the players involved since the last time we visited this issue, if anything, the situation has become even more vexed.

The stakes have been raised even higher. The SHDDC leadership's call to its volunteers and supporters to arm themselves for a final showdown and fight the state forces, burn down its offices and properties was met head on by the government.

In a cabinet meeting held on Sept 13, the state government took a decision to confiscate all the license guns issued to the residents of Sadar Hills and arrest the leaders who gave this call.

Faced with an open challenge to its authority, a very serious one at that–what the SHDDC spelt out for its supporters almost amounted to an armed insurrection, which any government would have found it difficult to ignore.

The state government, perforce, had to take some tough decisions.

But unfortunately, with this decision, the possibility of an early resolution of the issue will further recede.

If this decision is implemented earnestly and if the directives are followed strictly by the state police, there is very strong possibility that a new phase of confrontation between the SHDDC and the state government will unfold with some undesirable consequences.

This would be indeed unfortunate. One would have appreciated the wisdom of the state cabinet if it had come out with a fresh approach to the problem, some new initiative, something which holds out some hope that there is a solution to this problem somewhere and that we will get hold of it someday soon.

The way we see it, with the government not taking any initiative and with both the SHDDC and UNC not ready to engage in dialogue over their avowed stand, there hasn't been any movement forward.

The state government seems to be content with forming the Committee on Reorganisation of Administrative and Police Boundaries and waiting for its report while the SHDDC has rejected the Committee altogether.

Where do we proceed from here? Because the road or the roads we have taken seem to be heading nowhere near a solution.

As we have been advocating all these while in this space, all the parties involved must engage in dialogue, look hard at reaching a solution, though it won't come easy, with a spirit of compromise.

Because, the issue of Sadar will not go away. How best to arrive at an amicable solution taking into consideration the feelings and objections of all the contending parties should be the focus.