Shillong, Feb 1: Despite the instances of IED blasts across the Khasi-Jaintia Hills and serving demand notes to shops and traders by Khasi militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday said the state government is open for talks with the outfit but it should be ‘unconditional’.

“We are very much open. We have always maintained that we are open but it cannot be conditional,” Sangma told journalists when asked if the government is still keen to have peace talks with the outfit in view of the frequent bomb blast incidents.

He said there have been communications between the government and the HNLC for the last three years.

“We have seen that in the initial stages there were conditions. Therefore, we tried to communicate through the Government of India and also through other agencies that these kinds of conditions are not acceptable from the Government of India’s point of view. So, therefore, we have to communicate and say that it has to be done and that they should come to the talk without any conditions and then discuss further. So processes are on for that,” Sangma informed.

The conditions referred to in the letter of the HNLC were related to the Standstill agreement and the Instrument of Accession.