SHILLONG, Oct 31: The Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) has urged the state government to take immediate action and apprehend the perpetrators of the Friday’s violence which took place during a rally over unemployment called by the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP).

In a statement issued on Sunday, MTDF chairman Larsing Sawyan said, “Confidence in the law and order machinery needs to be restored and the public need to be given reassurance that such blatant acts of public defiance against the order of law and civility will not go unpunished.”

He said the Forum also requested the FKJGP to help identify the members who committed the acts of violence against the innocent people.

Stating that the perpetrators of Friday’s senseless and inhumane acts are the biggest enemies of the people of Meghalaya and they have brought great shame to the people, Larsing said, “Such incidents bring about immeasurable damage to our State.”

He said with the advent and progressive evolution of communication and digital technology, we today live in a world of seamless communication and transfer of information. The violence perpetrated on Friday therefore was not only recorded but shared across the state, region and country.

He regretted that Meghalaya and Meghalayans , particularly the indigenous population have all been painted in very poor light .

“It’s an irony that a rally meant to address unemployment actually resulted in an atmosphere that damages the state’s economy and image thereby promoting an atmosphere that hampers job creation and economic growth,” Larsing said.

“The FKJGP President has apologized for the incident and we applaud him for having the leadership to accept the gross mistakes of his members.

However the abuse and violence afflicted on innocent citizens of the country is a criminal act and it is an incident that has damaged the goodwill of the Khasi & Jaintia people,” he said while adding “It is also an act that has severely compromised the economic potential of the State particularly in the sector of Tourism.”

He said dissent and protests are healthy for a vibrant democracy but in today’s day and age, they need to be done in a manner befitting of the modern world we live in. Henceforth, we hope that all NGOs will work towards addressing their issues in a constructive and peaceful manner.

“The power of dialogue, community solidarity and non-violence is what gave this great nation its independence 75 years ago. Why do we need to resort to archaic methods and activities as a means to address our issues that are now consigned to the back pages of history in most societies worldwide,” he questioned.

Also stating that Meghalaya today stands at the threshold of huge economic growth that can be achieved primarily through Tourism on account of two factors, the MTDF chairman said, firstly , with the continuous rise in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , India recently overtook the the United Kingdom to become the 4th largest country in the world in terms of GDP leading to the country becoming one of the largest consumer markets in the world .

Secondly, post pandemic people have an aversion to long distance overseas travels besides it is highly cumbersome nowadays to obtain visas to European countries. These two factors present a huge opportunity to Meghalaya tourism in the coming years.

“It’s is therefore important to acknowledge the importance of tourism as a game changer for livelihood creation for the local people particularly in the rural areas,” he said.

Further, the MTDF requested the support of all community organizations and NGOs in the state to work unitedly towards promoting an atmosphere of peace irrespective of our internal differences.

“Issues concerning our state need to be addressed through electoral debates and finally in the Assembly rather than in streets, thoroughfares and market places.

The time for change has come, and change we must ourselves first,” it stated.