Ladakh talks with open mind and heart: Sonam Wangchuk

SRINAGAR: Leh Apex Body (LAB) member and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk struck a moderate tone Sunday as he urged the Centre to restore democratic rights to the Union territory of Ladakh.

“....We must keep an open mind and an open heart so that it does not become a question of ‘we win, you lose’ or ‘you win, we lose’. We have to adopt a middle path for a win-win situation,” Wangchuk said at a press conference in Kargil after addressing a large gathering that reverberated with chants of “sher aaya (the lion has come) and “Hindustan Zindabad (long live India)”.




Wangchuk insisted that demands for statehood and Sixth Schedule status in Ladakh were within the Constitution but advocated a “flexible approach” in talks on these issues with the Centre.

“In the next round of talks, Ladakhi leaders will continue to raise their demands forcefully but with a flexible approach. If in the next round we get nothing, the country will ask why there is no flexibility from the Centre,” Wangchuk said, expressing readiness to join the talks if necessary.

A resolution to Ladakh’s demands should be reached so that people focus on nation-building rather than protests, Wangchuk said. “I am here to thank you for the support you extended when I was in jail under NSA,” Wangchuk said.

He was referring to the nearly six months he spent in Jodhpur jail after his arrest over violence last Sept in Ladakh during protests for statehood and Sixth Schedule status. At least four people were killed and more than 80 injured in alleged police firing on the protesters.

Wangchuk, booked under NSA on charges of inciting the protesters, was freed last month after the Union home ministry (MHA) revoked his detention and affirmed the Centre’s commitment to “constructive engagement and dialogue” to resolve the region’s issues.

The first round of talks between an MHA panel and Ladakhi representatives was held in Delhi on Oct 22 last year after the Centre ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged firing. Another round of talks took place on Feb 4 but remained “inconclusive”. This has led to calls for fresh talks.
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