New Delhi: In his first public remarks after being released from jail, activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday said he wanted to see the development in a “positive light” and hoped it would lead to a “meaningful dialogue” on the demands of agitating bodies in Ladakh.
Addressing a press conference here along with his wife and HIAL co-founder Gitanjali J Angmo, Wangchuk said the protests in Ladakh have been aimed solely at initiating a constructive dialogue process.
He also said that talks are a “give and take process” and both sides will have to make “certain accommodations.”
“We were sure of a victory in the court, but a win was not enough. I wanted a win-win,” he said.
He also expressed the hope that the Supreme Court would rule on the Habeas Corpus petition filed by his wife to set a precedent.
Wangchuk described the government’s move to release him as an “extending of hand to build trust and to facilitate meaningful, constructive dialogue”.
“They have offered a constructive, meaningful dialogue. This is what we have wanted, and we had to struggle so much, walk to Delhi, sit on ‘anshan’ (fast). All movements in Ladakh are for starting the dialogue process,” he said.
“Usually, you see people picking up guns and the government appealing for dialogue. Here, people are urging the government to start a dialogue,” he said.
He hoped it would not just be a dialogue, but “meaningful, effective talks, which lead us to something good”.
Talking about the incidents in Ladakh, he said many “meaningless arrests” occurred.”Even people who were going to donate blood got arrested and got an FIR. Such things have happened,” he claimed.
He said it should be examined how the violence started.
“There are also voices among people that ask — where did it start? How did this violence start? Actually, that must be examined.
“There are voices that ask how come so many people died with injuries in the chest? But I think all this could be undone. People can take back their suspicions and doubts and the government can take back their cases,” he said.
Asked about his next step, Wangchuk said he would travel to Ladakh and consult with leaders of the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which have been spearheading the agitation over the past five years for statehood and extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh.
On whether he would return to agitation, he said, “I have always said I don’t want to sit on hunger strike; I am forced to do it. Now that the government is extending its hand, we hope a good example is set.”
He also said that when dialogues are held with the Centre, both sides should be flexible and accommodating.
“Overall, the two main issues are safeguards under the Sixth Schedule, statehood, or the restoration of democracy… So as I said, it involves give and take. Therefore, if not on both, we would hope on one… That’s how we want to expect to give and take and be flexible in the interest of nation building,” he said.
Wangchuk, however, clarified that leaders in Ladakh would be the ones who would make the decision.
“But of course, it should not be a lose-lose for one side… That will not be a successful dialogue. It can be a win-win where each side accommodates the other,” he said.
The climate activist said he used his time at the Jodhpur jail to meditate. He thanked the jail staff and said even as he could not step out, he felt the “warmth” of Jodhpur.
Wangchuk, 59, was detained on September 26 last year under the stringent NSA, two days after violent protests during the agitation left four people dead.
He was released from Jodhpur Central Jail on Saturday after the Union government revoked his detention with immediate effect.
The LAB and KDA have remained engaged in talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs over their key demands of statehood and Sixth Schedule inclusion, issues that have simmered since the region was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory in 2019.
The outfits held rallies and shut down on Monday to demand the next round of talks as promised during the high-powered committee meeting.
The last meeting of the high-powered committee chaired by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai took place on February 4, where both bodies demanded the release of Wangchuk and 70 other detainees.
