2009 From Today
- How about some experiments on peace? -
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 01, 2009 -

A NEW Year-2009 has begun from today. The year 2008, just passed, was a year full of tragedies for most of the people of Manipur.

So much violence, too many deaths, too many hand-grenades, too frequent blockades and bandhs, virtually daily sit-in-protest demonstrations and so many other issues bogged down the people of Manipur in their endeavours towards progress.

It was a year which saw too much hindrances in the life of the people as a whole. With all that hindrances of various kinds, the overall development of the people barely managed to inch forward, when in fact it should have rushed like the rest of the world did.

All these put a spoke in the normal duties of every section of the society.

Students couldn't study properly at schools/colleges or university, teachers couldn't teach properly, judges and lawyers couldn't carry on their legal practices properly at the courts, doctors and nurses couldn't do their duties properly at the hospitals and clinics, engineers/SOs couldn't perform their duties unhindered, businessmen couldn't carry on with their business undisturbed, transporters of essential commodities including cooking gas and other petroleum products couldn't bring in these commodities without any obstacle and above all, even the media couldn't carry out their duty freely without disturbances, diktats and intimidations.

Remember the murder of Konsam Rishikanta, staff employee of the Imphal Free Press, and so many other incidents of intimidating pressures causing the Imphal-based newspapers to stop publication for days together.

Who caused all these? Let's be frank. Some of these were caused by one or other group of people of particular communities or students who seemingly found the state government being indifferent towards their "rightful demands for justice" in some issues.

Right or no right, inconveniences and disturbances were directly delivered to the general public, making the people, specially the poor people suffer untold hardships. Then some, nay, most were caused by the various armed groups of different hues and flags.

In their over-zealous actions to collect funds for their respective groups, they seemed to have almost forgotten their much propagated cause of working and fighting for the people's welfare, independence and all. They seem to be lacking the thought that some of their actions were making the people disillusioned with their grand ideas of homeland or liberation, as the case may be.

And another equally proportionate contribution to the chain of disturbances and violences happening around is given by the State Police and the Central para military forces who are supposed to be the keepers of law and protectors of life and properties of the citizens.

These lawful forces also contribute, more or less, to the prevalence of violence in the state just as the unlawful underground groups do.

Now that a new year has dawned and with it new hopes and aspirations are being built up in the minds of the people, let all the concerned-inclusive of all community-based organisations, students' organisations, civil society organisations, armed groups which are in agreement of suspension of operations with the government, other armed UG organisations and the Manipur Police Commandos, the Assam Rifles and other Central forces- start thinking of finding ways to launch the kind of agitations which should not disturb normal life of the general public, and to shed violence, not blood in all actions.

Let all parties concerned make it a necessary rule to avoid using force that may give rise to violence. Stop all kinds of activities that affect and appear to affect the people's lives, rights and interests.

Stop killing-whether in real or fake encounters, whether insurgents or suspects. Stop meting out capital punishment to persons by the kangaroo courts on some grounds.

Stop presenting grenade gifts as a prelude to shooting or blasting bombs later for the purpose of extortion. Stop all kinds of violence.

Try to deal with situations without killing, without shedding a single drop of blood. Let all concerned focus on experimenting with peace. Only peace will bring a lasting solution to all problems.

Let's not forget, violence begets violence and more violence.

Peace begets peace.