Lei-ingkhol Protest Against Forced Eviction Attempt by Government

18th May 2012

Locals protest Lei-ingkhol takeover by Govt on April 19 2012 :: Pix - TSE

Office of the
Joint Action Committee Agianst Eviction of Lei-Ingkhol
Lei-Ingkhol, Imphal East

Ref: 20120518 JAC PR

MANIPURI: (Ngasi, Lei-Ingkhol bu Capital Project ki mingda sarkarna lam khopchinnnaba hotnaba thouonggi mayokta, JAC against the Eviction of Lei-Ingkhol (JAC Lei-ingkhol) na sinduna meeyamgi oiba meefam ama pangthokkhre. JAC gi president W. Basanta na preside toukhiba meefam aduda mathangsitna All Manipur United Clubs Organisation, Citizens’ Concern for Dam & Development, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Organization, Forum for Indigenous Perspectives and Action, Columnist Writers, Ethno Heritage Council, Human Rights Alert, Just Peace Foundation, Life Watch, National Identity Protection Committee, Poirei Leimarol amasung, United Committee Manipur gi meehutsingna saruk yakhi.

Ningsingba yai, Lei- Ingkhol gi meeyamna khun knbagi khongjang ama 21 February 2005 tagi khongjang leptana changsillaklamlaga 12 September 2006 ta lepkhi. Union Minister of State for Labour Shri Oscar Fernandes na khun kn-gani haina saklamba wasak adu eekai khumnaba oina khongjang lepkhi. Adumakpu sarkna khongfam hndokpa toudana, 16 December 2010 da inou nouna lam khopchinbagi cherol thoklakpadagi khongjanggi mamee tahallakhi. Electoral candidates singna Lei- Ingkhol kn-gani haibagi aranba wasak touduna meeyambu matam khara namthaduna thamkhi. Chief Minister da memorandum kaya pisinkhibagi kannaba paokhum fangdaba, unnasi haiba yabiraktaba, Governor na madi oopai leite haina eenthorakpa, asigumba thouong kaya asina maram oiduna JAC nouna reconstitute touduna ngasigi meefam asi koukhibani.

Meefam asiga mari leinana JAC na pamphlet ama leibak meeyamda chaithokkhi. Meefam loisillakpada JAC na makhagi warepsing asi loukhi:

• Praja meeyamgi ayaaba yaodana Govt n lei ingkhol lousinnaba hotnariba asibu yaningdaba amasung condemn touba fongdokpa
• Lei-Ingkhol lousinnnaba governmentna chattharakliba thouongbu lousindanaba meeyam punna thengnaminnaba.

JAC gi maikeidagi Manipur media da achetpa thajaba thambaga loina lengbiraklamba media personnel amasung lup ateigi meehutsingbu thagatpa fongdokchari).

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English: (Today, a meeting against the proposed encroachment and land grab in Lei-Ingkhol village in the name of Capital Project by the government was organised by the JAC against the Eviction of Lei- Ingkhol (JAC Lei- Ingkhol). The meeting presided by the JAC president W. Basanta was attended by the representatives of All Manipur United Clubs Organisation, Citizens’ Concern for Dam & Development, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Organization, Forum for Indigenous Perspectives and Action, Columnist Writers, Ethno Heritage Council, Human Rights Alert, Just Peace Foundation, Life Watch, National Identity Protection Committee, Poirei Leimarol and, United Committee Manipur.

It is worth reminding that, Lei- Ingkhol people’s movement to defend the village that began on 21 February 2005 was suspended on 12 September 2006. The suspension was enforced in due respect to the promise made by the then Union Minister of State for Labour Shri Oscar Fernandes to defend the village. However, the premise of the struggle had been continued as the government without any restraint had issued a notification on 16 December 2010 to continue land encroachment.

For a considerable period of time the people were kept under silence by the false promises of the electoral candidates to defend Lei-Ingkhol. As the result of the failure to receive any positive reply to the memorandums submitted to the CM and the Governor’s indifferent attitude on the ground of helplessness, the JAC was reconstituted and today’s a meeting was organised.

The JAC had circulated a public pamphlet in relation to the meeting. At the end of the meeting the JAC had adopted the following resolutions:

• To oppose and condemn the attempt of the government to encroach and grab land in Lei-Ingkhol without the consent of the people
• To collectively defend against the means and tactics of the government to grab land in Lei-Ingkhol

The JAC reiterated trust in the Manipur media and shows gratitude to the representatives of the organisations and media personnel who attended the meeting today.)

Sd/-
Dr. Malem NIngthouja,
Vice President,
JAC Lei-Ingkhol

Invasive War in Lei-Ingkhol: Help Us
18 May 2012

Lei-Ingkhol belongs to us. The Irong rivulet and Chingmeirong Cheiraoching (hill) are our natural boundaries. We are against any policy by the outsiders to encroach on our land. The village is the site where our umbilical cords are buried and the deaths are soiled. The village is our history, economic livelihood, social relation (value system), and the distinctive identity and dignity of being a living community. It is our democratic rights and also our inevitable duty to defend the village.

Before 2005 we had not confronted the government. We were quite mesmerised by the illusion that since the tax payers constitute the government, the government was merely our servant (entrusted manager) in a household. However in 2005 the pretext of confrontation was superimposed on us when the servant usurped power and encroached on our village. Many of us had suffered casualty during the confrontation. The government cannot stand openly against our just ideological confrontation and the meaning of democracy. However, using their superior muscle power and divisive tactics they had been invading us consistently. For the last seven years we are living in a hysterical situation.

We did not begin the confrontation with the government. They are the one who begin it! Who are they? They are the clique comprising ministers, contractors and bureaucrats who misuses the law and the police forces to fulfil their vested personal material interest. With an aim to misappropriate public fund they uses the camouflage of development and destroyed agricultural and residential lands to construct infrastructures. We are compelled to take up our inevitable duty as they encroached on our land and intervened into our economic livelihood. In other sense their character exposes the material implication of the Government of India’s Special Assistance Plan in Manipur. We, therefore, condemned the Government of India as well.

In due respect to the promise made by the then Union Minister of State for Labour Shri Oscar Fernandes who had promised to defend our village, we had suspended on 12 September 2006 the consistent movement that had been carried out since 21 February 2005. For economic survival our wage labourers were also compelled to take leave from the struggle and carried out wage earning in other places. On the other hand the Government was using unjust forces, promoting traitors who betrayed the cause of the village as they were entrapped by the corrupt bait hooked on them by the contractors’ lobby, and false promises to divert away attention from open agitation. Electoral politics had also disunited us a lot. Our friends, fraternal organisers and supporters were also tied up with overlapping issues and were concentrated in those respective activities. Therefore there was a temporary setback in our struggle for some time.

However, we have clear aims and vision:-

• Lei-Ingkhol belongs to us. Irong rivulet and Cheiraoching are our natural boundaries. We will not tolerate the clique of contractors who uses the cloak of government and development to encroach on our land, occupy and grab land against our consent. Let the government construct their buildings in un-disputed area.
• We recommend the government clear off the land under occupation by the iron remains, remnants of under-construction infrastructures and buildings that are likely to be shifted away. We highly needed this land to construct playground, market complex, recreating centre and other necessary infrastructures required for the existence of a community.
• Immediately open up our land route that had been unilaterally blocked at gun point by the newly constructed High Court complex.
• Immediately put a halt to the noise pollution released as a result of the construction of the capital complex at nights.
• We suspect that our village will be blamed for any unwanted incident on the outsider mayang labourers in the Capital Complex who are freely loitering in and around our village. Please restraint these mayang labourers from entering in our village.
• The contractors are destroying environment and ecological balance through illegal vast scale earth removing from the forestry areas in the Cheiraoching hill. This must be immediately stopped.
• The Cheiraoching hill is associated with our economic livelihood. We are planning to develop tourism there. Please put on end to letting armed personnel to freely loiter around in this area to disturb our peace.
• The government must not use the Land Acquisition Act 1894 against the interest of the people or the Act must be repealed.

We would like to appeal once again to the deliberately stubborn government. We want to have good relation with the government towards collective role in the developmental initiatives. Please do not passed-by or pose a threat to our rights and identity. On the other hand we would like to appeal again to those who are surviving in the similar condition and those friends in our nation and beyond who stand for justice. It is the right direction to work collectively under a united banner for justice and democracy. Unity will bring us success. The success will set an example. Let us fight together against the unrestraint invasive war in Lei-Ingkhol.

JAC Against the Eviction of Lei-Ingkhol

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* This info was sent by Dr. Malem NIngthouja (Vice President, JAC Lei-Ingkhol) who can be contacted at mningthouja(at)yahoo(dot)com
This Press Release was posted on May 18, 2012.

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