Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network
Imphal, December 21 2008:
More ruckus have kicked up in the aftermath of the alleged church dismantling incident at a Chingmeirong village in Imphal on December 14 evening as allegations and counter-allegations have become the order of the day.
The Chingmeirong Rongmei Youth Club (CRYC) today termed the condemnations of various Christian organisations and 'other secular fora' as unfortunate while North East India Jesus Gospel Ministry and Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (NBCC) have called upon the Government of Manipur to ensure the safety of Christians and urged to bring the culprits to justice at the earliest.
Chingmeirong Rongmei Youth Club cautions the various Christian organisations to refrain from issuing biased and one sided statements without investigating and analysing the facts and figures of the December 14 incident.
The CRYC said that the incident in the Chingmeirong village was purely an internal matter which can be solved 'internally'.
Revealing the genesis of the incident, the CRYC said that the Chingmeirong womenfolks have been on a regular duty every evening as a measure of keeping away all untoward incidents from the village as the festival of Gaan-Ngai is approaching and in doing so it so happened that one evening some misunderstanding cropped up between the wife of Kaphun and the womenfolks guarding the village.
The CRYC termed the December 14 incident as 'purely' between the womenfolks and Kaphun's wife.
The CRYC clarified that the incident had nothing to do with religion nor the village issue.
The RCYC then appealed all the organisations to study the incident minutely before making wild allegations as the matter may blow out of proportion.
The Club then warned that it would no longer remain a silent spectator to the various wild allegations made by the organisations against the peace loving village.
Meanwhile, Jesus Gospel Ministry, North East India chairman Ashang Kasar alleged that they were not the womenfolks who had dismantled the church at Chingmeirong village but the man-folks including the youths who came out with axes and other tools and carried out the vandalism work to the church structure.
Ashang Kasar further alleged that the Zeliangrong Rapchapriak Phom had issued a concocted press statement.
The Jesus Gospel Ministry chairman then said that everyone in India lives under the Constitution of India and that the laws of the country is higher than the village resolutions.
Freedom of religion or right to religion is a unique feature the Constitution of India has granted to every citizen of India and the village resolution should not dominate the law of the country, quipped Ashang Kasar.
Ashang Kasar then claimed he knew what had happened on the night of December 14 at the Chingmeirong village.
The Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (NBCC) has expressed shock and unhappiness over the alleged church dismantling incident at the Chingmeirong village and termed the incident as unfortunate.
The Council then urged the government of Manipur to take up steps so that the Christians are safe.