Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 16, 2009:
Reiterating the class boycott call, the All Manipur Sutdents' Union, Manipuri Students' Federation and Kangleipak Students' Association, have today asserted that the ultimatum given to all schools by the Government to resume normal classes is a clear testimony that the Chief Minister is beginning to feel jittery.
The ultimatum to all private schools to resume normal classes, with the threat that if they fail to so, their affiliation/ recognition would be cancelled, was issued by the Education Commissioner yesterday.
In a joint statement, the three student bodies said that such a policy is nothing but a tactic to victimise private schools due to the public uprising against the July 23 incident.
Instead of punishing the guilty police commandos, the Government is resorting to such measures and this stands strongly condemned, declared the student organisations.
Reacting against the appeal issued by the Imphal West SSP, the statement said that it was nothing but crocodile tears and would not fool anyone.
In the past few months, especially after the killing of Dr Kishan and his two subordinates, the number of days lost by students due to curfew is much more than due to other reasons, said the statement and recalled the number of times students were beaten on the ground that curfew was in force.
Has the SSP forgotten that it was police commandos who thrashed students and stopped them from going to schools ? How is it now that he has suddenly become so concerned about students missing their classes, asked the student bodies.
Urging the private schools not to believe the SSP or the Government, the student bodies urged all institutions to stop classes and warned that they would be constrained to take up their own course of action if the call is not heeded.
The student organisations also urged the school van operators and others to stop ferrying students and instead help the people's movement.
Going on the offensive against the SSP for dubbing them anti-social elements, the student bodies countered, 'if we are anti-social elements, then does it mean that the police commandos, who killed without compunction, are sanyasins ?' The SSP should first learn what is social, before dubbing others, they advised.
Stating that the students would not attend classes until and unless the public demands are met, the three student bodies, asked the security personnel to instead use the schools so that they may learn something.
Once the police personnel are educated, then society will know peace, they asserted.
All strategies for protests to be launched by student organisations under the aegis of the Apunba Lup have been chalked out, said the student bodies and charged that family elders of student leaders have been threatened and harassed whenever the police failed to pick up their targets.
Today quite a few of the police personnel have come to realise the true worth of the people's movement, claimed the student organisations and added that they have started distancing themselves from the BT Road incident.
Just to quell the people's movement, the Chief Minister is using some of his hand picked policemen, alleged the student bodies and added that some police officers, fearing that they may be nailed in the July 23 incident, have taken leave.
Even if Ibobi continues to cling on to his seat, at the most he can be the Chief Minister only till the beginning of 2012, said the statement and urged other police personnel, to distance themselves from him.
The three student bodies also strongly condemned the arrest of the father of AMSU's president James Bond, I Ranjit and the father of AMSU's vice president Kh Khaba, Kh Mangi.
Arresting a little child because they could arrest the parents, and arrested an aged father because they could not arrest the son has become the hall mark of the police commandos, alleged the student organisations.