Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 19:
The UNC, NWUM, ANSAM, NPMHR in a jount statement issued today has expressed serious concerned on 'reemergence of a systematic and highly dangerous force with evil intentions to create commotion, insecurity and de-stablelization'.
The Nagas where ever they are, nurture and value good neighbourly relations while promoting mutual respect for each others' needs and interests.
However, Naga people will not accept any imposed conditions in our relationship with other neighbouring community (s) and will resist any force that threatens to jeopardize the peoples aspiration for peace through actively supporting the ongoing political process and peace building initiatives undertaken in the past more than nine years between the Govt of India and the Naga negotiators, it said.
Noting that past years have seen and experienced many inimical forces acting to negate the peace process and thereby creating disinformation and confusion to scuttle this long and tedious process, the bodies further maintained that many local citizens and commuters to Imphal have been forcibly stranded and inconvenience created due to forcible shutdown of banking and administrative offices of both local and nationalized; the total censor of all cable news channel excepting the ISTV which broadcasted the days event of the so called 'June Uprising' on June 18, which was participated by state govt functionaries.
"The arrogance of power demonstrated in trying to declare 18th June as Manipur integrity day or for glorifying the rioters threatens to overshadow all efforts for peaceful co-existence and has the danger of churning more communal politics".
If the capital town Imphal is an exclusive zone for any majority community and if they seek to brazenly trample over others' needs and interest, we should all look back to the past experiences, they cautioned.
We demand the Govt of Manipur to openly state their position as to why the capital town of the state was allowed to be under siege by the June 18 rioter's supporters.
"Will the state Government tell us why free movement was made vulnerable through the coercive threats of certain vested elements? Is the Govt supporting the glorification of violence and paying homage to rioters by participating in such a communally churned event? Has the state govt sanctioned the censoring of all news channels except ISTV or why this controlled and systematic imposition even on the electronic media? Are we to understand that the state Government and the vested elements have tacit understanding in forcing down shutters and imposing the commemoration on all people?".
What happen to the administration and the state security when this coercive imposition to commemorate the event was on its spree in Imphal? What security was provided to those travelers who got stranded? Why services to the needy consumers were not provided by nationalized institutions like bank, others on a non declared holiday or has the Govt unofficially declared it as state holiday? Opining that such actions infer that the Govt is unable to represent the will and aspiration of the entire population of Manipur, the bodies warned of launching democratic agitations unless the state govt clarifies their position on the above queries.
Asking all concerned to shake off parochial attitude and rather forge higher grounds to seek mutual respect and understanding of each others' needs and interests they stressed that 'Enmity and not Peace will breed if the foot is still on the neck' while avoiding responsibility since 'Injustice cannot exist in vacuum'.
Nagas have their land, rights and history.
And therefore Nagas will write their own future and shall avoid any mistakes of being misrepresented by some doctored and manufactured histories by self style historian(s) while respecting others aspirations, added the statement endorsed by Samson Reimai president in-charge of UNC, Grace Shatsang president of Naga Women Union Manipur, Paulhring Langhu president, All Naga Students Assn, Manipur and Phamring Sengul, Convenor, NPMHR (South).