Imphal, October 11 2009: If the Government is committed to bring a solution to the current impasse, the Government need to understand the people's movement and respect social organisations, said the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) in a press release.

Exercising state power to harass and threaten people would not bring any positive result.

Crimes committed by ruling political leaders caused more hardships to the people than those social activists being detained under National Security Act (NSA), AMUCO asserted.

The general observation that social organisations should have contact with both insurgents and Government and act as mediators towards conflict resolution seemed to have thrown out of the knowledge of those Manipur Government officers on reaching Manipur who went for conflict resolution at the United Nations.

The AMUCO questioned what should be done to those politicians forming ethnic based armed groups to utilise them in electoral politics and officers associating with UG cadres.

Noting that the Government of Manipur never brought any issue to a logical conclusion, AMUCO asserted that the Government waited for the issue to die a natural death or schemed to override the issue with another fabricated issue.

Referring to the reported encroachment in Jessami by Nagaland, the AMUCO conjectured that the State Government might be hoping to quell the current movement by whipping up another issue about the territorial boundary between Manipur and Nagaland.

The UNIDEP (Unity, Development and Peace) Campaign launched in both the hills and valley of Manipur was fairly successful in bringing different communities to a reconciliation process, claimed AMUCO while asserting that it saved the Government from witnessing a possible communal clash.

The arrest of AMUCO members on September 14 and subsequent release of a non-tribal member in a bid to draw a dividing line between tribals and non-tribals within AMUCO and then linking the arrested members with the ongoing movement spearheaded by the Apunba Lup in the Government's attempt to make them don the role of negotiators between the Government and the Apunba Lup all failed to serve the Government's purpose.

Ultimately, the Government slapped NSA against the arrested members exposing the ambiguous attitude of the Government.

Maintaining that such attitude of the Government cannot abolish AMUCO, it accused the State Government of breeding an unproductive sector by making large scale recruitment in armed forces while appointments in other sectors have been banned.

Because of this policy of the incumbent Government, the next Government would be in big trouble.

The State would be bearing negative impacts of this policy for the next 30/40 years.

Even if the Government succeeded in making an understanding on the boundary issue, the people would be caught in hostility in clamouring for land.

Lasting peace can be made only after an understanding has been made between social organisations of Manipur and Nagaland, AMUCO asserted.

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