Imphal, January 20 2009: As in previous years, Northeast based underground organisations have announced boycott of Republic Day celebration and called a general strike from 1 am to 6 pm of January 26 throughout the region.

A 'solitary statement' of Kamotapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) made available to the press in this regard said that the imposition of Indian Constitution in the region completes 59 years this 26 January and during this period, scores of thousands of people have been killed, tortured, maimed and hundreds of womenfolk have been raped by security forces.

India has not shown any respect for the human rights, rather human values, of the peoples of the region, the joint statement alleged.

''While upholding the genuine and legitimate aspirations of all the peoples and ethnic groups of the region, we cannot but observe that the reorganisation of the region under the Constitution of India, which is actually a colonial policy of 'divide and rule', has created a myriad of ethnic frictions and conflicts thereby undermining the basic unity of the region'', the joint statement said.

It went on to say that 'The Indian Constitution has artificially divided our peoples by classifying hem as 'tribes', 'castes', 'OBCs', etc, thus pitching them as contending opponents in the societies concerned.

This has not only created antagonistic contradictions among the fraternal peoples but has also degraded the value of individual and collective life.

In short, the Indian Constitution has fragmented the region on ethnic lines thereby gravely undermining the basic unity among the peoples of the region''.

Besides, the huge influx of Indians into the region remains the gravest threat to the distinctive ethnic identities of the region, the joint statement noted, adding that 'the only way to reverse the process is liberation of the region from the colonial rule.

The joint statement further said, ''We believe in a political process to resolve the conflict satisfactorily.

But we are firm in our stand to counter India's military repression of our struggle even more vigorously.

We will fight to the last for our sovereign independence.

There can be no compromise on this issue'.

Calling upon all the freedom loving peoples of the region to Boycott India's Republic Day and also to prevent any such celebrations from being held in the region, the joint statement has also appealed to all the patriotic organisations of the region to endorse the 'solidarity statement' and observe the boycott and general strike in their own capacity.

The UG outfits have also welcome the statement of NDFB chairman D R Nabla rejecting India's 'peace talk' and upholding armed struggle as the only path for liberation from colonial rule.

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