'Probe armed men in ATSUM rally'
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 10 2023: Stressing the need to investigate the presence of armed person in the Tribal Solidarity March organised by All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM) onMay 3, senior advocate Khaidem Mani remarked that it is not right to have armed elements in a "peace rally', as they are the biggest threat to harmonise coexistence.

This is something which should be naturally understood by rational tribal citizens, he added.

Speaking to newspersons at Manipur Press Club here on Wednesday, Mani pointed out that involvement of armed Kuki cadres belonging to outfits bound by the tripartite Suspension of Operation (SoO) in the civil protest of Tribal Solidarity March is in violation of Constitutional Obligations and International Humanitarian Laws.

The media fraternity and the international community should intervene in this violation and ensure the safety of the people in addition to maintaining peace and harmony, he stressed.

International, national and regional media should also refrain from spreading sensitive news and further fuel the tension directly or indirectly.

The Ethical Conduct Norms for Journalism laid down by Press Council of India should be followed strictly so as to save the state from this crisis.

Apart from this, the younger generation who are using social media should avoid circulating any unverified, fake news or one-sided stories.

The need of the hour is to ease the ethnic tension and carrying out a detailed diagnosis of how the present situation came to be, he contended.

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