WAD condemns MU arrests
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, September 28 2018:
Women Action for Development (WAD) has strongly condemned the Manipur University (MU) raid on the intervening night of September 20 and 21 and arrests of teachers and students.
"It is very unfortunate that the Government created a very bad impression on the young minds.
This incident, unfortunately would mark as one of the gloomiest period in the history of Manipur," said a statement issued by secretary WAD Sobita Mangsatabam today.
The WAD termed the raid on hostels, especially girls' hostels as 'unconstitutional'.
Girl students are at present on hunger strike.
The Government and concerned authorities should not take this issue lightly.
They are not demanding job or anything else but the return of normalcy in the university, it said and appealed 'unconditional release' of the arrested teachers and students, so as to bring back normalcy once again.
'Heavy militarization' in the educational campus and such raid affects the minds of the girls and makes them feel insecure, fear, suffers trauma and depression, it said.
"The incident, reminds us how Thangjam Manorama was tortured, gang raped and killed brutally by the 17 Assam Rifles in 2004.Manipur women in particular, for the last many decades, are struggling for protection of human rights which are threatened by the presence of the draconian law - Armed Forces Special Power Act 1958," WAD said.
Justice is far behind.
Crimes committed under this law 'in the name of counter insurgencies has tortured, killed and raped many innocent' .
The numbers of widow and orphan have risen since the 1980s, it claimed.
"As a women's organization, working for cause of women and children, we take it (MU raid) very seriously.
We cannot be silent as mere spectators or as outsiders," said WAD.
It appealed the Governor, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers to take immediate and necessary actions to remove the security forces from MU campus, ensure and restore normalcy at MU and save/protect future generations.