TNL slams bomb culture
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, January 30 2023:
In the aftermath of the recent grenade explosion in Ukhrul town, Tangkhul Naga Long (TNL) has decried the bomb culture, stating that the Tangkhul society will not tolerate such cowardly act in any form.
Addressing a press conference at its Viewland office in Ukhrul town on Monday, TNL vice president R Jollyson said that the Tangkhul society does not accept bomb culture and will not tolerate such cowardly act in any form, adding that the same message was sent out to all concerned on behalf of all the Tangkhul populace.
Referring to the January 25 bomb blast in the town, he said: "We all know that the incident was never an attempt to show resentment to the government as claimed but "it was a direct attack on the civilians with the intention of disturbing the peaceful atmosphere in Ukhrul district".
He reminded the armed organisation PREPAK, which has reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast, that Nagas have nothing to do with the merger agreement signed in 1949 between the Maharaja of Manipur and the then Governor General of India.
"They should also know that we have never been part of India either by consent or conquest," he continued, maintaining that "the Nagas have been asserting for our rights to self-determination for the past 7 decades to become second longest struggling nation and after much struggle cease-fire agreement was signed in 1997, which was followed by signing of the historic Framework Agreement in 2015 between GOI and NSCN-IM as two separate entity based on the Unique history of the Nagas" .
"Therefore, non-state actors like the PREPAK should not indulge or carry out such terrorist act in our land," he added.
At the same time, TNL has raised a charter of demands to the government of Manipur which included installation of CCTVs in the stretch from Dungrei Junction, Hungpung to Kharasom Junction, Hunphun and deployment of adequate police personnel to ensure that such unwanted incident is avoided in the future.
The apex Tangkhul customary body also demanded that the victims of the bomb blast at Gandhi Chawk be adequately compensated and that authorities concerned investigate and book the perpetrators at the earliest.
It may be recalled that four civilians were injured in the explosion took place on January 25 around 5 pm at Gandhi Chowk, in front of Ukhrul town hall at Phungreitang bazar.
The blast also left a small crater on th,e concrete platform where the statue of Mahatma Gandhi stood.