Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 14:
As in previous years, the Manipur People's Liberation Front, an umbrella organisation of different armed outfits, has called a general strike with effect from 1 am of October 15 till 5.30 pm of the same day to protest the alleged merger of Manipur with India on this date in 1949.Urging the people to extend their co-operation to the general strike, MPLF in a statement alleged that the Merger Agreement signed on September 21, 1949 and enforced on October 15, 1949, was forcibly extracted from the then Maharaja of Manipur.
It is to protest this that the MPLF has been observing October 15 as National Black Day every year, it added.
The statement has also urged all not to venture out and to keep vehicles off the road, including cycles and rickshaws as well as to suspend all entertainment programmes.
The restrictions will however be relaxed for the media, medical, water supply and other essential services including religious and traditional ceremonies.
The people have also been urged to black out their homes for 10 minutes as soon as the clock strikes 7 pm to send out a message to the international community.
Meanwhile stating that sovereignty and independence is a nation's fundamental right as enshrined in the UN Charter and the use of any form of struggle including armed struggle is justified under international law, three underground organisations operating in the North East part of India have reaffirmed their resolution to regain the independence of their land.
In a joint statement, Kamotapur Liberation Organisation, Manipur People's Liberation Front and Tripura People's Democratic Front said it is now 58 years since Kamotapur, Manipur and Tripura were annexed by India in October 1949.The statement said that ever since then Govt of India has been pursuing policy of complete Indianisation of the three States and elsewhere in the region by adopting sinister measures to reduce indigenous peoples to minorities in their own land.
This is the gravest of threats to distinctive identities of people of the three States in particular and the so-called North Eastern region in general.
Besides process of Indianisation, people of the three States have been subjected to economic deprivation.
Thus, despite their rich natural resources, these States remain one of the most backward economically even by Indian standard, it observed.
However, the joint statement further said, the daily impact of such a rule heaped upon the people of these States is the inhuman military repression and the resultant gross violations of human rights like summary executions, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearance, rape and torture.
The statement also appealed to the people and revolutionary organisations of the region to develop their traditional fraternity to revolutionary solidarity so as to fight together to realise their aspirations.