RPF urges ahead of 'Martyrs' Day'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, April 11 2012:
Saluting all those who have laid down their lives fighting for the cause of the land and the people, the proscribed RPF has urged the people to take part in the Martyrs' Day observation held on April 13 every year.
The outfit has also appealed to the people to lit up a torch at the gate of every household in the evening and to put on hold all entertainment programmes on the said day, save for those associated with religion.
In a statement issued to the press today, the outfit said that since 1990, RPF has been observing April 13 as Martyrs' Day and accordingly tributes have been paid at the memorial sites of all those who have laid down their lives in the course of the struggle at Cheiraoching.
RPF is firmly committed to the observation of the ancestors of the land who said that it is better to lead a life of freedom for only a single minute than to live a life of slavery for more than a hundred years, asserted the statement and added that it is under this belief that the outfit has been waging an armed struggle to restore the lost freedom of the people and the land.
Asserting that it firmly believes that the armed movement is the only option left to win back the lost 'sovereignty' of the land, the outfit maintained that this is because democracy as espoused by India is a sham.
Under the slogan of democracy, the Government of India has been violating all international laws and covenants and championing racial and communal divides.
The continued imposition of AFSPA is another example, said RPF.
All the ills plaguing Manipur today can be traced to 1949, when the land was 'annexed' by India, claimed the outfit and added that a meaningful and peaceful life can become a reality only when the lost 'sovereignty' is restored.
The sacrifice of the martyrs continue to be the leading light for the armed struggle, said RPF and added that they laid down their lives for the future of the land and the people.
Their sacrifices have served as the motivators to the freedom fighters to carry on the battle for freedom, said the outfit.
Nothing can be more greater than to be able to lay down one's life for the sake of the land and the people, observed the outfit and added that it is only right that the people pay their tributes to the martyrs for their selfless sacrifice.
Urging the people to pay tributes to the martyrs on the occasion at their sites on April 13, RPF also appealed to all to lit torches at the gate of their residences in the evening and also to put on hold all entertainment programmes, except those connected with religious rites and rituals.