National Black Day: CorCom calls Manipur bandh on Oct 15
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, October 12 2015: The insurgent group Co-ordination Committee (CorCom) on Monday announced for an 18-hour State wide general strike beginning intervening midnight of October 14 and 15 to protest against the 'forced merger' of Manipur into the Indian Union.

The outfit has been observing October 15 as "National Black Day" since years to protest the Manipur Merger Agreement signed between Maharaja Bodhachandra of Manipur and Government of India at Shillong on October 15, 1949 .

A statement from the outfit's publicity committee however said that emergencies, media, religious and medical activities will be kept out of the purview of the proposed strike.

It sought cooperation from the public in enforcing the Manipur bandh.

CorCom said 66 years have completed since Manipur was annexed by India under duress.

It said 'colonial' India annexed Manipur and that the entire political process was not a merger.

The outfit said that there has been a clear common voice of the people of Manipur that they want the right to national self-determination.

Before India got its independence, Manipur Constitution Act, 1947 was implemented and a democratic election was held in 1948, CorCom said.

It said India is still enforcing black laws like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur and there is no let-up in torturing the people.

India has flouted the people's right to self-determination, it claimed.

CorCom said that India has been pushing companies into the WESEA to earn profit on the pretext of development projects like mega railway, Trans-Asia-Highway and mega dams.

Such covert projects are being taken up by India to obliterate indigenous people, it claimed.

India has been trying to Indianise all indigenous people of Manipur by allowing hysterical mass arrival of people from this country to the region leading inexorably to a worsening of the situation, CorCom said.

It appealed to all communities of the hills and plains to assert their rights and stand and fight together against expansionist India and free from the vicious circle.

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