Stop violence, threats against peacemakers and human rights defenders
- 30th September, 2024 :: Interfaith Forum Manipur -

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Interfaith Forum Manipur, as a group of religious leaders belonging to all major religions, humbly appeal to all parties in Manipur conflict to stop the ongoing targeted armed attacks, killings, and kidnapping innocent people based on identities and regions. Such violence is mutually lowering human dignity and creating unbearable problems for the future generations.

Unabated and unstopped violence for over the last sixteen months mutually targeted towards immediate neighboring communities, and threats and intimidations against peacemakers and human rights defenders within communities on both sides can be threats to the fundamental rights of the present and future children. It is time to mitigate the sufferings of thousands of innocent victims; elderly persons, women, and children who continue to suffer in hundreds of relief camps, and save lives on everyday basis.

We are seriously concerned by the repeated threats and intimidations targeted to peacemakers and human rights defenders within and across the communities. We consider threats and intimidation to peacemakers and human rights defenders on both sides as also acts against God, and against all established international humanitarian standards, and most importantly against the rights to peace for the people in the communities.

We believe all leaderships fighting for the rights across the divide do so for the love of their own community. We trust that such responsible leaderships would also be interested to mutually seek peace and security with their immediate neighborhood who alone mutually can guarantee sustainable peace and security for future children to live life without fear and threats– a gift they deserve. We shall be upholding the fundamental rights of children by respecting and supporting peacemakers and human rights defenders within and across the communities.

We believe that true religious leaders and responsible parents across the divide would certainly like to leave behind their children to live peacefully in the hands of good neighbors in future.

Let us uphold the sanctity of all religions and faith traditions to restore humanity for the sake of our present and future children on all sides. We believe people who really love their children would also choose to rely on nonviolent ways of sorting out all problems between communities.

Deben Bachaspatimayum
Convenor
Interfaith Forum Manipur (IFM)