Demand for withdrawal of AR
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: August 09, 2023 -

In a turn of event that has been not so unexpected, Manipuri womenfolk in different parts of the valley districts have raised the demand for withdrawal of Assam Rifles from being deployed in the tiny north-eastern state.

Discontentment over the conduct or rather the mis-conduct of the Assam Rifles personnel in the current ethnic clashes between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities in Manipur has been brewing for quite some time now.

Every now and then, there have been allegations of Assam Rifles personnel siding with one community or simply remaining as mute spectator and doing nothing to stop the bloody confrontation between the two ethnic communities that has been going on for more than three months with devastating impact.

Even if the allegation of showing soft towards the armed Kuki-Chin militants and preventing the state forces from engaging with these armed aggressors who are reportedly backed by narco-terrorists from across the border has been denied time and again, the news reports of excesses committed by the Assam Rifles personnel on the people in the valley, particularly the womenfolk when they come out to launch protest against the aggressive actions of the armed Kuki-Chin militants who are constantly attacking the Meetei/Meitei settlements and killing innocent villagers even while they were sleeping have been overwhelming more than the number of rebuttals that the PIB (Defence Wing) or the PRO of the paramilitary forces could come up.

It is an undeniable fact that Manipuri womenfolk and Assam Rifles personnel have a long history of confrontation.

In fact, womenfolk of the state have always been at the forefront of public movement against the excesses perpetrated by the security forces, regardless of whether it is committed by the central or state forces.

But the latest incident of excesses committed by the Assam Rifles that has caused widespread condemnation and forced the womenfolk to raise the demand for withdrawal of the paramilitary force from being deployed in the state permanently took place on August 3 near Kangvai Bazaar where personnel of Assam Rifles and other Central security forces allegedly fired live rounds of ammunition, used hazardous chemical spray and put up electrified barb wire as road barricade to prevent the valley people from proceeding towards Torbung Bangla in Bishnupur district to oppose the now-deferred mass burial of the slain Kuki-Chin militants.

In the words of some of the womenfolk who took part in this latest confrontation with the Assam Rifles personnel, this incident was simply atrocious and way beyond their tolerable limit, and so the Assam Rifles must go from the state for good.

As expected, PIB (Defence Wing) was quick enough in coming up with a rebuttal the following day to say that the reports of the incident published in the newspapers were "factually incorrect" and that media houses in Manipur should be diligent and verify the reports before publishing them.

However, this and similar such rebuttals to "factually incorrect" news reports on the excesses committed by the security personnel say a lot more than they intended to hide, simply because they are not denial of the excesses committed, intentionally or otherwise.