Call for end to AFSPA, terrorism echoes as over one lakh take to streets
Stop terrorists from killing people call rings out
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 10 2024: Calling for an end to the infamous Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA and containment of terrorists, over one lakh people marched on the streets of Imphal today, coinciding with the International Human Rights Day.

Collective slogans like "Attempts to wipe out Manipur will not be tolerated", "Self determination is our right", "Repeal AFSPA", "Stop terrorists from killing innocent people" etc reverberated throughout the course of the mammoth rally.

The rally was flagged from THAU Ground, Thangmeiband.

After passing through Nagamapal, Khwairamband Keithel, BT Road, GM Hall and North AOC, the rally concluded at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium.

Apart from shouting several slogans in unison, the marchers held placards and banners which read as "Do not obliterate Manipur", "Save Manipur", "Attempts to wipe out Manipur will not be tolerated", "Abolish AFSPA 1958", "Repeal AFSPA from Manipur", "Long Live Manipur", "The power of running our Government should be in our hands" etc.

A large number of State Police and Central forces were deployed throughout the course of the rally since early morning so as to avoid any untoward incident.

Speaking on the mammoth public rally, AMUCO president Pheiroijam Nando Luwang said that the mass rally taken out today is a physical representation addressed to the Government.

Manipur has been literally burning since May 3, 2023 .

Although it has been some time since the Government of India launched the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme for the welfare of women and children the Government of India does not see women and children of Manipur as human beings, he said.

Questioning Narendra Modi's meaning of Beti, Nando Luwang asserted that the numerous human right commissions working in the country are all farces or phoneys in Manipur.

Even as many women and children have been butchered in the most barbaric manner, the Government of India has been watching silently, he said.

The Government of India sees the people of Manipur as animals but the people of Manipur will never tolerate any attempt to wipe out Manipur.

It is the duty and responsibility of the Government of India to stop all acts of terrorism unleashed in Manipur, Nando said.

The people of Manipur have been suffering all kinds of misery since the day it was annexed by India.

With the imposition of AFSPA, a large number of people have been killed, many women have been raped with impunity and now the Government of India has been scheming to create conflicts and unrest in the State by instigating one community against another who were otherwise living together in peace, he said.

Manipur is burning at present and the fire was started by the Government of India, he added.

It is a matter of shame for the Government of India that it is still unable to bring an end to the 19 months violent crisis in Manipur despite the fact that its military is the fourth biggest in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been visiting several foreign countries one after another and working hard to win peace prizes.

However, he has no time to study the Manipur issue.

The protracted crisis has never been discussed in the Parliament at length nor has the Prime Minister any intention to table the issue in the Parliament, Nando said.

Instead of working to bring an end to the Manipur crisis, the Modi Government reimposed AFSPA in the areas covered by six police stations.

It is the Government of India which has compelled many youth to take up arms in Manipur.

But the Government of India has reimposed AFSPA to arrest the youths and do whatever the Government of India wants.

Whereas the people of Manipur have been demanding complete repeal of AFSPA permanently, the Government of India has been lifting and reimposing the infamous Act, the AMUCO president remarked.

He said that the precarious situation being witnessed in Manipur is an outcome of the Government of India's policies.

As such, it is imperative for all the communities living together in Manipur to understand who the common enemy is.

"The right to self determination is our inherent right and it is the Government of India's responsibility to stop all acts of terrorism", Nando said.

Categorically saying that any investigation into the Manipur crisis must start with Indian political leaders, he asserted that the Government of India should be held solely responsible for the 19 months old Manipur crisis.

Many top brass of the Indian Army came to Manipur at the beginning of the ongoing crisis but they did not do anything to control the violence, he said.

Even though Laishram Kamalbabu disappeared inside the 57th Mountain Division Headquarters, Leimakhong, the army authorities are unwilling to take responsibility for Kamalbabu's case.

It is time for the people to understand the implications of such callous attitude of the Indian Army, Nando said.

AMUCO advisor Ito Tongbram conveyed gratitude to all the participants of the rally.

Nowadays, the atmosphere in Manipur is filled with cries of mourning and separation.

After India forcibly annexed Manipur which once existed as a sovereign country in South East Asia, the Government of India has been carrying out a systematic campaign of persecution.

Now, Manipur is staring at a very grim future, he said.

The Prime Minister of India is not paying any attention to the protracted Manipur crisis.

Such policy and attitude of the Government of India evoke a number of questions.

It looks like the Government of India has an intention to wipe out Manipur.

There was no communal conflict when Manipur existed as an independent country.

Whatever communal conflicts and violence seen in Manipur so far happened only after the State merged into the Indian Union, Ito said.

Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba Manipur general secretary Th Apabi said that all the people must fight the proxy war boldly.

Saying that Manipuri forefathers never turned their backs to any battle, she called upon all the people to fight the proxy war collectively.

It was the Meiteis who took pivotal roles in protecting Manipur throughout its long history.

That is why inimical forces have been conspiring to weaken the Meiteis, she said.

COHR chairman Phulindro Konsam said that the Government of India has been waging a proxy war by arming a particular group.

Questioning the source of the sophisticated weapons being used by non-State actors, Phulindro said that these non-State actors have been committing genocide as evident in the abduction and cold blooded murder of innocent people.

Apart from imposing AFSPA, the Government of India has heavily militarised the whole State by stationing over one lakh armed forces personnel.

But these Central armed forces personnel turned a blind when the non-State actors killed many innocent people right under their notice.

Given this situation, human rights have no meaning in Manipur, he said.

It's time for all the people to fight for our rights and work collectively to make Manipur a progressive and self-reliant State, Phulindro asserted.

As some people including students fainted in the course of the rally, volunteers of Indian Red Cross Society and Relief Committee JNIMS took them to JNIMS Hospital.

All of them are said to be out of danger.

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