NESO to air region's plight, border row to central leaders
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, November 28 2013:
Along with demanding implementation of inner line permit system in all the North Eastern States and expeditious solution to boundary issues arising out of the border fencing project, a team of North East Students' Organisation (NESO) will highlight various other issues besieging the region during the upcoming winter session of Parliament, said NESO secretary general Sinam Prakash.
Speaking to newspersons at AMSU head office today, Prakash observed that indigenous people of Manipur, Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya are facing serious challenge to their survival in their own place of origin due to non-enforcement of ILP system in these States.
With no proper mechanism to check rapid influx of non-ethnic people, particularly migrant workers and immigrants in these four States of the region the indigenous communities are being gradually outnumbered by outsiders, noted the NESO functionary who also informed that NESO unit members would soon launch a concerted movement to prevail upon the Government of India on the need for introducing ILPS in the entire region.
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The movement will include democratic agitation by unit members in their respective States as well as a joint delegation's meeting with Central leaders in the national capital, Prakash maintained.
Asking the Central and State Government to ensure repatriation of foreign nationals such as Bangladeshis and Pakistanis from the four NE States at the earliest possible, the secretary general affirmed that NE region belongs to the indigenous people and under no circumstances should the region be used as refuge for refugees or their dumping zones.
regarding boundary issues, he conveyed NESO's stand that Government of India should honourably settled border disputes with the NE States' international neighbours by constituting joint boundary commission.
Pointing that boundary problems continue to persist along the Indo-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur (Indo-Myanmar) and Assam (Indo-Bangladesh), Prakash demanded that the central Government intervene to put on hold the ongoing boundary fencing work in Manipur sector of the international border.
In case imminent loss of Manipur's territory to Myanmar consequent to the boundary fencing project cannot be prevented the issue will have serious repercussion in the region, cautioned the secretary who further stated that in a similar way boundaries of the entire NE region should be protected at any cost.
Confiding about NESO's plan to meet central leaders including the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during the December 5-12 winter session of Parliament, he said apart from ILPS and border issues other problems being endured by the people of the NE States would be highlighted during their visit.
Prakash also informed that Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh will host the NESO general council meeting in January next.
The said meeting wherein outstanding problems of the region would be deliberated was actually scheduled in November or december this year, he added.