Replace AR with another CSF: Meira Paibis
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 30 2024: Meira Paibis in Andro staged a protest demonstration today demanding immediate and swift removal of the Assam Rifles from Manipur.

Members of the All Andro Meira Paibi Association took part in the protest demonstration, organised under the aegis of Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba Manipur.

During the protest, the womenfolk identified the Assam Rifles as an "ineffective armed force" that has "sustained and prolonged" the Manipur crisis.

The womenfolk accused the Assam Rifles of "dividing" the people of the State on ethnic lines, and asserted that they have "failed" as a border guard in the Indo-Myanmar region.

The womenfolk said despite their large presence in the border region, the force has "failed" to check the influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar.

The protesters claimed there are irrefutable evidence showing the Assam Rifles favouring one side.

They asserted that the Assam Rifles have, on many occasions, stopped the State security forces from performing their duties and pursuing Kuki militants after violent attacks on civilians.

After Kuki militants killed one CRPF personnel in Jiribam recently, the AR "obstructed and stopped" a combined team of the State security forces and the CRPF from conducting operations.

This incident clearly showed the AR's partiality towards the Kuki militants, claimed the protesters.

The womenfolk further emphasised that the Assam Rifles, instead of acting as a guardian of the people, have in fact facilitated the exodus of civilians from their villages.

Instead of guarding the vulnerable villages and protecting the population, the Assam Rifles have shifted the people from their villages and converted them to refugees, said the protesters.

The people of the State have lost faith in the Assam Rifles.

This "ineffective" force must be removed and replaced immediately, they said.

The womenfolk further recalled that 40 MLAs had earlier written to the Centre to replace the Assam Rifles with another Central force.

While the Centre has not yet acted on the request, the womenfolk said, replacing the AR with another force would help end the crisis that has dragged on for over a year.

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