European Parliament calls for peace
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 11 2023:
The European Parliament has strongly condemned the violence in Manipur and called on all sides to exercise restraint.
In its plenary sitting on July 5, the European Parliament discussed a motion for a resolution on the Manipur crisis.
The sitting noted that since May 3, there have been violent clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the North Eastern State of Manipur, that have left at least 120 people dead and 50,000 displaced.
Several resolutions were taken with the Parliament strongly condemning the violence and calling for immediate cessation of violence.
It called on all sides to exercise restraint and for political leaders to cease inflammatory statements in order to re-establish trust and play an impartial role to mediate the tension.
It called on the Indian Government and all political actors and religious leaders to take urgent steps to restore calm and ensure an inclusive dialogue with the participation of civil society and affected communities as the way out of the crisis.The Parliament urged the State authorities to abide by the UN Basic Principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials.
It said security forces shall use minimum necessary forces at all times.
The EU Parliament called on the State Government to restore internet services in the conflict zone.
The current limitation severely hinders the exercise of fundamental rights pertaining to freedom of speech and expression, it said.
The Parliament called on the Government of India and the local authorities to allow unhindered humanitarian aid to the affected people and allow access to international observers and journalists.
It also called on the "authorities" to launch an independent investigation to probe the violence.