Imphal, November 23, 2009: The proscribed United National Liberation Front (UNLF) has said that "It would be unrealistic to carve out education as a 'free zone' undisturbed by the consequences of the war between the two sides of the conflict".

This was stated in the annual statement issued today by the Central Commitee of UNLF in connection with the 45th anniversary of the party which falls on November 24, i.e.tomorrow.

Extending greetings to the people of Manipur, the Central Committee's annual statement said, "Manipur is one of the very few countries still waging a bloody liberation struggle even in this first decade of the 21st century.

And the country suppressing the sovereign independence of small neighbouring countries using massive military force and committing gross human rights violations is India".

It said, the extreme form of state terrorism being employed by the Indian state in suppressing the popular movements of Manipur and other states of the Region for their legitimate rights has made "India the world's No.1 Terrorist State".

The unrelenting movement of the people against this terrorist state in the garb of democracy is now known the world over, and someday the world community will come out in support of the movement, the statement said adding that the UNLF salutes the people for the valiant struggle for their 'right to life'.

It further said that the essence of a legitimate movement of a group of people, of a class, of a society, of a nation, or, a country is the spirit of oneness against violations of their human rights and other interests.

From this viewpoint, the entire people of Manipur have become a part of the movement now waging against the inhuman killings and torture of Indian rule.

"Because, not a single individual of Manipur endorses such killings, rather they are extremely agitated, angered and want revenge.

Thus the bulk of the people of Manipur now stand against Indian rule and want to be free from colonial bondage".

"However, the popular sentiment that began to erupt in 2004 against the 'divide and rule' policies and atrocities of Indian rule is yet to take the character of an organised People's Movement.

The main reason for this weakness is the lack of principled unity among our civil society organisations and their inability to consolidate the people.

Another basic weakness is the lack of sufficient leaders who are competent, courageous and known for integrity and personal sacrifice, and also the non participation in the movement of those considered to be competent.

This lack of unity and strong collective leadership is visible in the present movement against the 23 July Khwai-Keithel Killings".

For example, some constituent-member organisations of the Apunba Lup are not with the Lup in the present movement; rather, they have taken a different stand on the issue.

This does not go well with the common people.

Apunba Lup has not informed the people how this rift came about and whether any effort to resolve the problem was initiated or not".

The statement pointed out, "Another weakness observable is the opposite stands taken by groups of student organisations on the issue of Class Boycott.

Instead of exploring together via media that does not weaken the movement on the one hand and does not disrupt academic activities of the students entirely the opposing groups resorted to a verbal duel through the media.

This has created division not only within the student community but also among the guardians and teachers as well which ultimately weaken the strength of our society".

"The contradiction that arose as a result of one student group taking the stand of not withdrawing the Boycott without achieving some specific objectives of the movement, while another group demanding withdrawal of Class Boycott outright from the viewpoint of making education a 'free zone' deserves a fair discussion among concerned citizens.

The student groups need to understand together that among the various issues and problems confronting a society or a country at any given point of time, one of them stands out as the principal contradiction which determines the characteristics of the overall situation".

"That the principal issue confronting the people of Manipur today is what generally referred to as the 'conflict situation' as agreed by one and all.

That is, the Manipur-India Conflict arising from the forcible annexation of Manipur by India is the principal issue in Manipur today.

As such, other secondary issues and problems cannot be treated separately or in isolation from the principal issue.

This deserves careful study by our student groups".

(To be concluded).

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