Sekmai meet endorses plebiscite call
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 16, 2011: A public meeting held today at Sekmai Koujengleima community hall has endorsed the call for holding plebiscite so that people can participate in resolving the Indo-Manipur conflict.

The public meeting held under the aegis of the Advanced Women Society Sekmai adopted different resolutions, the foremost being holding plebiscite so that Manipuri people can participate in resolving the Indo-Manipur conflict.

Exerting pressure on New Delhi to hand over all cases related to arrested Manipuri insurgents including UNLF Chairman RK Sanayaima to the Government of Manipur and putting in collective efforts towards restoring peace and tranquillity in Manipur were other prominent resolutions of the meeting.

Giving the key-note address of the meeting, Advanced Women Society Sekmai general secretary Kh Amubi said that it is the people's wish to bring a logical solution to the more than 50 years old Manipur-India conflict and for that matter the national liberation movement.

She underscored the need to trace the root causes of the Manipur-India conflict and the origin of the National liberation movement of Manipur.

It is an undeniable fact the seeds of the present national liberation movement were sown on October 15, 1949 when India forcefully annexed Manipur, she alleged.

Because of the persisting political conflict, the people of Manipur are living in a highly insecure atmosphere characterised by rampant killings and violence.

Public meet on plesbicite underway at Sekmai

The people of Manipur are also facing serious threats to their economy, culture, education and even survival.

Stating that Manipuri people are now craving for a solution to the decades old conflict, Amubi said that the meeting was organised to create awareness among the public about plebiscite which has been accepted globally community as a means to resolve political conflicts.

The public meeting was attended by Advanced Women Society president A Shanti, Nupi Samaj secretary Th Ramani, human right activist Momon, vice president of Sekmai Protection Committee A Rakesh and senior citizen Kh Omen as presidium members.

Addressing the meeting, general secretary of the All Manipur Bar Association (AMBA) Y Priyokumar reminded that Manipur which had its own definite political boundary, language, culture became independent from British colonialism in 1947.The same year Manipur Constitution Act was passed and an elected Government was set up.

But o October 15, Manipur was annexed into the Indian Union.

This provoked insurgency movement on the ground that the merger of Manipur into Indian Union was unconstitutional and that sovereignty of Manipur should be restored, Priyokumar noted.

Under the UN's international covenants, people of Manipur have the right to wage war for restoration of their sovereignty.

India, being a member state of the UN, should respect this right of the Manipuri people, he asserted.

He further asserted that Manipur's Republic Day should be July 17, 1947 where king Bodhchandra formally announced enforcement of the Manipur Constitution Act.

Th Ramani said that the general public have been suffering untold miseries because of the conflict between insurgents and security forces.

She demanded that the Manipur-India conflict must be brought to an end by resolving the issue of insurgency.