Volunteers should not be removed from periphery : FOCS
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 19 2024:
Village volunteers and groups guarding Meitei settlements from Kuki militants' attacks cannot be removed from the peripheries of the valley, said Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) .
In a statement it released to the media, FOCS said it vehemently condemns the Assam Rifles allegedly warning the personnel of Pambei-led UNLF cadres at the base camp at Nongshum to "leave" .
Nongshum is one of many places where Kuki militants have launched attacks on civilians.
The Pambei-led UNLF camp at Nongshum is crucial for the safety and security of the Meitei villages in the area, it said.
Alleging there may be a hidden agenda behind the AR's "warning", FOCS questioned the "motive" and asked if the security force wanted to drive away all the Meiteis from the villages in the area.
In case the Assam Rifles continue to put pressure on the group, people of Manipur will face the attempt appropriately, said FOCS.
On the other hand, the village volunteers were ordinary people who had been forced to pick up arms, due to security forces' failure, to defend their own land from the offences of the Kuki narco-terrorists.
Removing them from the peripheries of the valley before containing the Kuki narco-terrorists is unacceptable, said FOCS.
If the Assam Rifles and the Central Armed Police Force are able to control and contain the Kuki militants, then the village volunteers and groups defending Meitei villages may be withdrawn, it added.
Pointing out the failures of the Central Security Forces, FOCS emphasised and lamented that the Assam Rifles and CAPF had remained as mute spectators when the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police were burnt down at Churachandpur on last Thursday.
FOCS alleged there has been evidence including video footage in which personnel of the Assam Rifles have been seen with Kuki militants in the latter's bunkers.
The village volunteers and Pambei-led UNLF are defending Meitei villages from Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists, who have attacked India's territory.
What does the "warning" to village defenders mean ? asked FOCS.