Ukhrul, September 18, 2009: Asserting that all sections of the society such as teachers, contractors, journalists, pregnant women, businessmen, doctors etc are being targeted by security forces, the AMSU, MSF and KSA have called upon all sections of the society to make concerted efforts so that the ongoing movement achieves its goal.

A joint statement issued by the three student bodies cautioned all parents that their beloved sons and daughters may fall victims to Chief Minister O Ibobi and security forces any time.

Saying that the commandos are being used as contract killers for personal animosity, in demanding back loans and collecting money from retired UG cadres on regular basis, the student bodies maintained police commandos have become 'killers cum contractors'.

Although it is common in all the countries across the world to execute and imprison guilty persons, but in this small state of Manipur many innocent people are being killed, imprisoned and tortured without any valid reason.

Because of such excesses of the state, the people's anguish and hurt sentiments have been piling up over the years and this has exploded today.

This was manifested when a young kid of 7/8 years shouted "I would take revenge for my father's death" with his finger pointed towards commandos.

That the excess of the state has crossed the tolerance limits was also demonstrated when aged men, almost 80 years old, came out to the streets to confront commandos, the student bodies remarked.

Chief Minister O Ibobi has been masquerading some IRB personnel as insurgents so that he could launch a massive counter insurgency operation in a similar fashion undertaken in Punjab some years back, it alleged.

Alleging that the main culprits of almost 80 percent of the crimes and violent activities perpetrated in Imphal town were IRB personnel, the student bodies maintained that such criminal activities would be only multiplying unless O Ibobi is toppled from his seat and sent home.

At present, the Home Department is using around Rs 50 lakhs per day to subdue the people's movement.

As this amount would be reimbursed by the Government of India, the State Government may spend Rs one crore on daily basis to suppress the mass movement, they cautioned.

As long the people of Manipur are being killed and subdued, the Government of India would not mind giving Rs 5 crores on daily basis, they alleged.

At the moment, there is no sight of security and freedom for the people of Manipur.

It was in the search for a secured and free life that students decided to suspend their studies and join the people's movement.

The decision was based on the sentiment of the people.

It was not aimed at throwing up a debate on the pros and cons of the decision, the student bodies clarified.

Though the appeal of the Manipur University Teachers' Association (MUTA) to MU students to come for classes might be in conformity to their ethics, it was misplaced in the present context.

As such, the AMSU, MSF and the KSA cannot appreciate it.

Appealing to the MUTA teachers to recall stories of those leaders who threw away their positions and titles and joined the people's movement in crucial situations, they questioned the MUTA whether they did not feel any enthusiasm to take classes during the time of curfew as they are now.

Being teachers of the highest seat of learning in Manipur, MU teachers ought to be the first to sense the people's sentiment, they asserted.

It also condemned the act of firing and causing bullet injuries to two students of MECI and COMET tuition centres by security forces at Thangal Bazar on September 16. Had the students been killed, they would be certainly dubbed as UG cadres and 9 mm pistols recovered from them.

Such incidents ought to be condemned by all the people of the hills and the valley, it observed.

The student bodies would not accept the activities of some political parties and organisations which seemed to be done at the behest of Chief Minister O Ibobi, it added.

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