CorCom greets on International Human Rights Day
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 09 2022:
The Coordination Committee (CorCom) has greeted all the people of the land on the 74th International Human Rights Day which would be observed across the world on December 10 under the theme 'Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All' .
A statement issued by the CorCom Publicity Committee asserted that the International Human Rights Day reminds the people of Manipur (Kangleipak) to take a firm position so as to free themselves from the life of bondage.
Manipur which was once a sovereign Nation in WESEA is now living under alien rule.
The Nation regained its independence in 1947 but the 'expansionist' India allegedly annexed Manipur in 1949 by violating all international laws, it alleged.
The way the freedom of Manipur was usurped was a blatant violation of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 which says "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" .
In the past, all the communities stood united for a free Manipur but today the Government of India has been driving wedges among the communities, it alleged.
The question of protection of indigenous peoples is laid down clearly in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), but the Government of India has been conspiring to exterminate all the indigenous people of Manipur by transplanting a huge population of non-local people in the State after claiming that all the communities of India are indigenous people, it alleged.
Moreover, despite being a signatory of UNDRIP, India has not yet recognised the term 'indigenous' in its Constitution, the CorCom said.
At the same time, the Government of India has been working to portray the liberation movement of Manipur as terrorism.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966 guarantees right to self deter- mination to all the people and it says, "By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development," the CorCom pointed out.
The ICCPR which guarantees right to self determination was ratified by India on April 10, 1979 but the Government of India has been portraying the issue of liberation of Manipur and WESEA as law and order problem after categorising the question of right to self determination into internal and external self-determination, it said.
Even though India accepts internal right to self determination, it puts reservation on the right to external self determination.
Although many countries have been urging India to lift its reservation on the right to external self determination, the Government of India has been paying no heed for fear that Kashmir and WESEA including Manipur would become independent States, it continued.
The Manipur-India conflict has claimed the lives of thousands of people and more than 1528 innocent civilians have been killed in fake encounters, the CorCom alleged.
It went on to accuse the Government of India of unleashing a campaign of genocide in Manipur.
At a Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council held in 2017, India said that AFSPA 1958 was imposed only in some selected areas which implies that WESEA including Manipur is being kept under a martial law, not applied to other parts of the country, according to the statement.
Many intellectuals, writers, journalists and common people who worked and spoke for the cause of Manipur were detained and harassed by New Delhi and the puppet State Government by invoking NSA and UAPA, 1964, it alleged.
Although the Indian military forces have been indulging in all kinds of repressive measures including murders, tortures and rapes, none of the military personnel involved in such blatant human rights violation have been tried in the Court of law.
Instead, the Government of India has been refusing to grant prosecution sanction against any of the accused military personnel.
While openly condoning all the military personnel involved in rampant human rights violation, India has been claiming to be the world's largest democracy, it remarked.
Although the Supreme Court has asked for installation of CCTV cameras in the interrogation cells of all police stations, security forces including Enforcement Directorate, NIA and CBI have been using third degree method in questioning arrested people including journalists, it alleged.
Even though the Ministry of Home Affairs claimed that insurgent activities in WESEA have declined by 80 per cent between 2014 and 2022, mitralization of the whole region has been going on unabated.
It exposed India's intention to transform the region into a military zone, it alleged.
Other than fighting collectively for a united, progressive future after understanding the secret agenda of the adversary forces, divided struggles would not do anything good and such struggles would never be successful, the CorCom asserted in its statement.
It added that all the civil and political rights can be secured only when all the people struggle together and restore the independence of Manipur.
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