Imphal, November 17 2009: The DESAM has strongly condemned the act of burning down Standard English School located at Khongjom Tekcham in Thoubal district in the intervening night of November 16 and 17 .

According to a press release issued by DESAM, six rooms of the school were reduced to cinders in the act of arson committed by some unidentified persons.

Recalling that there were reports of arson attempts at seven Govt schools earlier, the student body asserted that such attempts at Govt schools may be seen as targeting the Govt in connection with the BT Road killings but targeting private schools should be taken as targeting the people.

Arson attempts targeting Government schools and private schools have different implications.

Saying that burning down educational institutions is a threat to education, a stumbling block to development pace and a harassment to the people, DESAM condemned it in the strongest term.

The movement launched in the aftermath of July 23 killings has undergone dramatic changes.

In the early phase, it was a real mass movement characterised by protest rallies, demonstrations and pitched battles with police in different localities.

But people's involvement got steadily reduced and after two/three weeks the movement itself died out.

At this juncture, the class boycott agitation was launched.

Since then, people's disposition towards the movement started changing and ultimately they turned against the movement.

As the class boycott movement extended beyond three months, people started defying the boycott call.

Following the defiance, the movement became a campaign of terrorism directed against the people.

The transformation of the people's movement might be a handiwork work of Government's gents or traitors or those elements who could not understand the meaning of people's movement, DESAM conjectured.

Asserting that leaders guiding the people's movement should prevent such transformation, the student body accused the Government of abetting the transformation.

The only force which can save the society from the existing conflict situation is the civil society itself, DESAM asserted while calling upon civil society leaders to make serious efforts to check transformation of a people's movement to a campaign of terrorism.

Saying that no civil leaders should undertake any activity that may diminish the strength of civil society, it cautioned civil leaders not to lose rein of the movement.

The student body also appealed to the people maintain round the clock vigil and launch a new Meira Paibi movement against acts of arson targeting educational institutions.

Holding the Government responsible for the present issue, the DESAM said that the Government should take up strong measures to avert any destructive activity in educational institutions as well as to enable students attend class.

The Government should resign if they cannot protect educational institutions, it demanded.

Noting that Standard English School should not be made to suffer casualty of the arson alone, DESAM said that necessary fund should be raised to re-build the burnt down section of the school.

DESAM would volunteer in raising the necessary fund, it pledged.

Comment