CSOs take out rally against CAB 2016
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 12 2019: A protest rally cum sit-in was staged today against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) 2016 under the aegis of the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) and many other civil society organisations.

The protest rally was flagged off from the Kwakeithel Akham Leikai community hall and wound up at the same point after marching up to Keishampat junction.

Throughout the course of the rally, Imphal West district police took up stringent security measures so as to thwart off any untoward incident.

As the protest rally reached Sega Road, Dhobi Machu Leirak, police asked the marchers to turn back but the protesters and the police agreed on turning back from Keishampat junction.

The marchers shouted slogans like "We condemn CAB 2016", "Manipur and the North East should be kept out of CAB", "State Government must state its position on CAB", "Implement Manipur People's Protection Bill 2018 immediately", "Long Live Manipur" etc.

Ahead of the protest rally, a sit-in-protest cum public meeting was held at Kwakeithel.

The protest rally cum sit-in-protest was participated by office bearers and volunteers of COHR, AMAWOVA, AMESCO, MEPWAK, MSF, Irabot Foundation Manipur, Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba Manipur, National Research Centre, All Manipur Muslim Development Organisation, Pangal Students' Organisation, All Manipur Manpower Upliftment Centre and Manipur Keithel Phambi Apunba Lup.

Speaking at the public meeting, AMUCO president Ph Deban underscored the importance for a thorough study into the vehement objection raised against CAB 2016 and the people's growing apprehension.

The Bill promises Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and Buddhists from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan if they had lived six years in India.

But the Bill does not say anything about where the immigrants would be settled and it does not have any provision to protect the indigenous communities of the North East, Deban remarked.

The Bill is an instrument to wipe out all the indigenous people of the North East who are different from mainland Indians in terms of identity, culture and traditions by planting crores of immigrants in the region, he asserted.

After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union in 1949, the Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation was abolished the following year and it opened Manipur to an unending influx.

Deban categorically stated that AMUCO would never accept the enactment of CAB when the demand for implementation of ILPS or a similar mechanism to protect indigenous people is yet to be fulfilled.

It's time for all the people of Manipur to adopt a firm decision and launch a collective struggle against CAB 2016, he said.

Asserting that the State Government cannot run away from the issue, the AMUCO president demanded the State Government to lay down its position in unambiguous terms on the issue of CAB 2016 .

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