Urging CM Biren to play his part in repealing AFSPA, COCOMI coordinator Longjam Ratankumar Singh said that COCOMI believes CM Biren will walk the talk on the issue.
TFM Desk
Condemning the Oting massacre, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Thursday staged a sit-in at Keishampat Leimajam Leikai joining the renewed AFSPA repeal movement in the Northeast.
COCOMI coordinator Longjam Ratankumar Singh, while speaking to media persons, said that the sit-in was staged to condemn the gruesome killings of 14 unarmed civilians by ’21 Para Commando’ of the Indian Army on December 4.
“COCOMI would also like to extend its solidarity to the Naga brothers and join in the grief of the bereaved families of the departed,” he added.
Many prominent political leaders who visited the state often maintained that India cannot develop without developing NE, said Ratankumar, who is also the president of the Ethno Heritage Council (HERICON).
While developmental packages have also been announced, innocent civilians have been massacred under the garb of AFSPA, he asserted while asking the Government of India, “What kind of development is this?”
He further said that since its enactment in 1958, the draconian Act has been used to oppress the people in the name of curbing insurgency. But it has failed to achieve what it was supposed to, he added.
The Jeevan Reddy Committee, formed in the aftermath of Thangjam Monorama rape and murder in 2004, recommended the repeal of AFSPA, he said. By continuing to impose the Act despite such recommendations, the Government of India’s “double standard” has been exposed, he added.
“If they are sincere enough, they should repeal AFSPA, without any delay,” he asserted.
Urging CM Biren to play his part in repealing AFSPA, he said that COCOMI believes CM Biren will walk the talk on the issue.