Dimapur, June 5 (MExN): The Mao Council has expressed resentment at the statement made by Union Home Secretary GK Pillai over the economic blockade clamped by Nagas civil organizations in Manipur. Pillai had expressed the Government of India’s ‘impatience’ at the blockade and had called for lifting it in Manipur.
“He fails to see the reasons and root cause of the blockade,” the Mao Council said in a statement today. The council implied to the Centre to look to what Manipur government has been doing to the Naga people, the repressive policies and socio-political injustice the Naga people in Manipur are subject to. “The blockade is an act of expressing our rights which are being suppressed by the Manipur government. How can we let the others to suppress our rights continuously and let the suppressors go escort-free? Blockade is a way showing of our grievances when our soft appeals are not being heard by the GoM.”
‘If the Centre is so concerned about the suffering and human rights of Meiteis why not he concern about the suffering of the Nagas who are fighting for their rights for last six to seven decades?’ the council queried Pillai. The council ridiculed the Government of India’s stance as “amusing” for remaining silent when hundreds of women and children were injured and two young students killed by Manipur police forces on May 6 at Mao Gate.
“Isn’t this a serious violation of human rights? Is the life of the Meiteis are more precious than the Nagas? Why the GoM (who always suppresses and oppresses the minorities) is so important to GoI? We want to make it clear to the GoI and Pillai that, GoM is not the Govt of the Nagas in Manipur because the rights of the Nagas in particular and the tribal in general are always undermine and neglected, our to right to live is never being considered,” the council stated. The council referred to a number of cases in May alone which saw Naga people attacked, injured and killed by Manipur ]police forces. The Government of India is also told to look into the memorandums of the Naga organizations.
These appeals and representations reflect the needs of the Nagas, the council said. “The central government should ask the GoM and High Court to lift the arrest warrant to David Choro (president of ANSAM) at the earliest or serve the same arrest warrant to the leaders who are doing the counter blockade because every offender for violation the same law and order must be measured with the same scale without which it is not a court of justice to safeguard the citizen rights of the nation.”
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