From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: Altogether 12 insurgent groups from the North-East including the coordination committee comprising seven militant outfits groups in Manipur have called for a general shutdown on January 26 next to bar people of the region from taking part in Republic Day celebration.
In a joint statement issued by the Coordination Committee of seven insurgent groups of Manipur, outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam, (ULFA), Hynnewtrap A’chik Liberation Council (HNLC) of Meghalaya, Kamatapur Liberation Organistion (KLO), National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), Tripura People’s Democratic Front (TPDF) have stated that boycott of Indian Republic Day and the general strike was called as a mark of resistance against “Indian Occupation’ in the region.
The outfit while calling upon the people of the region to observe a general shutdown from 1am to 5-30pm on January 26 imposed ban on all sorts of trade and commercial activities, public entertainment, plying of private and public transport in the region during the period.
The outfits stated, “celebration of Republic Day serves to legitimize a veiled form of colonial oppression that we are determined to eject from our region and since the people of our region are not Indian, there is no reason to take part in this celebration.”