TURA, Oct 8: The Association for Democracy and Empowerment (ADE) has sought an apology from Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui for the tear gas attack on protesting contractual teachers when they sought to barge into the Secretariat demanding their reinstatement.
Calling the incident high handed and appalling, ADE condemned the action by the state in their effort to quell democratic protests by teachers.
“We would like to remind the state government that in a democracy, people have every right to protest and put forward their opinions if they feel any injustice has been done against them in a peaceful manner. The concerned authorities should have come up to the teachers and addressed their concerns and tried to negotiate. They have been protesting for quite some time. Instead they were they were attacked with tear gas and chased away by the police,” ADE president Dalseng B Ch Momin said in a press release.
The group asserted that the act was in contrast to the talks on various platforms by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, who always spoke of relentlessly working for the benefit of the people.
“He has continued to promise that nothing will be done against people’s will, but in reality, it is evident that those talks or promises are hollow just like fake drama to appease us,” Momin said.
“For the last four and half years we have seen how this NPP-led government has miserably failed while dealing with various crises. We raised our voice on various issues but not a single one has been resolved during this party’s tenure,” he added.
The group asserted that it was this stance of the present government and their reluctance that compelled them to suspect the intent for the welfare of the land and people.
“If we continue to choose the same individuals with this kind of stance as our leaders, in future our state will be in great peril. The teachers protesting in Shillong are our own brothers and sisters. We condemn the atrocities done by the police against them and appeal to the authorities to fulfil their demands as soon as possible. We also demand an apology from the Home and Education Minister for the transgression committed against the teachers,” the ADE said.
