SHILLONG, Dec 10: The Meghalaya Peoples’ Human Rights Council (MPHRC) on Saturday took strong note of the incident which occurred in Mukroh village, West Jaintia Hills, recently and condemned all acts of violence, as it observed the International Human Rights Day. The theme for this year was ‘Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for all’.
“We stand in solidarity with the villagers in Mukroh in demanding justice for those victims who were killed by the Assam Police,” the MPHRC said, while urging both the government of Meghalaya and Assam to ensure the safety and security of local villagers in Mukroh.
It appealed for a robust mechanism to be put in place to ensure that the locals live a life with human dignity.
“We strongly condemn all acts of violence that have been systematically perpetrated against innocent civilians, indigenous peoples, genuine minorities, including journalists as well as other atrocities and violations of human rights,” the rights body said.
The MPHRC has emphasised on the need to bring to justice those responsible, including those at the command level, and urge all parties including the government to take all necessary steps to prevent further violations of human rights from occurring. “When violations do occur, address their causes so that they do not reoccur in the future,” it said.
With regard to the killing of former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the MPHRC has urged the government to investigate all allegations of human rights abuses and prosecute offenders, including those implicated in various violent incidents in the past.
“We note with concern to see the inquiry panel report constituted by the government to probe into the killing of (L) Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the former leader of HNLC, where it has revealed that the death of deceased was caused by a botched operation and was nothing but a culpable of thoughtless and excessive use of force, which turned out to be avoidable and another clear violation of human rights committed by the police operation team,” it said.
The Council has condemned the government “for directly defending the Tactical Team-I who were responsible for the operation to arrest the deceased at his residence on 13-8-2021 at about 3 am and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims’ right to justice and redress.”
“We support the right to peaceful protests and freedom of expression and we commend the overall performance of the Meghalaya Police in maintaining law and order over recent months. We also urge the state-sponsored human rights institution to continue investigating allegations of excessive use of force and extra-judicial killings committed by police officers,” the MPHRC said.
Talking about the observance of International Human Rights Day, Chairman of MPHRC, Dino DG Dympep, said, “As we celebrate International Human Rights Day, we reaffirm its commitment to a world that protects human rights, celebrates human rights defenders, and holds accountable those who abuse human rights since we believe that human rights are essential to build a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous world.”
