By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 14: The North-Eastern Hill University Teachers’ Association (NEHUTA) held a peace march on the varsity campus to send the message of peace, sisterhood, and fraternity to strife-torn Manipur.
Attended by hundreds of students, teachers, employees, and civil society members from seven states of the Northeast, the march conveyed a committed and sincere voice of peace and harmony to bring an end to conflicts in Manipur.
The NEHUTA emphasised ‘peace with justice’ as the top priority that should be pursued in Manipur even before resolving any other vexed problem considered as the cause of the conflict.
The NEHU fraternity, as the “microcosm of the northeastern states and communities”, implored everyone to strive towards a violence-free Manipur.
While addressing the gathering, NEHUTA president Lakhon Kma said all stakeholders should come together for the return of peace to Manipur.
“So far, more than 100 lives have been lost and 40,000 plus displaced. We cannot afford to lose any more innocent life there. It is so painful to see what is going on in Manipur. We need peace to return at any cost,” he said.
NEHUTA executive member, Prasenjit Biswas said a sufficiently manipulative situation in Manipur is very volatile even now and they are deeply perturbed by the situation with a large number of people internally displaced, and no proper relief and rehabilitation work so far.
He observed that the relief committee in Manipur is not inclusive.
“We want every tribe and every community to be included in the relief committee. Medical supplies are to be regularised in every nook and corner of Manipur. Relief material including food and medicines must flow smoothly across the state since it is a grave humanitarian crisis,” Prof Biswas said.
He called for political issues to be sorted out across the table.
“The government of India should appoint an interlocutor who can bring the conflicting parties to the table and a suitable solution can be worked out in a phased manner so that such a conflict does not repeat itself,” Prof Biswas added.
Former NEHUTA president, Xavier P. Mao said the government needs to look after the internally displaced people.
He observed that the actors, whether from the state or from the national level, should immediately stop inciting and instigating communities. He suggested a check on rumour-mongering and false information.
“The security forces should be neutral and impartial and activities from both the communities should come to a stop. Otherwise, more forces will be there and various militant groups will be also involved. This will further complicate the situation,” Prof Mao said.
He felt the Centre should invoke President’s Rule in Manipur even though the state government is headed by the BJP, as the situation has gone out of hand.
The NEHU fraternity pledged to stand for the affected and the victimized people and sought adequate reparation and restitution for all affected without any discrimination.
The NEHUTA called for resolving political issues in a violence-free atmosphere in Manipur without any further delay.
The NEHU Students’ Union also batted for peace in Manipur.
