Peace Convention on Manipur issues held at Silchar

Silchar: The Peace Convention on Manipur Crisis that was held on 13th August at Rajiv Bhawan, Silchar, Assam equivocally adopted resolutions that urged upon the central government to restore peace in the state in a given time frame and the conflict in the state of Manipur should not be allowed to continue for long.

The convention which was attended by hundreds of people from Barak Valley region comprising people of all communities also suggested that they are concerned that the Manipur issue will have ill effect in Barak region also and that any illegal immigrants should not be allowed to settle in other parts of the country.

The Peace convention at Silchar was organised by KRC Foundation under the aegis of Barak Manipur Friendship Association (BMFA). Nongin NGO and Lifeline Forever Foundation were actively involved in organising the convention. A relief material campaign for the displaced people living in relief camps of Manipur by BMFA during the next three months. The campaign was kick started with many organisations such as Assam university Employee thrift & Credit Society, Lions club of Silchar Valley, Meira Paibi organisation of Barak valley donating materials.

A floral tribute was offered to Bir Tikendrajit on the occasion of Patriots Day by all assembled in the convention.

Biswadeep Gupta, Managing Trustee of KRC foundation while delivering the welcome address highlighted that the purpose of the convention is to sensitise the people so that the real facts can be brought forward, and peoples input is collated so that a resolution can be adopted and shared with all stakeholders. He also appealed to people of Barak Valley to come forward by donating materials for displaced people staying in relief camps of Manipur.

A delegation of resource persons from Imphal, Guwahati, Jiribam and Barak Valley were present in the convention to share the facts, thoughts and identify a way forward. Dr. Potsangbam Dhakeswar, Convenor, Taragi Cheisu gave a presentation in the convention highlighting the facts and figures showcasing the demographic changes taking place in Manipur. He also highlighted various issues that have led to the conflict.

Kh. Gojendro Singh, Human rights activist gave a genesis of the event happening in Manipur and urged the people of Barak Valley to stay united and alert so that in case of any intrusion by miscreants the people could be ready to fight any misadventures.

Yumnam Nabakishore Singha, National Spokesperson of World Meetei Council gave a detailed sequence of events that has led the conflict to take up a violent shape. He passionately urged that centre should immediately settle the issue and that PM and NEDA Convenor and Assam Chief minister should intervene without any delay.

Dr. A Dinamani, Head, ECE, NIT Manipur gave a very touching speech on how his village is being guarded by volunteers. The suffering and the fear psychosis of the people living in the periphery of the hill area was detailed by him.

Shankar Dey, General Secretary of Silchar Press Club echoed the sentiments of people, that the peace should be restored by the Government. He said if the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Parliament can say that they are capable of taking over PoK then why in Manipur it is taking time to resolve the crisis, he questioned.

In the convention it was strongly deliberated that the real issue is the illegal immigrants coming from Myanmar who are highly militarised and that the Government should not in any way negotiate with any insurgents group so that the integrity of the state is not compromised.

Other speakers included Kh. Janaki Devi, Adhyaksha, Jiribam Zilla Parishad, Reena Singh, Manipuri Development Council, Assam, Dr. K.N. Chand Singha, Chairman, Manipuri Language Protection Coordination Committee, Th. Ngouba, Advisor, Manipur People’s Front Guwahati, Yumnam Budhichandra Singh, President, Committee of Forward Club, Imphal, Kamala Kanta Sinha, Silchar, Sanjit Debnath, President UTDC, Silchar, Rupam Nandi Purkastha, advisor ACKHSA, and many representative of civil society and NGOS.