Manipur,IMPHAL, September 24: President of the banned Revolutionary People`s Front (RPF) Irengbam Chaoren has stated that, no negotiated agreement under the Indian constitution could settle the sovereignty issues of the region.
In a message on the occasion of the 34th Foundation Day of the People`s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the outfit, the RPF leader has asked all groups involved in the present peace process to come back and once again join the struggle against colonial rule.
Accusing India of relentlessly trying to lure revolutionaries with lucrative offers Chaoren put in a word of caution with regard to the recent offer made by MLAs of a state to resign enmasse to make room for a particular group engaged in peace process.
He recalled how the Mizo accord of 1986 duped revolutionaries and how states borne out of peace accords are now surviving on grant-in-aids.
He asserted that, alternative arrangement is not the solution towards ending the oppression and suppression being perpetrated against the Nagas.
“It is not only the Nagas who are reeling under the repressive colonial rule, all communities in the region are also suffering the same fate and the only means to end the sufferings is to stand together,†the RPF President added.
He further said, “RPF never believes in any communal policy or sectarian activities. Our party has no faith in the policy of fighting communalism with a communal means. The communal policies of Manipur government should not be fought with Alternative Arrangement. It is equally communal. This will only widen differences between communities.â€
Lambasting the agreement signed on July 19, 2010 by India with Jubilent Oil and Gas Private Ltd (JOGPL), headquartered at Netherlands and based at Noida for extraction of oil from Manipur without the knowledge of the people Chaoren said, it is in continuation of India’s coercive rule and an attempt to loot the natural resources of the region in the present case oil extraction from Churachandpur, Jiribam and Tamenglong.
By giving false report in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that one sixth of the total geographical area of Manipur does not have any important flora and fauna, the government of India is challenging the rights of the indigenous people guaranteed by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007, the RPF statement charged.
Accusing representatives of Manipur for failing to prevent extraction of oil and preserve valuable wealth of Manipur like oil, it appealed to the hill and plain people to take a collective decision by shedding narrow and sectarian outlooks.
With regard to the Look East Policy Chaoren stated that India is trying to win over South East Asian countries with regard to military and logistics support for crushing the freedom struggles of Manipur.
The RPF statement said, the ill-treatment meted to the people of the region in other parts of country in the aftermath of Assam violence has made clearer that the relationship of region and India is that of an oppressed colony and colonial masters.
Concluding the message Irengbam Chaoren said, “The ongoing freedom struggle in Manipur is not for a future founded on the history of well off and powerful people. The masses should realize colonized and oppressed people have the need for living as free men. It is the responsibility of the revolutionaries to fulfill the aspirations of the masses,” the RPF president’s message concluded.
