IMPHAL, December 24: A statement from H. Poirei, media co-ordinator of the Co-ordination Committee (CorCom) of KCP, KYKL, PREPAK, PREPAK (Pro), RPF, UNLF and UPPK has appealed to the people of the state to stay calm and not to take up any action that can lead to communal strife. Decrying the allegations of mischief mongering coming from certain quarters over the incident in Chandel in which a film actor was physically assaulted and two other artistes fired upon, the statement questioned the manner in which the situation is being handled by the state government. It alleged that the state government was making excuses for its inability to take action under the excuse of the ceasefire between NSCN (IM) and the government of India.
Condoling the death of journalist Th Dwijamani in a police firing, the statement said that the government has only succeeded in making matters worse with its lack of sincerity in solving the issue at hand. Lauding the Film Forum Manipur, Manipur Shumang Leela Council and other civil society groups for taking the decision to call for the indefinite strike to be relaxed taking into consideration of people who would be observing Christmas, it further said that people should take caution and make sure that they do not fall into the trap of being branded as communalists. It also appealed to the people to refrain from doing or saying anything that will hurt the religious sentiments of people and to ensure that no harm befalls people who are keen to observe the festival.