NEW DELHI, January 17 (Manipur Information Centre):The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Union Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde today assured the delegation of all political parties from Manipur for taking appropriate actions on handing over of Livingstone, self-style Lt. Col. Of NSCN (IM) to the Government of Manipur and removal of NSCN(IM) camps from Manipur.
The 15-member delegation led by the Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh today met the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at 6.10 pm and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde at 1 pm and submitted a memorandum demanding handing over of Livingstone, self-style Lt. Col. of NSCN(IM) to the Government of Manipur and removal of the NSCN(IM) camps from Manipur. Union Secretary of Home R. K. Singh and Joint Secretary of Home (North East) Sambhu Singh also attended in the meeting with the Union Home Minister.
After the meeting, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh said here that both the meetings were very cordial, and the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister gave a patient hearing to the Manipur delegation.
He said, “The Prime Minister told the delegation that the act of molestation to a woman was highly condemnable and he would inform the Union Home Minister to take appropriate action in the matter.”
The Chief Minister also informed, ”The Prime Minister reiterated that the Centre would not compromise on Manipur’s territorial integrity while working out a peace package with the NSCN(IM).”
The all political party delegation from Manipur had arrived here yesterday to appraise the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister of India on the prevailing situation in Manipur aftermath of the incident of molestation and assault to the artiste at Chandel District in Manipur by NSCN)IM) cadres.
In the memorandum, it was stated that the Mahamani Women Society of Chandel invited Momoko, a renowned Manipuri film artiste, H. Guna Sharma, film artiste and S. Prakash Singh, singer to participate in a music concert organized by them at Chandel on December 18, 2012.
While Momoko was compering the concert, R. T. Livingstone Anal, a self-styled Lt. Colonel of NSCN(IM) assaulted her physically in the presence of the public and fired upon the artiste H.Guna Sharma and S. Prakash Singh who rushed to help the artiste, it said.
Since the cease fire between the Government of India and NSCN(IM) was not enforced in Manipur, the said incident incited the general public of Manipur instantly. They attributed the incident due to the existence of NSCN(IM) camps inside Manipur which was much against the will of the people of Manipur. The memorandum also recalled that a massive general uprising incident had taken place in Imphal when the news of attempt to enforce the cease fire agreement between the Centre and the NSCN (IM) was contemplated on June 18, 2001.
Consequently, the general public spear-headed by the Film Forum Manipur, the Manipur State Shumang Leela Council, the All Manipur Matamishei Kanglup and the All Manipur United Club Organization staged an intense agitation burning down numerous vehicles, properties and demanding the immediate arrest of R.T. Livingstone Anal, the self-styled Lt. Colonel of NSCN(IM) and his accomplices and punish them in accordance with the law of the land and immediate removal of all purported camps of NSCN(IM) in Manipur, it stated.
In order to solve the increasing intensity of their agitation, a meeting of all political parties of Manipur was held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on December 25, 2012 and adopted, to request the Government of India to hand over Livingstone to the Government of Manipur at the earliest for taking necessary action for his crime under law. And it was also resolved to appeal to the JAC of Artistes, Film Forum Manipur and Manipur Shumang Leela Council to withdraw the General Strike called by them and to the United Naga Council to call off their threat of counter blockade from mid-night of December 26, 2012 to avoid the hardships to be faced by the general public; and to send a delegation of all political parties to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister to appraise the grave situation arising out of the Chandel incident in Manipur and seek initiation of appropriate action in the matter.
The memorandum said that the agitators agreed to call off their agitation on the appeal with assurance that their demands would be placed before the Government of India. It was also mentioned in the memorandum that despite repeated assurances given by the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister on protecting the territorial integrity of the State of Manipur, there was a lot of apprehension in the minds of the people of Manipur regarding the intention of the talks with NSCN and its long term implications on the territorial integrity of Manipur in both letter and spirit. In the context, the delegation also requested to the Government of India that before any solution to the Naga issue was finalized, the assurances given by the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister be translated into a clear long term commitment by way of amending the Constitution and adding a proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution clarifying that the provisions of Article 3 would not be applicable to the North Eastern States including Manipur and that their territorial boundaries would never be altered without the consent of the concerned State legislatures.
