IMPHAL August 17: Following an alleged physical assault on two volunteers of the Democratic Students Alliance Manipur by members of the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System Students`™ Wing yesterday, the student body has decided to launch its own parallel campaign demanding implementation of the Inner Line Permit System in the State.
This was stated by DESAM president Angamba during a press meet in their office this morning.
He denounced the physical assault on their volunteers in the strongest terms and demanded a clarification apology, failing which he said DESAM will be compelled to respond in a befitting manner.
According to him, yesterday at around 3 in the afternoon more than 50 members of JCILPS Student Wing stormed the DESAM head office and dragged away two of its members namely Elangbam Musuk and Ronil and brutally assaulted them.
Angamba expressed shock at such conduct of the JCIPSSW and questioned the legitimacy of the action.
He said there was a joint meeting held a few days back over certain statuses/comments made on the social network/ Facebook.
`Similar and more severe comments were also made on me by members of JCILPSSW. However I have not reacted or imposed accountability on such comments.`
So such violent reaction was not anticipated at all, he said.
He disclosed another recent incident where Ashok Kumar, member of DESAM Imphal West of Langthabal Mantrikhong was brutally beaten in his own house by members of JCILPSSW for an unfounded reason.
DESAM considers such actions as a deliberate attempt to tarnish its image in public and of those members in JCILP who share our ideology, he said.
Further we feel such attempts are meant to derail the core purpose of the ILPS movement, he alleged.
Instead of acknowledging DESAM`™s contribution since the inception of the movement for implementing Inner Line Permit, we are framed as a party to the government and supposedly distributing pamphlets, he said.
This is an attempt to belittle our contribution and mark as an opposition to the public movement, he remarked.
Whereas, DESAM has been a forerunner since the beginning of the movement, he claimed.
In fact some of DESAM members are presently partaking in the indefinite hunger strike, he asserted.
Unfortunately, differences in ideology, disrespect and distrust have crept up within JCILPS, he lamented by citing the manner in which he was replaced as a convenor without any prior information to him.
`Yet we continue to show our solidarity and support for the movement.`
Unfortunately JCILPS started adopting several undemocratic approaches, he claimed.
Groups within JCILPS started behaving in their own and also started to give their independent thoughts through the media without the approval of the collective leaders, he said.
For instance AMSU has announced the closure of Moreh route without the mandate of the JCILPS Chandel District Unit, he claimed.
Such action exposes the undemocratic patterns within the collective movement, he alleged.
He also said that such incidents have further brought differences among the people which is aggravated by assaulting two innocent DESAM members.
He narrated, we had immediately informed the JCILPS convenor i/c Kh Ratan and he had assured us immediate release of the two members.
However we waited in vain till midnight when THANIL meira lup and Poirei Leimarol Apunba Meira Paibi brought the two brutally assaulted members of DESAM, he claimed.
It is unfortunate that unrelated mothers are used in this manner, he added.
Hence DESAM demands public clarification for such conduct of assaulting two members, he said.
For all the above difference, DESAM have decided to detach from JCILPS and along with shared ideology groups will renew the movement for implementation of ILPS under `Reconsolidation Campaign for Implementation of ILPS (Phirep Chetsinhanba Khongjang)`™, the president announced.
Public consultations at several places will follow as part of the campaign, he informed.
We will soon convey a peoples`™ convention draw out the line of agitation for achieving the demand of safeguarding the indigenous peoples`™ rights and towards solutions for other issues that confronts the State, he said and appeal to all for support towards safeguarding the Indigenous people.