Tag: CORE

Brutality and totally disproportionate use of force by Manipur police, utter failure of state administration : CORE

PRESS RELEASE 10th July 2015   The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) Manipur continues to reiterate its position that the widely reported brutality and totally disproportionate use of

PRESS RELEASE
10th July 2015
 
The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) Manipur continues to reiterate its position that the widely reported brutality and totally disproportionate use of force by the Manipur Police is a definitive sign of the utter failure of the State administration to respond to the democratic voice of the indigenous people of Manipur in a way that demonstrates its commitments to the Constitution of democratic India and international human rights law.
The reported violent attack today by the police forces on the home of the grieving family of the Late Sapam Robinhood at Khurai Lairikyengbam Leikai, using tear gas and other projectiles, is a clear violation of domestic and international standards of humanitarian and human rights law. In this land, it is the tradition for families to undertake a fast until the last death rites are completed. A family undertaking this ritual fast has been brutally attacked by the state. This act is absolutely unpardonable.
Throughout today, reports continued to pour in along with graphic photographs of civilian protestors all over the Imphal Valley against the homicide committed by the police on 8th July 2015 and demanding a law that protects the native people of Manipur from annihilation being subjected to torture and cruel and inhuman degrading treatment or punishment by the police.
With this latest development, as reported, the State of Manipur has been purposefully plunged into a situation of direct and violent confrontation between the government and its people. This situation has been allowed to happen during a sitting of the State Assembly. The state government has been distorted into a monolithic oppressive creature that perpetrates open violence against its subjects. The present government, under the leadership of sitting MLAs Okram Ibobi Singh and Gaikhangam as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister who is also in additional charge of home affairs, respectively, has abdicated all moral and legal authority to continue.
We are in total support of the legitimate demands of the people of Manipur for a strong legal statute that provides safeguards to the native population for their survival, livelihood, land and culture. It is utterly beyond our comprehension how legislators elected by the people of Manipur have abandoned them at this critical hour, taking umbrage behind imagined legal technicalities while their collective political will is shamefully surrendered.
We once again appeal to this government to show some basic humanity and respect of the law. A government that has no regard for the law and constitution has no moral authority to issue any direction or advice to the people because it has lost its legitimacy. A full scale impartial judicial inquiry to investigate the events of these last few days is called for, and we are deeply concerned that Manipur is rapidly sinking into total anarchy.
 
BMP
[Dr. Laifungbam Debabrata Roy]
President
Elders’ Council

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/brutality-and-totally-disproportionate-use-of-force-by-manipur-police-utter-failure-of-state-administration-core/

CORE PRESS STATEMENT: Extreme abuse of power/failure of Home Department of Manipur to stem disgraceful slide in public affairs

PRESS STATEMENT 8th July 2015 The Centre for Organisation Research and Education expresses utter scorn for the extreme abuse of power and failure of the Home Department of Manipur to

PRESS STATEMENT

8th July 2015

The Centre for Organisation Research and Education expresses utter scorn for the extreme abuse of power and failure of the Home Department of Manipur to stem the disgraceful slide in the public affairs of Manipur. The reported fatal injury suffered by a young boy of 16 years, Sapam Robinhood Singh, S/o Romesh of Keishamthong Thangjam Leirak, presently residing at his mother’s home at Khurai Lairik Yengbam Leikai and studying in class XI (Science) at Ananda Singh Higher Secondary School, Nongmeibung was avoidable and preventable. He was reportedly shot with a tear gas shell on his left check at close range and was rushed to Public Hospital Hatta and was later referred to Raj Medicity, North AOC where he succumbed to the injuries inflicted by the Manipur Police. It has been reported that a large number of students numbering more than forty also sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals around Imphal.

The Manipur Police have been trained in the use of tear gas projectiles and mob control, as stated by official information from the Manipur Police Training College (MPTC) at Pangei. But this report seems to say the very opposite. A peaceful rally is not a mob. Use of fire power by the police is under the domain of the district administration. Who gave the order to fire tear gas projectiles at the students? Excessive and disproportionate use of power is, unfortunately, the character of the Manipur Police.

We condemn the totally unjustified abrupt imposition of indefinite curfew in the Great Imphal area from 3:30 PM of 8th July 2015, seeking excuses in an imagined deterioration of law and order, as a clear demonstration of the total failure of the state administration. Peaceful demonstrations and rallies are the very foundations of the democratic will of the people and the fundamental rights freedom of expression and assembly protected by the Indian Constitution, and not to be confused with deterioration of law and order. It is evident that the government of Manipur is not just anti-people but openly in contempt of the democratic principles of India.

It is paradoxical that the government of India entered into an international human rights treaty on civil and political rights and entered into an obligation to uphold, promote and protect these rights, but it is left to the civil society, children, students and human rights defenders to perform these obligations!

As we grieve with the family of Sapam Robinhood and all the injured young students, we demand an immediate lifting of this draconian curfew imposed in Imphal and the immediate establishment of an independent and fair judicial inquiry into the incident in order to fix responsibility and liability in accordance to the law.

 

[Dr. Laifungbam Debabrata Roy]

President

Elders’ Council

Press release from CORE, Manipur. They can be reached at laifungbam@coremanipur.org

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/07/core-press-statement-extreme-abuse-of-powerfailure-of-home-department-of-manipur-to-stem-disgraceful-slide-in-public-affairs/

CORE condemns AR’s reported ill-treatment of villagers in aftermath of bomb attack

IMPHAL, September 3: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) has strongly condemned the reported bomb blast near the AR post located at Old Samtal (Samat) Village in Chandel

IMPHAL, September 3: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) has strongly condemned the reported bomb blast near the AR post located at Old Samtal (Samat) Village in Chandel District in the early morning of August 26 that was claimed by an armed non-state organisation and the cruel and inhuman ill-treatment and torture by the 3rd AR towards the inhabitants of the village after the bomb-attack.

According to a press release of CORE, villagers including children and child bearing women were ill-treated and forced to parade throughout the whole day in the rain without food.

Three persons were also brutally assaulted inside a house and many children were found to be huddled up in a small hut in fear as was reported in the local media, it said.

The following day, on August 27, two villagers, Lhunkhojam, 57 and Jamkholin, 36 along with their families were expelled from the village by order of the post-commander major Sooter charging them of being behind the bomb attack.

However, due to forced banishment, the family of Lumkhojam had to abandon his aged father who could no longer walk due to old age, it said.

Despite being a State party to the Geneva Conventions which stated that no harm must come to the civilians, India is encouraging brutal localised autocracies in its border areas in the name of counter-insurgency operations and management of security threats to the State, it said.

The organisation strongly condemns the inhuman torture and ill-treatment of the villagers by the 3rd Assam Rifles and also urged the government to take full responsibility of the situation and to ensure immediate welfare and rehabilitation of the villagers and ensure their immediate return to their homes from where they were forcefully evicted by the AR.

It has appealed to the government to halt the continuing threats and terrorisation of the villagers by the AR and restore peace in the village, it said.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/09/core-condemns-ars-reported-ill-treatment-of-villagers-in-aftermath-of-bomb-attack/

CORE blames GoM, CSOs for Ukhrul incident

IMPHAL, August 30: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) Manipur, condemned the atrocious shooting incident at Ukhrul today and blamed both the government and certain civil society organisation

IMPHAL, August 30: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) Manipur, condemned the atrocious shooting incident at Ukhrul today and blamed both the government and certain civil society organisation for allowing the situation to precipitate to today’s tragedy,

“Under considerable and sensitive constraints, the Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) Manipur expresses a considerable scorn towards the situation in Ukhrul in Manipur,” said a statement of the organisation.

It said the ugly state of affairs, and it’s tragic consequences, was a foregone conclusion because of the disgraceful divergent trajectories pursued by the government of Manipur and civil society organisations who think that a conflict can be resolved through untenable positions and supplication to so-called ‘authorities’ far removed from the realities of Manipur.

With increasing fatalities and casualties in Ukhrul, CORE remains deeply concerned that the martial law governance disposition of the Manipur government exposes its abject defeat to address its responsibilities as an answerable executive organ of the State, it continued.

The CORE statement appealed to all, including the sensible and astute sections among all citizens, in Ukhrul to refrain from postures and activities that will only result in further violent confrontation.

The CORE statement continued further “In our view, it is a foregone conclusion that Section 144 of the CrPC has been patently abused in Ukhrul.”

“On the other hand, the aggravation by the leadership of the widely appreciated and respected United Naga Council of Manipur is nakedly uncalled for, and only served to expose its superficial evaluation of the situation and missed an opportunity of a promising constructive role it can play under the circumstances that have tormented the citizens of Ukhrul and its surrounding areas for weeks.”

“Governments in a democratic system cannot be accused speciously and relentlessly of being ‘communal’ while ignoring the obvious exigency of the present sensitive opinionated scenario prevailing in Ukhrul,” it said.

The people of Manipur in one voice reject any communal agenda from any quarter, it said before adding that provocations designed to detonate a violent and potently incendiary situation cannot, under any circumstances be construed as a struggle for human dignity and rights, under any level of aggravation.

The law of the land must prevail including international human rights law, and that must be accepted by all; what is blatantly omitted is an open acknowledgment of responsibility and duties by all parties, further said the CORE statement.

“CORE expresses deeply felt condolences of those who lost their lives today in Ukhrul, and appeals to all, especially the government of Manipur to exercise its democratic responsibilities with due diligence in accordance to the highest principles and policies of democracy.”

The Manipur Police is being injudiciously and excessively exposed to a very partisan situation, it said before urging the Manipur government to immediately withdraw all prohibitory orders in Ukhrul under Section 144 of the CrPC as its justification and legal premises are no longer relevant nor acceptable.

An impartial judicial level inquiry must be instituted and the people who have suffered tragically must be compensated and rehabilitated by the government, it said.

Responsibility for the use of inappropriate and excessive force by the Police stationed in Manipur must be fixed, and those indicted beyond doubt must be given exemplary disciplinary punishment, the CORE statement concluded.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/08/core-blames-gom-csos-for-ukhrul-incident/