IMPHAL, May 30 NNN: Quagmire over the proposed June 3 agitation of All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM) persists as the faultline of pro-ATSUM agitation and those oppose to it has sharpened.
Echoeing the Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) today dismissed the ATSUM as ‘pseudo-ATSUM’ formed by few individuals to serve their vested interests while the All Colleges Tribal Students Organisation (ACTSOM) said today it will fully support the ATSUM agitation saying ATSUM’s movement is for all the tribals of Manipur. “We are here all out support to ATSUM and we will stand behind it till the end,” ACTSOM said. Again, Indigenous Peoples Front (IDF) too said the steps taken up by ATSUM is not only students’ movement but it is the movement of the whole tribal community working for tribals’ rights in Manipur.
On the other hand, All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) asked its constituent units not to lend support to the proposed ATSUM agitation saying it is the ‘pseudo-ATSUM’ not mandated by people which is making mockery of the name of ATSUM. The June 3 agitation is a fake bandh, said ANSAM president Kumo Sha while talking to Newmai News Network tonight. The ANSAM leader also said the proposed bandh will only glorify few individuals behind the ‘pseudo-ATSUM’ at the cost of the tribal people.
It can be noted here that the Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong (TKS) or Tangkhul Students Union, Zeliangrong Students Union, Manipur (ZSUM), Thadou Students Association-General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) and Churachandpur District Students Union (CDSU) had pledged to support the ATSUM agitation while Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), All Naga Students Association, Manipur (ANSAM) have strongly voiced to oppose the agitation.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/atsum-differences-widen/
