Mail News Service
Imphal, Jan 22: Seven militant groups operating in the north east have asked the people of the region to boycott the celebrations. It also called general strike from 01:00 hrs to 17:30 Hrs on January 26. The statement issued by Coordination Committee (CorCom) of seven parties of Manipur, Hynnewtrep National Liberation Council (Hnlc) , Kamatapur Liberation Organization (Klo), National Liberation Front Of Twipra (Nlft), Tripura People’s Democratic Front (Tpdf) and United Liberation Front Of Asom (Ulfa) said mass boycott of the India’s Republic Day Celebration has been called, “as a mark of resistance against Indian Occupation of our Region. The Republic Day Celebration serves to legitimize a veiled form of colonial oppression that we are determined to eject from our region and since the peoples of our region are not Indian, there is no reason to take part in this celebration.”
It was added, “ We have every right and reason to fight against and overthrow Indian Colonial Regime to regain our lost Sovereignty and Independence. To make this resistance of our people meaningful, and to convey a resolute message to the Indian establishment that their hegemony over our region and its people are not being tolerated and will not pass unchallenged, we solicit our peoples to observe a general shut-down to show our solidarity. During these hours, all trade and commercial activities, all forms of public entertainment and all kinds of public and private transportations must not operate in our region it was added. However, emergency measures, essential services, media and religious activities are exempted from its purview.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/republic-day-celebrations-boycott-call/