Day: February 2, 2014

IMPHAL, February 2: The All Manipur Bar Association in collaboration with the United NGOs Mission Manipur today conducted a one day discussion on Armed Conflict, Right to Life and Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 in Manipur at the Uripok Cheirap Court Complex.

President AMBA, advocate Khaidem Mani acted as the moderator of the discussion.

While indicating that AFSPA will go on its own, once the law and order situation in the state improves, senior advocate RK Nokulsana said the law and order situation is distressing as of now.

He said that the state has the authority for the imposition and lifting of the Disturb Area Status anywhere in the state, and so the first step should be to review the status.

Once after the Disturb Area Status is lifted, the centre will also automatically lift the AFSPA, he observed.

Meanwhile, District Session Judge, Manipur east, A Guneshor Sharma said modification of AFSPA is the need of the hour. The country’s Constitution provides for modification and appending of all Acts, he observed.

A statement from the AMBA president said the advocates and the concerned civil society groups participating in the discussion have appreciated the fact that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, almost all the Committee monitoring the major UN human rights treaty bodies to which Government of India is a party, all the UN Special rapporteur who visited recently as well as Working Group on Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council that reviews India in both the 1 st and 2nd cycle have called for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 as a blot in democracy.

The participants had also seriously noted that the Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, who promised to consider “replacing AFSPA with a more humane law” seems to be still complacent to the matter despite his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) holding power throughout the intervening decades, it said.

“Urging the centre to officially recognize the present political conflict to be armed conflict as de jure armed conflict rather than mere law and order problem” and after considering other issues, the participants had recommended to the governments at the centre and the state to repeal the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 immediately.

Further according to the statement, it was recommended that the government of India should become a party to the two Additional Protocols to the  1949 Geneva Conventions of 1977.

During the discussion it was also recommended to the political armed groups/armed opposition groups operating in Manipur and North East India in general to abide by the Article 3 Common to four Geneva Convention as a minimum standard and to sign the deed of agreement of Geneva Call.

Meanwhile, the North East Dialogue Forum, Village Authority, Women Society, Youth Club and Women Development of Kangchup Chiru Village, had also jointly organised one such consultation at Kangchup Chiru, Senapati district.

The function was attended by Soraisam Dhanabir, Maisnam Kalanjoy and Adam Kharam of the North East Dialogue Forum were present at the consultation as resource persons, informed a press release of the North East Dialogue Forum.

In the key-note address, advisor of the NEDF I Pratap Singh said that the people of Manipur have experienced enough suffering due to armed conflict for the last more than five decades.

At the end of the consultation, the participants unanimously resolved to recommend to the centre to repeal the AFSPA; to respect and implement the common article 3 of Geneva Conventions, 1949 and Additional Protocol-II of 1977; to establish Special Investigation Team to investigate into all cases of rape, torture and killing of innocent civilians, women and children and deliver justice to the victims and compensate them; to provide assistance to the victims of rape, torture, assault and harassment.

Other recommendations of the consultation include to urged the centre to immediately stop torture and summoning of civilians by security forces; the Governor of Manipur to visit the victim families of those who were raped, killed, tortured etc.

The consultation had also unanimously resolved to asked the armed opposition groups and urged to respect and implement the common article 3 of Geneva Conventions, 1949 and Additional Protocol-II of 1977; to reconcile and cease factional fights and to sign and respect the Deed of Agreement of Geneva Call on the use of landmine, on gender based violence and on violence against children.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/02/lawyers-discuss-removal-of-afspa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lawyers-discuss-removal-of-afspa

IMPHAL, February 2: Loktak Lake has been classified under the Montage category of wetlands, meaning its condition has undergone serious deterioration, said Th Ibobi Singh, project director of Loktak Development Authority (LDA).

This was announced during an observation of World Wetland Day 2014 at Moirang INA Auditorium Hall today which was organised jointly by Association of Science and Technology, Moirang; Thangjing Yageirel Marup, Moirang; Moirang Municipal Council and Loktak Development Authority. He further mentioned that all over the world lakes or wetlands have been endangered. The observation is to give awareness to the public on preservation and conservation of wetland under Ramsar Convention, 1971.

He continued that Manipur has a large number of wetlands among which Loktak Lake is the most important as it plays a vital role in the socio-economy of the state.

He said that according to a report published in 1993, the ecological balance and bio-diversity situation have worsened at Loktak Lake pushing it under the montage category.

The indicators of the health of wetlands are the presence of water birds and the state of bio-diversity, he stated.

The lessening of migrating water birds at Loktak Lake is not a sign of development and the need of the hour is to understand the danger and spread awareness to the public. Without public participation the conservation of our Loktak Lake is impossible, said Ibobi.

Environmentalist Dr Khangembam Samugnou, a member of the Wild Life Activist International Union for Conservation of Nature said that the Ramsar convention was held on February 2, 1971 at Italy with the participation of various countries to conserve and preserve the world wetland sites. Each year, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the community have taken advantage of the opportunity to undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general and the Ramsar Convention in particular, he added.

Loktak Development Authority is trying to augment the development of Loktak Lake which had been affected from various directions, he stated adding that for identification of a wetland as Ramsar site there must be not less than 20,000 winter migratory water birds there. A survey conducted by a British political agent in Manipur in 1930 reported that 56,863 birds were killed in Loktak Lake, said Ibobi.

He further mentioned that from 1999, the Loktak Pat Sangai Protection Forum and its volunteer conducted water birds census record on the Loktak Lake. The survey conducted by the British identified 30 species of water birds and their population were in term of lakhs.

Now, the recent census of water birds has indicated that though the number of species had increased, the same cannot be said about the population of birds. This may be due to the change (development) in the environment of Loktak Lake and its water bodies, he stated adding that rare species of birds that had disappeared 60/70 years back are now sighted again, said Kh Shamungou.

Dhanabir Laishram said for development and conservation of the precious Loktak Lake, the political and civil societies need to combine. The main object should be pulling out the Loktak Lake from inclusion under the Montage category of Ramsar Convention, he stated.

He further said that there are many Act and Law on the protection of Loktak Lake, but without public participation there will be no success in conservation and protection of our Loktak Lake.

We must know that Loktak lake is the kidney of our body, the government is the head and administration is the heart of the body. The body with a dysfunctional kidney cannot continue, he added.

Th Ibobi released a water birds book entitled “Water Birds of Loktak Lake” the first of its kind book in Manipur.

As part of the World Wetland Day observation, a boat rally was also organised at Loktak Lake, while a public meeting was held at Ninghtoukhong today.

The boat rally at Loktak Lake was jointly organised by ALLAFUM, AMTPWA, AMPFA, AMUCO, CORE, CSD, CRA, FIPA, FREINDS, HERICOUN, HRA, HRI, INTACH, IPSA, LIFEWATCH, LFWA, NIPCO, PRDA, REACHOUT, UCM, UPF-Manipur.

The rally was flagged off from Thanga Haoreng Chingyang by co-ordinator, INTACH, Manipur Chapter Dr RK Ranjan and AMUCO president Dr Y Mani Khuman after passing through Samukon, Ngaram and other Thanga area and concluded at Ngakrapat, Toubul.

The rallyists shouted slogans- “Save Loktak”, “Remove Loktak Protection Act”, “Let us save Loktak together”, “Loktak is our life”, etc.

At the end of the rally, a public meeting was held at Ningthoukhong.

While flagging off the boat rally, Dr RK Ranjan said that people should aware of the need to save the lake which has been providing livelihood to the people inhabiting the surrounding areas of Loktak Lake.

The rally was conducted with the objective of urging both the government and the private companies involved in the area against disturbing the culture and heritage of the people, he observed.

An Indonesian citizen who had attended the rally elaborated on the need for the people depending on the lake to enjoy economic freedom.

Today’s rally was participated by around 200 boats with two/three people in each.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/02/loktak-among-endangered-lakes/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=loktak-among-endangered-lakes

IMPHAL, February 2 (NNN): The Naga Peoples Front (NPF), Manipur State has dismissed the purported joining of NPF leaders to the BJP fold in Manipur.

The NPF, Manipur State said no NPF leaders had joined the BJP so far and “none of our leaders will join the BJP.”

In the past few days the news of NPF leaders joining the saffron party have been reported in local dailies.

“They are not leaders of NPF. It is a game-plan of some vested interest persons doing the cheap publicity gimmicks before the Lok Sabha poll. Such gimmicks can no longer fool the people these days,” NPF leaders said today. “Some politicians who were ministers some twenty years ago are also trying to invest old-fashioned politics in these highly sophisticated era. We feel pity for them. We will like to remind them that those cheap politics are no longer relevant these days,” advised the NPF leaders.

The NPF leaders then accused some national political parties of trying to attach the regional parties with communal tag.

“We will teach them a big lesson when the time is right,” asserted the NPF leaders.

Meanwhile, full preparations are on for the final district level political conference for Sadar Hills and Senapati district at the district headquarter on February 12. According to NPF leaders, the party leaders from Nagaland will also participate in the Senapati event.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/02/npf-rubbishes-bjp-claim-of-new-joinings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=npf-rubbishes-bjp-claim-of-new-joinings