Manipur News

IMPHAL, October 22: The talks between the All Tribal Students`™ Union, Manipur and the State government held from 9 am to 2 pm today has produced a positive outcome with the students`™ body and the government reaching an agreement.

In a press meet held at its Nagaram office this evening after negotiating with the government, ATSUM president Maun Tombing said the Chief Minister, deputy Chief Minister, several ministers, the Chief Secretary and directors of various departments represented the government.

ATSUM is satisfied with the results of the talks as the government has agreed to concede 80 percent of the RoTO Phase three charters of our demands, he added.

We made various demands in the education and health sectors, and raised issues relating with the police jurisdiction in boundary land records and governance of the State, Tombing said.

The government has assured to create several posts in various departments of the State which are lying vacant, he said, adding the government later assured to publish it in the State gazette after reviewing the orders from the various departments.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/govt-agrees-to-concede-80-percent-of-atsum-roto-demands/

IMPHAL, October 22: A consultation on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 at Meghalaya resolved to sensitise the student community of the North East on the human rights consequences of the prolonged imposition of AFSPA in the region, said a NESO statement.

North East Students`™ Organisation (NESO) supported by the Khasi Students`™ Union (KSU) organized a `North East Consultation on Human Rights: Soliciting People`™s Opinion on Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958`™ on October 21 at the Shillong Club, Shillong.

Former chief information commissioner of Meghalaya GP Wahlang attended the consultation as the chief guest.

Advocate Alester Diengdoh, Rev PBM Basaiawmoit and Babloo Loitongbam, human rights defender spoke as resource persons.

According to the statement, after a thread bare discussion, the consultation unanimously resolved to demand the repeal of AFSPA and similar draconian state laws like the Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act and Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act, to translate the AFSPA text and other related literature into vernacular languages in order to deepen the understanding by the communities and demand the establishment and effective functioning of human rights institutions like the National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission, Women`™s Commission, Right to Information Commission etc. in all the North Eastern States to protect the human rights of the people.

The consultation also resolved to pressure the Members of Parliament from the North East region to raise the issue to repeal AFSPA in the Parliament and to ensure that the issue of repeal of AFSPA in the list of priorities of NESO, it said

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/sensitise-students-on-human-rights-consequences-of-afspa-imposition-neso/

Imphal, October 22: A consultation on the issue of Inner Line Permit System and Rights of the Indigenous People was held today at Chandel.

The program held at Chamdil Khubul village in Chandel District was organized by Chamdil Khubul Social Welfare, Arts and Cultural Association (CKSWACA). Anal Naga Tangpi (ANTA) president Kohring, vice-president PS Jailngam and finance secretary TS Ismail Church leaders along with various village chiefs and civil society leaders of the district attended the consultation.

United NGO Mission, Manipur`™s president U Nobokishore and human rights activist Jiten Yumnam participated in the discussion and expressed serious concern over the uncontrolled influx of

non-locals in the state of Manipur including Chandel district.

Nabokishore expressed his apprehension that the indigenous population in the State could be reduced to a minority in their own land some day. He also expressed deep concern over the aggression shown by the government in taking up developmental projects in cooperation with multinational companies.

Following the employment of a large number of labours by the construction agencies couple with massive plans for further construction of infrastructure projects, the participants revealed their fear that the influx of non-locals in large numbers could destroy the economic, cultural and social system of the indigenous people.

Jiten Yumnam said a huge immigration leading to socio-cultural, political and economic assimilation with the indigenous people living in the territory of Manipur is a clear violation of the guidelines of International Covenant on Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous People.

The participants in the consultation therefore unanimously expressed the need for a regulation to control the influx of non-locals into the territory of indigenous people by respecting their rights as outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People, 2007.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/consultation-on-ilp-system-and-rights-of-indigenous-people-held-at-chandel/

IMPHAL, October 22: The Manipur Pradesh Trinamool Congress Committee (MPTCC) is already preparing for a grand strategy to ensure a resounding success at the General Assembly elections in 2017 after losing the Hiyanglam assembly constituency seat to the Congress.

The first batch of the names of candidates who have bagged AITC tickets for the 2017 General Assembly elections will be announced on November 17 this year after the arrival of AITC general secretary here in Imphal, MPTCC president Thounaojam Shyamkumar said today.

He was speaking at a press meet at the MPTCC office in Moirangkhom this morning where he further extended his warm greetings to the people ahead of the Hindu`™s festival of lights, `Diwali`, and the biggest festival of the Meiteis, Ningol Chakkouba.

`The press meet is the first being held after the result of the recent Hiyanglam bye-poll was announced. Though the MPTCC suffered defeat in the Hiyanglam bye-poll at the hands of the Congress, the party respects the verdict of the people of Hiyanglam,` Shyamkumar said.

We believe that the ruling Congress party will stand committed to fulfilling the demands of Hiyanglam people in various sectors of health, education and road transportation, he adds.

Shyamkumar said MPTCC will wait and watch the status of development projects in Hiyanglam initiated by the Congress. We believe that Hiyanglam won`™t remain backward after the next two and half years if the Chief Minister`™s assertion of developing the constituency on a war footing is translated into action.

The Congress government has not completely repaired the Imphal-Jiribam road, one of the lifelines of the State, during the last 13 years. The health service system in all the hill districts is in an abysmal state but we still believe that the Congress will work wonders in Hiyanglam, he added.

If the 47 MLAs of Congress who showed their strength and unity during the Hiyanglam bye-election take their share of responsibility in repairing the NH-37, AITC MLAs will also pull in all its mite to the effort, the MPTCC president opined.

He also said he is certain the government of Manipur will soon introduce an ordinance or enact a law to control the influx of outsiders which poses a threat to the indigenous people.

Meanwhile, the Hiyanglam AITC candidate Dr Yumnam Radheshyam said the party accepts the electoral defeat in the Hiyanglam bye-poll but he believes that they won the moral battle. He added that he was fighting with a platoon of Congress MLAs in Hiyanglam.

The bye-poll was not conducted in a free and fair manner because the Congress government coerced voters to cast their ballots for the Congress candidate by using money and muscle power. It was akin to an individual taking on the entire Government of Manipur, Dr Radheshyam lamented.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/mptcc-to-announce-phasei-tickets-for-2017-assembly-elections/

R Lester Makang

UKHRUL, October 23: More than 1000 cases of duplicate voters have so far been detected out of the 2046 possible cases of double/multiple entries which were sorted from the overall electoral list of Ukhrul district recently.

An official source of the Ukhrul District Election office today informed Imphal Free Press that as per the directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI) cross-verification of electoral voters`™ list has been continuing in the district since September last.

A total of 2046 voters`™ names were accordingly sorted out on suspicion of duplication, it continued while adding that: `it is confirmed that so far more than 50 per cent are duplicate or double entries while some simply cases of identical images and the rest awaiting cross-examination.`

At the same time, as per the text based duplicate report of the State data, the sources further disclosed, a large chunk of hill district voters`™ names including those from Ukhrul have been found entered in various parts of valley assembly constituencies of the State.

Meanwhile, the sources have informed that a special review drive for errorless electoral lists has begun from October 15 and would continue till November 10, 2014. `During this period enrolment of names, correction of particulars of voters and other changes could be made,` it added.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/10/over-1000-cases-of-duplicate-voters-detected-in-ukhrul/