Political analyst Chongthem Bijoy said village defence volunteers and youths residing in the peripheral areas of Manipur took up arms to protect themselves after the failure of state and central forces to protect the villagers.
They are not anti-social, criminal or insurgents; the government should acknowledge the volunteers and should provide a blanket from arresting them, he said.
Bijoy told the media at his residence at Lamphel on Wednesday that during the initial period of the present crisis, state and central forces were unable to protect the villagers residing in the peripheral areas of Manipur. As the villagers residing in the peripheral areas had no choice to defend their life and their property by themselves, they had to snatch arms and weapons from several police stations. Since then village defence volunteers are defending themselves from the sporadic attack of Kuki militants at the foot-hills and peripheral areas.
He said the village volunteers are defending Manipur which is a part of India against external aggression. However, with the coming of the Lok Sabha election the volunteers are threatened that they might be arrested after the election if they do not cast for a particular candidate.
To protect the territorial boundary of Manipur many village defence volunteers, including women, have sacrificed their lives and the state government has been remaining silent to end the crisis, he added.
The government should not arrest any village volunteers and post facto FIRs cannot be lodged against any village defence volunteers because they are using their constitutional rights, ‘right to defend and right to life’, he said.
Bijoy said, for the safeguard of the village defence volunteers, a PIL has been lodged by two advocates namely Keisham Kishan Singh and N Tejpriya as petitioners and Union of India through Ministry of Home Affairs as respondents.
He said the High Court of Manipur has accepted the PIL.
Bijoy said after the end of the crisis the government should rehabilitate the village defence volunteers, absorb the volunteers as state or central forces. The government should provide financial package for the displaced people and village defence volunteers who have wasted over 11 months while defending India from external aggression, he added.
He further appealed to the High Court to allow the media for Live coverage on the particular hearing so that people across the state can be aware of the development taken for the safeguard of village defence volunteers.
