Reacting to people’s clarion call for a united front of civil bodies in Manipur, Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) Manipur has informed that a joint conference of all civil society organisations in Manipur would be convened within this month to derive a common united agenda in light of the present crisis.
FOCS stated that the separated and dispersed actions of several civil bodies have led to people losing faith in CSOs and said that acting separately without keeping track of the people’s impulses has severely contributed to this reaction.
Speaking to media at FOCS office, Imphal, FOCS president Th Manihar exhorted all organisations at the local, district and state levels to unitedly stand in tackling the issue that has engulfed the state for over two months.
“As such FOCS decided to host the conference so that a common agenda could be outlined which can be followed by all civil bodies in tackling the issue; we need a single banner, a single outlook and a goal to resolve the issue otherwise it would be very difficult,” he said.
He sought the support of all Meira Paibi groups, CSOs and representatives of different communities in Manipur to take part and make the conference a fruitful one.
He further urged all women in Manipur to avoid blocking roads unnecessarily and meting out actions in mobs without proper verification of the issue.
“We understand the sacrifices and sentiments of the women folks but we should not pose unnecessary inconvenience among ourselves by blocking roads mindlessly; on the other hand we should try to avoid mob violence which could be detrimental to communal relations in Manipur,” he said.
Manihar pointed out that people should verify judiciously when apprehending suspicious individuals and hand them over to the nearest police station for further verification.
He maintained that such logical actions would aid in avoiding further untoward incidents amid the conflict.
