SHILLONG, MAY 13: A police officer was heckled by aggressive pro-ILP activists when a brawl erupted between the ngos and security personnel after the ngos members took put a surprise procession at the end of their sit-in-demonstration at the parking lots adjacent to the additional secretariat on
The police officer also fell while trying to stop the ngos from taking out the procession as there was no permission from the district administration.
Shops and business establishments along the two prominent commercial areas – Khydailad and Motphran were hurriedly closed after words spread that the ngos were taking out a procession.
However, law and order situation remained under control.
Before the procession the pro-ILP ngos staged a sit-in-demonstration and threatened to intensify their agitations against the government for its alleged ‘act of betrayal’ as the state government failed to drop all ILP agitations-related criminal cases as promised and instead arrested KSU president Daniel Khyriem. The ngos are also demanding unconditional release of the KSU chief.
The ngos called for a seven-hour sit-in-protest on Wednesday after the state government failed to provide any official communiqué on the steps taken on their demands even after the 48-hour deadline expired last Saturday.
Armed with placards and organizational flags, hundreds of activists belonging to different ngos from Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills region took part in the sit-in-protest.
Some of the frontal pressure groups include – the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF), Achik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO) among others.
“The state government is provoking us (NGOs). If we fail to see any responses towards our demands, we will be compelled to resort to other course of action against the government,” HNYF general secretary Sadon K Blah warned while addressing the sit-in-protest.
Blah appealed to the state government to immediately respond to the ngos demands before they decide to take extreme agitational path to pressurize the government to keep its promises made to the ngos of dropping all the ILP related charges against its leaders.
Blah asserted that the ngos are firm to fight against the government trying to bulldoze the voices. He said the government is backtracking on its promises made during a meeting held in July last year with the ngos while discussing on the comprehensive mechanism that the state will no longer pursue the criminal cases filed against them.
Claiming that 87 cases registered against the leaders of NGOs are all trumped up charges, the Blah said, “It is another tactic of the government to weaken the ngos demanding for comprehensive mechanism to combat influx and illegal immigration.”
Stating that the issues will not easily die and ngos will stick to the promise made by the government to drop all charges against them, Blah said, “If the state government is fast enough to arrest the NGO leaders, it better also be fast in implementing the comprehensive mechanism demanded by them.”
Khyriem was the first leader of the pro-ILP ngos to be arrested on charges of destroying properties worth several crores of rupees during the group’s three month-long agitation in the second half of 2013.
On Thursday Khyriem arrest will complete one week after the court had sent him to 14 days judicial custody.
Demanding the immediate unconditional release of Khyriem, Blah also condemned the police’s warning of executing the pending bailable warrant of arrest against leaders of different ngos.
It may be mentioned Khyriem had served a one-week deadline to the government to implement the demand for comprehensive mechanism in the state.
KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa said the ngos so far have chosen to stage a peaceful agitation and it is the duty of the state government to speed up implementation of their demands.
“Even though the deadline put by the KSU president will expire tomorrow, our demand will continue till the time government is ready to implement them,” Jyrwa informed.
While the demand entry/exit points has reach a stage where the state government needs to acquire land for setting up the required infrastructures, Jyrwa said, “But the matter related to the residential bill and benami act is still pending till date.”
Meanwhile, ngos will sit again to chalk out their next course of action.
“The 48-hour deadline has expired and we will soon meet to decide on our future course of action on the matter,” FKJGP president Joe Marwein said adding “This is because, till today we are yet to get any official communication from the part of the state government.”
Later, after the sit in demonstration, ngos members took out a surprised procession from IGP – Khyndailad – Motphran to Jaiaw area.
The attempt of the security personnel to disallow the surprise march failed when agitated activists forcefully moved ahead.
Finally, the security personnel including police officers and magistrates had to escort the activists all through the march to ensure there is no law and order problem.- By Our Reporter
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