IMPHAL,
Sept 10: The Committee on the Protection of Natural Resources in Manipur, CPNRM
urged the state government to respect the wishes and sentiments of indigenous
peoples of Manipur against oil exploration and also to respect their rights
over their land, natural resources and allow them to determine their own
future.
In
a statement issued to the press, CPNRM expressed serious concern with the
reported move of the state government at the behest of Jubilant Energy to
organise another public hearing at Nungba for oil exploration in Manipur
despite the clear verdicts of the people earlier in all three public hearings
organised by Manipur pollution control board during 30 July and 17 August 2012
at Jiribam, Parbung and Nungba.
There
should be no further flawed public hearings for oil exploration in Manipur and
people’s clear verdict against oil exploration should be fully respected and
honoured, the statement said and added, no forces, no matter how powerful can
ever silence the voices of the people.
The
report and proposed move to organise public hearings with full security
deployment is unreasonable as peoples voices can never be suppressed by any
force including the military, it said and further added, security forces are
not meant to collude with private companies in burying the rights, aspirations
and future of people but rather to protect the people’s rights and interests.
The
statement said, in democracy, governments are expected to uphold people’s
voices and there can be no true development by relying on the military,
militarization and suppression of people’s rights and added, let the Jubilant
Energy and the government be aware that the land and resources in Manipur are
not for sale and not for profits and plunder and that the people of Manipur
must be allowed to decide and determine their future.
