Al Ngullie
July 30
DIMAPUR (MExN): Apparently unable to contain further pressure from the ongoing economic blockade launched by the All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) demanding revocation of June 18 as Manipur State Integrity Day, the Manipur government has agreed to send a delegation of cabinet ministers to the students’ body for ‘preliminary’ talks.
This information was conveyed to The Morung Express by the Vice-President of ANSAM, Ngachonmi Chamroy today.
According to Chamroy, the Manipur Government would be sending a delegation of Cabinet Ministers to hold a preliminary round of talks with the ANSAM to facilitate a more conducive atmosphere and suggest ways on how to move subsequent parleys forward.
He said that the talks, without pre-conditions, would not concentrate on any specific agenda but rather on facilitating a sense of ‘understanding’ between the two embattled sides to arrive at a favorable solution to the current impasse. However, the delegation would not include the Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Obobi Singh.
“The invitation reached us (the ANSAM) just this evening” said Chamroy. A decision would be arrived at in response to the invitation, he added.
This is the sixth invitation for talks that the Manipur Government has sent to the ANSAM ever since the economic blockade was launched on June 20 impacting a cycle of violent agitations in Manipur between supporters of the ‘movement’ and Manipur security forces. Obobi Singh is facing intense pressure both from Meitiei organizations presently gearing up for counter-agitations in support of the June 18 declaration and on the other side, the Naga organizations including the Naga Students Federation (NSF) and the ANSAM demanding the reverse of it.
