SIPHRO

Imphal, March 07, 2006: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) has expressed its deep concern over the allegation of repeated offences of sexual abuses amounting to rape of 21 young Hmar girls from November last year till February 2006 in Churachandpur district’s Thanlon and Tipaimukh sub divisions, raised by the All Women’s Association of Churachandpur District, asserting that if true, these constitute a war crime and therefore a crime against human society and humanity.

In the wake of public outrage and disgust for the heinous crimes of illegal detention, humiliating punishment, torture, sexual abuse committed by the Manipur police commandos against M Naobi, the news from Churachandpur bursts yet another bubble in Manipur - the bubble of national security related response by the state in a purported law and order situation, the statement said.

The state is indeed very disturbed and the response of the state government with more armed forces and strong armed tactics have not borne any demonstrable fruit that such techniques are supposed to be designed for, it said.

The allegation of rapes of girl children and young adult women belonging to ethnic minority communities in Churachandpur districts need not just a outright condemnation but also a strong demand for official and formal clarification from the highest level of command of the non state group against whom the allegations have been made.

The organisation so implicated must be ready to undertake an impartial investigation into these allegations and must fully co-operate in such an investigation if it is at all interested that its name should be cleared, it said.

The Manipur government must immediately conduct a public, impartial and competent inquiry at the highest level possible into these allegations so that those who have suffered in silence may be consoled and given the best attention that the government can provide including every effort made to punish the guilty, it said.

The international community has identified rape as a war crime of the highest order and those forces be it state or non state involved in a situation of armed conflict all come under the purview of international customary law, humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

The Churachandpur district allegations must be immediately informed to the designated authorities and entitled that are bestowed with the mandate to monitor such crimes against all humanity, the CORE said.

Source: The Imphal Free Press