--- Begin Message ---Assam defies militants' diktat once again Nava Thakuria in Guwahati Journalists of Asom (Assam) in particular and citizens in general have once again come out to defy the militants' diktat and assembled at the press club to hoist the national flag. The participants also included hundreds of senior citizens, social activists and youths. They took out a procession in the streets of Guwahati chanting slogans related to India's Independence Day. Because of the activities of a section of the armed outfits of the northeast it has become a ritual to impose ban on the celebration of the Independence Day (and the Republic Day). As India was preparing to observe 61st Independence Day, four banned armed groups namely the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), Tripura Peoples Democratic Front (TPDF) and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) had called upon the people of the region to "boycott and prevent the celebration in any manner" as a "mark of solidarity against Indian colonial occupation and repression". In a joint statement, issued on August 10, the outfits also imposed a general strike throughout the region starting the midnight of August 14. Statement of outfits "Yet another year has recorded the unrelenting national liberation struggles in the region gaining the upper hand on the one hand and the failure of one-sided 'peace talks' as a means for conflict resolution on the other. This has convincingly established the fact that the national liberation struggles should be consolidated, strengthened and intensified while the fragmentation of the region on exclusive ethnic lines should consciously give way to a new process of inclusive unity based on interdependent coexistence as determined by the region's reality," the statement said. It also added, "So far, India's all-out effort has failed, and is doomed to fail, to suppress our national struggles because they have no justification whatsoever. Ours is a just war to liberate the entire peoples of the region from India's colonial occupation, while India's war against us is an unjust war to prolong their colonial rule. History has always been on the side of just wars in defeating unjust wars. Ours will be no exception. Time and unrelenting struggles will bear testimony to our victory." Appeal to people The statement ended with the appeal to the people "to once again display their solidarity against India, the common enemy, by making the Boycott and General Strike a complete success." It also mentioned about the first wave of flood that washed away many parts of northeast saying, "In view of the devastating floods in Assam and Kamatapur (part of North Bengal and West Assam), we make a special appeal to the entire people of the region to stand by the flood affected fraternal people." Not only they dictated to boycott the Independence Day, but also stepped up violence in Asom. The explosions and shootouts in different places had already killed nearly 40 people of the state on the eve of the auspicious day. Over a hundred people were wounded in the incidents. Most of the victims were identified as the migrant labourers from northern India. The police blamed ULFA and its ally Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) for the violence. Meanwhile, a dawn-to-dusk Asom Bandh was also observed in protest against the killing of common people in the state. Called by Purvottar Hindustani Sanmilan, Bhojpuri Yuva Chatra Parishad, Bihari Yuva Manch and Chamber of Commerce, the 12-hour bandh passed off peacefully on August 14. The ULFA militants received international media headlines, while killing nearly hundred people in January. But the violence and the diktat of militants could not deter the people of Northeast in general and the journalists in particular to come forward to celebrate the day. The journalists and citizens of Asom gathered at Guwahati Press Club premises to mark the 61st anniversary of Indian Independence Day. Noted litterateur Nirupama Borgohain unfurled the Tri-colour national flag at an impressive gathering. Hoisting the flag, Ms Borgohain underlined the significance of Independence Day celebrations in today's context and she called upon the young generations to emulate the ideals upheld by the freedom fighters. Earlier the veteran journalist Dhirendra Nath Chakrabarty led the rituals to pay tributes to the martyrs of the freedom movement, who faced all sorts of torture of the colonial rulers to achieve freedom. The participants also carried out a procession through the main streets of Guwahati holding the banners reading 'Uphold the dignity of the National flag.' Mentionable that 16 senior journalists and columnists had earlier appealed to the people of the state to come out "to defy the militants' diktat and hoist the National Tricolour on the Day atop their houses and also to organise community celebrations in their respective localities". In a press statement they argued that the people of the state have every right to celebrate the national day, as "we have inherited the spirit of the freedom fighters who had made immense sacrifices and a good number of whom like Kushal Konwar and Kanaklata had even laid down their lives to free the country from the clutches of colonial rulers". Published in Holiday (from Dhaka, Bangladesh) http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#06--------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!
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