Kangla protester joins Sharmila cause

Ibobi slammed for apathy to cause

Meira paibis at the relay hunger strike at Porompat in Imphal East on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections Imphal, Dec 19 : A woman who was part of the naked protest in front of Kangla fort four years back today joined the relay hunger strike in support of Irom Sharmila’s demand to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Th. Ramani Devi, a meira paibi leader, slammed the Okram Ibobi Singh government for its “indifference” to Sharmila’s cause and warned that people’s power would force the government to act. “Is Irom Sharmila a guinea pig? Is she being kept confined at the hospital to allow doctors to conduct medical tests?” Ramani Devi asked. She joined the relay hunger strike being held daily near the gate of Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, where Sharmila has been kept for the past eight years. Sharmila began her hunger strike in November 2000 demanding a repeal of the “black law”. Ramani Devi, a leader of the All Manipur Women Social Reformation and Development Samaj, was one of the dozen elderly women who had stripped in front of the Assam Rifles headquarters atKangla fort in 2004. Custodial killing of a young girl, Thangjam Manorama Devi, by troops of the Assam Rifles in Imphal East had incensed the women. The unprecedented protest forced the Union government to not only withdraw the Assam Rifles from Kangla fort, but also constituted Jeevan Reddy commission to review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. The report is now lying with the government. Along with Ramani Devi, around 200 meira paibi activists took part in the relay hunger strike, which began on December 10, International Human Rights Day. The Save Sharmila Campaign, a body comprising meira paibi groups, is launching the relay hunger strike. “We have decided not to remain silent as Sharmila has been continuing her hunger strike for the cause of the people. We believe she is being kept at the hospital to experiment how long a person can survive under these conditions. We will see that Sharmila returns back to her normal life and the government removes the act,” Ramani Devi said. Another meira paibi leader, Huidrom Kanabala, added that all measures at their resources would be used to see that Sharmila resumed normal life after achieving her goal (the repeal of the act). Leaders of the Save Sharmila Campaign said if there was no response from the government to the relay hunger strike, they would intensify the agitation.