SHILLONG:
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) has strongly condemned the alleged brutality committed by the district administration and the police force on people who opposed the expansion plan of a private cement company in East Jaintia Hills district on Thursday.
The proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has also denounced the police action.
In a statement issued on August 25, VPP spokesperson Batskhem Myrboh said that police used force against the peaceful and unarmed villagers including women who protested against the public hearing of the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board for the expansion of the Meghalaya Cements Ltd at Thangskai.
“The incident clearly demonstrates that this MDA government is anti-people which is ready to go to any extent to exploit the local populace while serving the interest of the crony capitalists,” the VPP spokesperson said.
According to the VPP development cannot be at the cost of the people and the environment.
Myrboh said that right to a peaceful protest is a basic human right even as he added that the failure of the state to protect that right shows that democracy is in danger and threatened.
The VPP also urged the district administration and the state government to punish the guilty police personnel, managers and officials of the company while bearing the medical expenses and pay compensation to all the injured.
In a statement, HNLC general secretary-cum-publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said, “Additionally, the HNLC condemns the actions of the police, led by a non-tribal SP. The exploitation of mineral resources by cement and coke factories has resulted in detrimental water and environmental pollution.”
He said the HNLC emphasised the need for an end to inter-tribal conflicts among the Hynniewtrep community.
“We consider ourselves an oppressed nation facing a divide-and-rule strategy implemented by the government, which is predominantly controlled by non-Hynniewtrep peoples. The enemy is cunning, so it’s crucial for Hynniewtrep to stop fighting and exploiting each other, particularly the Hynniewtrep police force should protect our people rather than assaulting them just to please their masters and businessmen from outside the state,” Nongtraw stated.