Peace panel formed to diffuse tension

Itanagar, Apr 10: An interface between various organisations held here unanimously constituted a peace restoration committee(PRC) headed by All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union(AAPSU) president Kanu Bagan.

The interface, held here yesterday, took stock of the unfortunate and tragic incident of assault on Tome Polytechnic College students at Basar in West Siang district by some anti-socials on April 7, which spread to Itanagar the next day, where some unknown persons assaulted few students of Rajiv Gandhi Polytechnic Institute.

Pointing out that the strong clan bond and kinship has been the bedrock of the Arunachalee society for centuries, the meeting said that the incident has created an unpleasant situation, hurting the sentiments of all sections of the society and evoking spontaneous condemnation from all quarters.

The interface facilitated by Arunachal Citizens' Right(ACR) and AAPSU strongly appealed to the students' community to prevent precipitation of the situation by preventing spread of rumours by unscrupulous elements to help maintain the spirit of peaceful co-existence in the tribal society. They should return to their respective educational institution to resume studies and the parents should also help in calming the situation, a joint statement said.

The meeting also requested all political parties not to politicise the issue, rather extend their help to bring back normalcy in the area.

To adopt strategies for urgent restoration of normalcy, the PRC would have Nyishi Elite Society(NES) vice-president(east), and its secretary, Galo Welfare Society(GWS) secretary, Galo Students' Union(GSU) general secretary, AAPSU advisor, general secretary and assistant general secretary as members.

The PRC has been unanimously authorised to go to the Press alone requested others to avoid going to the Press on the issue.

The interface was attended, among others, by NES president, GWS president, students' organisations headed by AAPSU president, GSU general secretary, Arunachal Women's Welfare Society, ADC, Basar, chairperson of State Commission for Women, the statement added.

UNI