Women threaten to agitate for unconditional release of KSU members

Shillong, June 30 (UNI) The Synjuk Ki Seng Longkmie(SKSL) today threatened to take to the streets if the Meghalaya government refused to release the jailed Khasi Student's Union (KSU) members unconditionally by July 2.

Last week, Chief Minister D D Lapang had ordered the Home department to release all the arrested student activists on the recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Public Grievances' to release the arrested KSU activists and refrain from further crackdown on them.

However, the SKSL, a federation of Mother's Union said that the government violated its assurance by not releasing the 17 arrested KSU activists unconditionally.

''The government should release them unconditionally within Monday or otherwise we have to resort to democratic movement for their release,'' SKSL General Secretary W Jyrwa told UNI here.

The state government refused to release the KSU activists ''unconditionally'', as most of arrested KSU have been booked under the Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act(MPDA) and non-bailable cases.

''The family members of the detenus should submit bail applications to the respective courts to secure their release as per legal process based on the offences committed by the KSU members,'' East Khasi Hills District Deputy Commissioner B Dhar said.

Meanwhile, the North East Students' Organisation reiterated its demand for immediate unconditional release of the KSU activists and condemned the 'repression unleashed' by the Meghalaya government against the people protesting the proposed uranium mining by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in the Domisiat / Wahkaji area of West Khasi Hills district of the state.

''The imposition of the 'draconian' laws like MPDA to suppress democratic expression and movement was a serious threat to the rights of the indigenous people of the region,'' NESO chairman Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharyya said.

The government had arrested 17 KSU activists and booked seven others under the MPDA for holding the state at ransom, imposing strikes, office-picketing and road-blockades to demand the release of their jailed activists.

The student's body, which spearheaded the movement against uranium mining since June 4, had been agitating in the Eastern region of the state demanding the release of the arrested activists.

UNI