Leithanthem Umakanta Meitei, the Secretary General of Threatened Indigenous Peoples Society (TIPS) in Manipur, India was arrested on Thursday, August 24 without a warrant. He was badly beaten on his legs, back, and chest.
Umakanta Meitei was taken from his home to the Manipur West Police Station where he was interrogated for hours. Several hours later, he was removed to an undisclosed location. No charges have been brought against him. His office was raided and everything in it was confiscated.
Umakanta's arrest comes one day after the arrest of Yengkokpam Langamba Thabi Meitei, the publicity secretary of TIPS Manipur and spokesperson for the human rights coalition Apunba Lup. He was abducted from his home by a combined team of police and Assam Rifles. His condition and location are unclear.
According to Brian Keane, director of the indigenous rights organization Land is Life, interrogators have been questioning Umakanta about his participation at international indigenous rights meetings. The police have demanded proof that Umakanta attended past sessions of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.
Manipur is a state in Eastern India near the border of Burma that has been governed under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act since 1980. "The AFSPA's provisions enable security forces to arrest people and enter property without a warrant, and to shoot to kill even in circumstances where they are not at imminent risk," according to Amnesty International.
Under the AFSPA's jurisdiction, many human rights violations have occurred, including extrajudicial executions, disappearances, rape, torture, arrests and interrogations for no lawful reason, and warrantless searches. There are no mechanisms for accountability for these violations under AFSPA rule. Even non-commissioned officers of the armed forces who take part are protected from legal actions.
Torture and detention are employed by the armed forces to force individuals to confess to belonging to one of the many "terrorist groups" in the region. According to an Amnesty International appeal, Umakanta has been charged under Sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act of 1967 with being a member of and providing support to a terrorist organization. The charges against Yengkokpam Langamba Meitei are unclear.
Members of civil society organizations, shopkeepers, and street vendors today protested for Umakanta's and Thabi's release. The protesters released a collective statement denouncing any criminal charges and maintaining the two men's innocent standing as community social workers.
Please join Cultural Survival in appealing for Umakanta's and Thabi's immediate release.
Send your letters to:
Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh
Chief Minister, Manipur
Government Secretariat
Imphal 795 001
Manipur, India
Fax: + 91 11 2611 1803
Email: cmmani@man.nic.in
and to:
Ronen Sen
Embassy of India in Washington, D.C.
2107 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
USA - 20008
Telephone: (202) 939-7000
Fax: (202) 265-4351
(or contact diplomatic representatives of India in your country)
