Our Activities

The COHR uses to proceed many far and flung areas of Manipur for monitoring and fact finding in connection with the issue of human rights violation committed, especially extra judicial executions, involuntary disappearances, kidnapping and killing civilian, sexual harassment, gang rape, etc. by security forces. In several occasions, the Indian Army detained its members for a long period by charging nexuses with Armed Opposition Groups. The COHR, Manipur have already such long experiences in struggling against the last for many decades that SFs continued many crimes in the name of CI operation. In short, Indian Army carried out many CI operation likes “Blue Bird Operation”, “Operation Sunny Vale”, “Loktak Operation”, “Operation Summer Strom”, heavy militarization at the border areas of between Manipur and neighboring states /countries, etc. The COHR, Manipur used to pay visits such spots and organized many people to intervene with the strong people’s protest rally/ movements where civilians were the majority victims, and casualties from extra judicial execution, killing in fake encounter, inhuman degrading treatment and torture, rape, force labor, internal displacement, destruction of civilian properties/objects in the name of CI operation. In fact, it is retaliation on civilian instead of confrontation with the armed group.

One of the glaring examples was the above-mentioned spots of excessive forces of the Indian Army on the civilian population in the name of CI operation. That a battalion of Indian Army launched an operation at Sajik Tampak on the 19^th April, 2004 that occurred much causality at the side of security forces following the clash between the armed opposition group and security forces.  The Indian Army has completely controlled the Sajik Tampak ever since the operation. A joint team consisting of 32 members, representative from different CSO,s with a team of Media reached Sajik Tampak on 21 May, 2004  to collect first-hand information and study the objective of Human  Rights condition of the local people of the areas under the leadership of COHR, Manipur. The team had been staying for 3 days and thoroughly studied the conditions of civilians they faced under the heavy militarization. The Joint Fact-Finding Team paid visit and witnessed the inhabitants of 10 villages located around the Sajik Tampak, 5 to 20 kms. distance had fled their homestead because of human rights violation committed by Indian army in the name of CI operation. The displaced villagers around 800 were taking shelter around Sajik Tampak village in scattering and some of them were on the verge of starvation with no government officials having taken the trouble to visit the displaced villagers. The army not only occupied the schools, club premises and community halls at Sajik Tampak but tshey also occupied some houses. There was possibility to open more posts in near future as a part of their strategic points of view. The freedom of movement of the villagers had severely curtailed like going for cultivation, fishing in rivers, collecting fire wood from jungle/forest, laboring, etc. Villagers had to report to the security personnel if they want to venture outside the village and goods or food stuff that villagers brought from outside or from village to Sajik Tampak were thoroughly checked by the army personnel. The army had opened 7 check posts from Chakpikarong till to Sajik Tampak along the route. The team personally talked with some of the army officers imploring them that we had no any comment in fighting between the two-armed groups but they should keep maximum respect and protect the civilian as well as their properties and objects according to International Human Rights Laws/International Humanitarian Laws (IHRL/IHL). We also witnessed that the security personnel possessed with heavy arms including Artilleries able to fire the 18 mm Bombs, Mortars, RPG, Heavy Machine Arms had been installed at Sajik Tampak like a war like situations. The team expressed/disclosed strongly condemned the human rights abused on the civilian that violated the IHRL/IHL as well as the domestic laws like right to movement, right to work, rights to education, right to food, right to livelihood, etc. by Indian Security Forces. The people of Manipur also demanded the government to intervene the rampart human right abused by security forces on the villagers of Sajik Tampak.