Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Allied force’ to fight child soldiering

By : A Staff Reporter

IMPHAL, Jul 28: The All Manipur Non-government Organisation Forum today announced that the forum had formed an “allied force” to face kidnapping and recruitment of children as soldiers.

While announcing the formation of the “allied force” to the media at a press conference, the forum said that the force will conduct a campaign against child kidnapping throughout the villages and localities in association with local clubs and civil organisations.

As a first step, awareness programmes would be conducted in vulnerable areas of Imphal west, Imphal east, Bishnupur and Thoubal with a wall poster campaign with slogans like “Stop child trafficking and child kidnapping,” announced the forum while calling for cooperation from the police also.

Speaking at the press conference, the president of the All Manipur Non-government Organisation Forum Dr K Paochunbou observed that schooling was an important learning stage of the children. The future of those children who could not learn properly at this stage was very dark, he said.

Concerned over the spate of reported kidnappings and attempts to abduct children, he said that such incidents never occurred in the past and held ill portents for the future of the state, he observed.

General secretary of the forum, Y Surchandra while differentiating the mode of child trafficking in other parts of the country, said the practice in the state was not child trafficking but kidnapping them.

He further said that the children were being kidnapped for forced recruitment by the militants while expressing condemnation of the same.

An executive member of the forum, Kh Chinglen said that the AMNGO would request the Union ministry of home affairs to take up all possible measures against transporting of the kidnapped children across the international border by shielding the international border.

Further, he said the forum would also urge the state chief minister for a special package for conducting the campaign.

He also appealed to the militant groups to stop recruitment of children.

Source: http://ifp.co.in/FullStory.asp?NewsID=2767

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