Wangchuk withdraws call for LAC march, cites ‘suppression’, ‘overreaction’ by govt

CLIMATE ACTIVIST Sonam Wangchuk has withdrawn his call for the “Pashmina March” from Leh to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sunday.

Wang chuk cited“risk of potential violence” as the reason for the decision, as the union territory administration has imposed section 144 of the CRPC in the area.

Wangchuk, who recently sat on a 21-day fast seeking safeguards for Ladakh’s fragile ecology and local culture, had called for a people’s march to the China border on April 7 “to see how much land locals have lost to them”. The march was to be led by local tribal leaders.

Wangchuk told reporters Saturday: “We have been holding peaceful demonstrations in the form of fasting and prayers over the last 35 days. We had also planned a peaceful march on april 7. The purpose of the Pashmina March was to highlight the plight of the Changpa nomadic tribes who are losing thousands of square kilometres of their land due to Chinese incursion in the north and our own corporates in the south.”

Stating that the “purpose of the march had been met ahead of the march itself”, he said there were “suppression” attempts and “overreaction” on part of the government. “Wnder these circumstances chances of violence are very high, which could then be used to label this peaceful movement anti-national,” he said. The ongoing peaceful fast will continue, he added.

Wangchuk said with the imposition of Section 144, curtailment of Internet and restrictions on movement, the UT administration had turned Leh “into a war-like zone with armed barricades” on roads.

Before cancelling the march, Wangchuk had raised concerns over alleged detention of youths in Leh. “Even from the site of our protest, people were picked up and asked to sign bonds,” he said. After discussions with religious leaders, the locals were let off, said the activist. He said that the government’s “overreaction” is itself a give-away for “how much they have to hide”.