ES Reporter 

ITANAGAR, Nov 2: As a mark of protest over the obstruction in construction of the Tawang Christian Revival Church, thousands of Christian believers on Monday participated in a prayer-rally-cum dharna organized by the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) here at the IG Park.
Christian believers including priests, pastors and youths from different churches of the Itanagar Capital Region participated in the rally-cum-dharna. 
Speaking to the media, President ACF Toko Teki informed that the protest was staged to convey the demand of land allotment for construction of the Church at Tawang. “We are not against other religions or any particular community, nor have any intention to disturb the culture, tradition and religious beliefs of the people of Tawang, but simply demanding a place for worship,” he said. “Since many years the application for land allotment was with the concerned land department as the Tawang District Administration had already forwarded the file. But unfortunately the file is yet to get clearance till date,” the ACF President informed.
Responding to query, the ACF chief asserted that the Tawang Buddhist monk organizations or any other religious organizations are not against the land allotment but it is an NGO called ‘Bharat-Tibet Sahyog Manch’ who has filed an objection to the construction of the church. “The NGO should stick to secularism by refraining from creating any kind of religious politics or disturbance detrimental to the peaceful relationship among all religious followers of the state,” he asserted.
Teki also disclosed that a memorandum has also been submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) appealing to resolve the issue at the earliest, adding that a failure in this regard may compel the ACF to go ahead with more such agitations. 
However, he informed as per the information from Home Minister Bamang Felix, the state government has constituted a committee to resolve the issue.

Minor law & order problem blown out of proportion: IFCSAP on Tawang Church issue

ITANAGAR, Nov 2: Expressing its viewpoint on the Tawang Church stalemate, the Indigenous Faith & Cultural Society of Arunachal Pradesh (IFCSAP) has said that a minor law and order problem has been blown out of proportion and stepping in of the Arunachal Christian Forum (ACF) in making it a state issue is uncalled for. 
In a press release issued on Monday, the IFCSAP said the government land meant for public services has been occupied illegally without proper allotment for construction of the church and the efforts in making it a big issue is intended to disturb peace in Tawang district. Opining that the currently functioning three churches are “more than enough” for the Christian followers of Tawang for weekly prayers, the Society has questioned the rationality behind the need of creating another structure in the “Land of Lamas” through forceful occupation of government land that goes against the will of the local people. 
The IFCSAP in its release has also viewed ACF’s dharna on Monday demanding an allotment of land for the church’s construction as “unacceptable and unexpected."
It has also placed a two-point demand to the state government relevant to the issue- approval of all pending land allotments applied for construction of indigenous prayer centres across the state without further delay and immediate implementation of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religious Act, 1978 in letter and spirit for safeguarding the state’s indigenous customs, ancestral faith and belief systems. IFCSAP PR 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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