Fresh violence in Manipur: Meiteis, Kukis blame state, Central govts, demand action

Amid fresh violence in Manipur, a prominent body of the Meitei community, met Chief Minister N Biren Singh and demanded “some visible action” from the state government while a major Kuki forum has issued a warning, and accused the BJP government of being “one-sided communal government favouring only the Meiteis”.

A team from the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of the Meitei community, on Friday, met the chief minister at his home in Imphal.

The COCOMI alleged that the Centre is not bothered about the situation in Manipur and asked the chief minister to explain the ground situation to the Narendra Modi-led Union government.

“There have been increased attacks on our people in Moreh and other places in the past few days. We discussed these in detail with the CM and demanded some visible action on the government’s part like targeting Chin-Kuki terrorists who are illegally bringing weapons from Myanmar,” said Jeetendra Ningomba, coordinator, COCOMI.

“It seems the Centre is not bothered about the situation in Manipur. We asked the CM to explain the ground situation to the central government so that it takes steps to end this violence. If they fail to do so, we will be forced to raise our voice or launch an agitation,” he added.

This week, seven people, including two police commandos have been killed in Moreh, a business town close to the Myanmar border, in fresh violence in Manipur.

Also, three Border Security Force (BSF) personnel sustained bullet injuries after gunmen fired at security forces in Thoubal.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a forum that comprises prominent tribal organisations including Kuki, has accused the state government of supporting Meiteis and issued a warning.

In a public notice, ITLF said, “Violence continues to escalate in Moreh because of the central government’s continued refusal to remove Metei police commandos from Kuki-Zo areas, thereby helping the communal Metei government in its attempt to drive out tribals from the key border town.

“As we have repeatedly said in the past, if the government really wants peace in the trading down, Meitei forces should be replaced with neutral central security forces, who, by the way, are already deployed in the region. For now, Kuki-Zo volunteers have no option but to defend their homes and their lives.”

It also demanded the release of two Kuki-Zo civilians who are detained by the Manipur Police. The two were allegedly involved in the killing of a police officer last year.

“On 16th January 2024, ITLF and COTU (The Committee on Tribal Unity) jointly demanded the unconditional release of two Kuki-Zo civilians detained by the Manipur Police in Moreh. 48 hours have passed since the demand was made and the two were not released from police custody.

“As our demands were not taken into consideration by the government, as stated we will not allow the one-sided communal government favouring only the Meiteis to function in the Kuki-Zo areas. The government will be solely responsible for any untoward incidents that may transpire in the process,” ITLF said.

Manipur has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year which has claimed over 180 lives. The violence erupted on May 3 last year after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.

(With agency inputs)