As crisis continues, Meitei body rejects NDA resolution
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an Imphal-based joint body of Meitei organisations, rejected the resolution adopted after chief minister N Biren Singh convened a meeting of MLAs on Monday and gave the state government 24 hours to review it.
Imphal: An uneasy calm shrouded Manipur on Tuesday as the umbrella body of Meitei civil society outfits rejected a resolution passed by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislators and members of warring ethnic groups took out separate rallies in their respective strongholds over divergent demands.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an Imphal-based joint body of Meitei organisations, rejected the resolution adopted after chief minister N Biren Singh convened a meeting of MLAs on Monday and gave the state government 24 hours to review it.
“The resolution to label just the group involved in the killing of six individuals, including three minors, as ‘unlawful organisations’ is unsatisfactory to the people of Manipur. The people demand that all Kuki underground outfits under SoO [Suspension of Operations] be declared as unlawful organisation,” COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba said.
Monday’s meeting, which was convened amid a surge in violence in the strife-torn state, produced a strongly worded seven-point resolution that called for immediate action on multiple fronts, including the declaration of militants responsible for the killings of six people of a Jiribam-based Meitei family as members of an “unlawful organisation” within seven days.
Under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the government can impose restrictions on financial transactions and places of operations of the associations which have been categorised as unlawful and sentence those associated with it to prison term of two or five years.
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The abduction and killings of the six civilians—three women and three children—is one of the central incidents in a cycle of violence and reprisal attacks that have flared up afresh between the Kuki and Meitei communities. In a video message, the CM said that those response for the “barbaric act” will be brought to justice.
“I condemn the horrific killing of three innocent children and three innocent women by Kuki terrorists after being taken hostage at Jiribam. Such barbaric acts have no place in any civilized society. Let me assure that the hunt for these terrorists is currently underway and they will be brought to justice very soon. We will not rest till they are held accountable for their inhuman actions,” he said in a video message posted on X.
Athouba said that COCOMI will not attend any future meetings called by the government on the ongoing crisis and threatened to intensify their agitation if the resolution is not reviewed.
“The legislators do not need to consult the people of Manipur again, as they have already made their stance clear to the government,” he said.
Manipur has been in the throes of violence for close to 18 months, with the ethnic conflict showing no signs of abating. Amid the spiraling crisis, the Centre on Thursday reimposed Afspa in six areas more than a year after it was removed from there, triggering a fresh wave of protests in the Imphal valley.
Earlier in the day, members of different civil society organisations tried to defy curfew and hold a rally in the Imphal west district to protest against the declaration of the regions falling under Sekmai and Lamsang police stations in the district as “disturbed areas.” Afspa remains a contentious legislation, with civil society members saying that it gives personnel impunity to carry out excesses and forces saying that it helps them maintain order in restive areas.
“We strongly condemn the reimposition of Afspa in areas under six police stations. A firing incident occurred in Jiribam district just a few days after Afspa was reimposed in Jiribam,” a protester said on condition of anonymity. The march was stopped by the police in view of the restrictions.
In the evening, authorities announced a temporary lifting of curfew for five hours on Wednesday in Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, and Kakching districts to facilitate the purchase of essential items “in view of improvement in law and order”.
Far from any administrative salve to a now fractured society, the fallout of the long-running ethnic hostilities has meant that the Meiteis, who live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis, who predominantly live in the hills, have withdrawn to their respective strongholds. In response, security forces have created buffer zones in different border districts, set up camps and posts on highways. But often, militants from both groups use the hills and the jungle area to cross into other districts and attack each other.
In the tribal-dominated Churachandpur districts, people took out a rally with empty coffins to protest the killing of 10 suspected militants by security forces in Jirbam last week. Various tribal outfits have taken to the streets against the central force’s action, saying that the deceased were not militants but volunteers who were guarding their village.
Hundreds of people from different walks of life took part in the rally organised by the Joint Philanthropic Organisation (JPO), demanding justice for those killed, and a separate administration in the hill areas. The march concluded at the ‘Wall of Remembrance’, a memorial for members of the Kuki community killed in the violence that started in May last year.
“We are yet to get the post mortem reports of our 10 village defence volunteers. The mock coffin rally was held to remind everyone about the sacrifices made by our martrys. All schools and colleges were shut for the rally. The government is not sharing the postmortem report because it will expose how the men were killed. Until we get the reports, we will not bury them. The protests will continue in the hill areas,” DJ Haokip, general secretary of the Kuki Students Organisation, Churachandpur, said.
The widening ethnic strife has caused a ripple effect in all of northeast, triggering law and order concerns in the state’s immediate neighbours. On Tuesday, Assam increased security along its border with Manipur and sealed “vulnerable points” in Cachar.
“We have deployed nearly 200 police personnel along the border areas and sealed the vulnerable entry points temporarily, considering the present situation,” Cachar SP Numal Mahatta said.