PAPPM presents chronology of present crisis
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 10 2023: The People's Alliance for Peace and Progress Manipur (PAPPM) and Delhi Manipuri Society furnished factual accounts as well as chronology of the origin of the violence and arson which put Manipur in flames since May 3 .

PAPPM president M Bobby Meetei along with leaders of the two organisations held a press conference at Press Club of India, New Delhi during which he elaborated factual accounts and genesis of the violence in Manipur.

According to Bobby, out of over 5000 Meetei people stuck in Churachandpur district since outbreak of the violence only around 500 have been evacuated as of Monday with the rest held hostage by Kuki civilians supported by armed Kuki militants bound by SoO agreement.

Every house in the Meetei settlement areas of Churachandpur, established in 250 AD during the reign of Khoyum Tompok, has been burned down by Kuki civilians and armed militants and the Meetei rendered homeless in their own ancestral land and taking refuge at DC Churachandpur office and security camps.

Their lives are at stake as Kuki militants armed with sophisticated weapons are preventing the entry of Indian military to evacuate the Meeteis.

Similarly, in Moreh town of Tengnoupal district bordering Myanmar, almost every Meetei house, shop, hotel and vehicle have been burned down by armed Kukis while handful of Meetei survivors are taking refuge in Myanmar and the rest putting up at Assam Rifles camp in Moreh and Khudengtabi, Bobby said.

He also pointed out that hundreds of Meetei houses in Ikou, Motbung, Kanglatongbi, Dolaithabi and other areas in Kangpokpi and Imphal East districts have been burned down by Kuki militants consequently forcing thousands of Meeteis to take refuge in different parts of Imphal.

In the course of the ensuing violence, Kuki militants also destroyed Meetei temple atop Koubru hill in Kangpokpi district apart from several Sana-mahi abodes including household deities across the state.

The violence spread to the foothills of valley districts where several Meetei houses were burned down by Kuki militants.

In the municipal areas of Imphal East and Imphal West, several Kuki houses too have been vandalised and burned/destroyed by irate mob.

In the course of violence several Churches were also tar-;eted while the affected Kukis are mg safely sheltered at campus of Manipur Rifles, Tulihal airport and other safe locations including security camps.

Except for victims who have nowhere to go, all of them were safely escorted to their respective homes, he added.

While stating that the onslaught against the Meeteis in different parts of Manipur was pre-planned, well organised and orchestrated, Bobby Meetei contended that the attacks against the Meetei community were spearheaded by the Kuki SoO militants supported by high ranking Kuki government officials and CSOs to grab Meeteis' land and property and annihilating the community.

While the violence was instigated by select politicians of the Kuki community, the response in the valley was sporadic and directionless, more akin to mob response for survival, he added.

On how the present crisis started, PAPPM president said Manipur government's campaign on 'War on Drugs, eviction of illegal encroach-ers from Reserve & Protected Forest (RF&PF), invitation of the Manipur CM to inaugurate a government-funded open gym in Churachandpur and role of Paolienlal Haokip, incumbent MLA of Saikot AC in Churachandpur district are some root causes for the turmoil.

According to Bobby, massive rallies were held as part of the Tribal Solidarity Rally on May 3 including in Kuki dominated areas of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Teng-noupal in protest against the demand by Meetei/ Meitei for recognition as ST community while Kuki SoO militants in full combat gear guarded the rallies.

During the rally, forest offices at Maultam and Mata Maultam in Churachandpur were burned down and tyres set on fire in front of forest offices at Bongmol and Singhat in Churachandpur.

Accompanied by gun wielding SoO militants, the rally participants marched down towards Bishnupur district attacking Meetei houses on the way till up to Kangvai in Bishnupur district.

They burned down the Phouchakai Forest office and fired shots in the air.

Frightened Meetei residents fled from their homes.

On their way back, the rallyists started to burn down the vacant Meetei houses and shops from around 4.30 pm the same day.

Giving timeline of violence and arson by Kuki militants after the rally on May 3, Bobby Meetei said forest offices of Maultam and Mata Maultam were burned down at 1.30pm and started burning tyres in front of forest offices at Bongmol and Singhat from 1.30-2.30 pm.

At 4.30 pm, the forest office at Phou-gakchou Ikhai was burned down as the Meeteis fled after the militants starting firing.

At the same time, 12 houses belonging to Meetei along the Tiddim highway were burned down while arson of Meetei houses at Phougakchao Ikhai begun at 4.50pm.At 5pm, arson of 45 Meetei houses at Torbung begun and by 5.15 pm 170 Meetei houses were burned down at Torbung.

At 5.30pm, 35 Meetei houses at Waikhurok in Bishnupur district were burned down.

Apart from these, Kuki militants spearheaded coordinated arson of Meetei houses in Kangpokpi, Moreh, Tuibong and Churachandpur town between 5-8pm the same day and around 1600 houses/shops/hotels belonging to Meetei Hindu/ Sanamahi were burned down.

The most unfortunate act of violence was taking away of land documents (Pattas) from the Meeteis and threatening them never to return.

Later on, it came to light that in the abandoned villages, Kuki militants have put up sign boards declaring the sites as 'tribal land' .

As the news of violence and arson spread like wild fire on social media, mob violence occurred particularly in Imphal.

Angry mobs started to retaliate by burning the Kuki houses and property from around 10pm of May 3 .

The attacks continued on May 4 also and around 600 Kuki houses and religious structures were attacked, vandalised or burned.

Violence on both sides continued at huge human cost up to May 6 .

On who are responsible for the present crisis in Manipur, the PAPPM president said few elites instigated the present humanitarian crisis.

The first group is the bureaucrats and policy makers who continued the colonial British policy of using Kuki mercenaries like the British did to achieve their aspirations.

The case of the Kuki SoO militants is a clear example.

Second group is the intellectuals providing ideological support to sustain the British legacy.

They fabricated historical tales in the name of academic exercise.

The Anglo-Kuki War narrative and claim of Kukis as war heroes as soldiers of the Indian.

National Army are few instances.

There was never an Anglo-Kuki War.

In fact, it was random skirmishes against war labour recruitment during World War I by the colonial British.

Using these false claims of waging war against the British, they reaped benefits from Indian government as Indian freedom fighters.

Furthermore, Kuki scholars insist that the boundary of Manipur is only 700 square miles and as a nation inhabiting the hill areas they were never under the suzerainty of the Manipur kings.

Contradictory enough, they also claim that they are not foreigners but one of the indigenous people of Manipur.

The third elite are the Myanmar-origin Kuki immigrants occupying sensitive high positions of Indian government offices.

They facilitated uninterrupted entry of illegal Kuki migrants into Manipur.

Both these are threat to national security of India.

After possession of forged identity papers, they thrived under the benefits of India's reservation policy.

Subsequently, they have become a powerful influential group establishing militant groups, and using illegal migrants for poppy cultivation and narco-terrorism.

They use the blood money to buy off land from poor Meeteis across the state, Bobby Meetei said while stressing the need to ascertain the true identity of these people during the recruitment process in Indian government services.

While asserting that the present crisis in Manipur was orchestrated by the Kuki SoO militants and their funded oliticians/bureaucrats to ave a definite area of land which they can claim as then-own, Bobby Meetei insisted that present crisis has nothing to do with the demand of inclusion of Meitei/ Meetei in the ST list of Indian Constitution.

Emphasising on restoring normalcy and peace in Manipur immediately, the PAPPM president said all the stranded people must be evacuated starting from Churachandpur and all affected people rehabilitated and returned safely to their original places.

He also said that War on Drugs mission should be continued with the support of the Union government and the SoO pact with KNO/KNA and ZRO/ ZRA must be abrogated as suggested by Manipur government.

He also said that identity of all the foreigners who, entered Manipur after 1949 must be established as also the roots/ origin of high ranking Kuki officials.

There must be strict control of social media to prevent further spread of rumours and hate speech while biased reporting by politically motivated national and international media must be prevented, he added.

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