AMUCO asks Govt to rectify shortcomings
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, May 10 2023:
All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) warned that anger among one of the two communities currently involved in the violence will escalate if government fails to rectify shortcomings in the efforts to bring peace and normalcy and contain the present restive situation meticulously.
In a statement, AMUCO said both the governments of India and Manipur must deeply study on whether the unwanted incidents were simply a confrontation between people belonging to the two involved communities or orchestrated by militant groups under Suspension of Operation (SoO) to realise their hidden agenda by drawing innocent people as well as other communities of the hills intentionally to another issue.
While expressing fear that violence may resurface and go out of hand, AMUCO called upon all CSOs and community leaders to work wholeheartedly and asked government to take utmost precaution to bring normalcy in the state.
Further asking state government to take action against those spreading lies and hatred on social media, it opined that there would be no communal riot had the government acknowledged the alert raised by the organisation on May 2 .
Though the communal riot was between the Meetei and Kuki community, it affected entire communities and accordingly leaders of the two involved communities as well as others must take work to restore peace, AMUCO said adding that religious leaders and government authority must also work towards bringing normalcy.
During the height of the communal riot, people of both communities snatched weapons from several police stations/posts with some of weapons snatched from police stations in the valley areas returned with improvement in the situation.
However, there is sign of the state home department putting enormous pressure on the valley people to return the snatched weapons while no such pressure is visible to return weapons snatched from police stations in the hills, AMUCO said and cautioned that it would take a long time to restore normalcy if state government adopts partial policies.
Before the crisis cropped up, people of Manipur had been suspicious about covert support Assam Rifles had been extending to SoO militants, AMUCO reminded that claimed that there is fresh report of the AR backing one community to attack another.
It also said that bringing peace and normalcy in the state will be possible only when the Kuki militants adhere to SoO ground rules and government puts strict measures to enforce the ground rules or else violence will recur after some time.