CoTU under scanner
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 09, 2024 -

EVEN if the centre does not accord importance to the demand raised by Liangmai Naga Council (LNC) for declaring Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) as an unlawful organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and initiating strict legal measures for inciting violence and disrupting public order, the Council presenting a detailed account of CoTU's alleged acts of provocation to the President of India, Draupadi Murmu, testifies that even neutral communities have started to feel the heat of the ongoing conflict in the state.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemingly opting to wait and watch rather than issuing firm orders to bring an end to the crisis, which is inching towards the second year, the Liangmai council highlighting grievances to the President could be due to the potential threat posed to the neutral communities by the Kuki-Meetei conflict.

Among other issues, in the petition addressed to President Murmu, LNC referred to a statement issued on October 29 by CoTU general secretary Lamminlun Singsit, calling the proposed visit of chief minister N Biren Singh and his cabinet colleagues to Senapati district for the Liangmai Chaga Ngee celebration a 'trespass' and a 'dangerous provocative act'.

LNC said Singsit's claim that the visit would be intrusion into Kuki-majority areas and would lead to disturbance not only amounted to fuelling tensions but also an affront to Liangmai people as the chief minister was invited for the festival celebrated for the last many decades, and traditionally and religiously revered by the Liangmais, who are kindred tribe of the larger Zeliangrong community.

Since outbreak of the violence in May, 2023, the Liangmai tribe has been taking a neutral stand and like all other neutral parties, consistently reminding the communities in conflict that resorting to violence will only complicate the issue and cause untold suffering to the marginalised section of the society.

As such, CoTU's contention that the chief minister's planned visit would be perilous for the Liangmai tribe will naturally be decried as misleading, unacceptable and confrontational, as could be discerned from the LNC stating that the Liangmai community, along with other Naga communities in the region, perceives secretary Lamminlun Singsit's remarks as a direct threat to 'our' peace, unity, and cultural heritage.

That the government authorities should initiate immediate necessary measures to prevent the situation from going out of control, instead of feigning ignorance, could be comprehended from the LNC categorically stating that CoTU's actions were intended to provoke conflict and escalate tensions within the region, especially between the Liangmai Nagas, Kukis, and other communities.

For the record, all agitations and protests carried out in areas falling under Kangpokpi district were as per the directive and supervision CoTU.

Since outbreak of the conflict, installation of unauthorised check gates and random identification and frisking of passenger carriers and goods transporters were being handled by CoTU volunteers, which some Senapati district-based Naga civil organisations had also denounced on the ground of harassment meted out to Naga civilians.

Thus, in case the state government intends to bring an amicable solution to the crisis, the relevant process shall have to be expedited, before the situation turns irreversible.