COCOMI sniffs agenda to suppress indigenes
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 16 2024: Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement in an interview to The Economic Times that the conflict in Manipur is not an act of terrorism but fallout of misunderstanding between two communities, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has asserted that the vagarious comment of the Union Home Minister reflects the lack of seriousness towards resolving the ongoing ethnic strife.

In a release, COCOMI media coordinator Yumkhaibam Surjitkumar Khuman recalled comments by central leaders about involvement of external forces in the conflict lingering for over a year now.

Instead of resolving the conflict which has led to loss of hundreds of precious lives and rendered thousands of families homeless, the attempt being made by central government to downplay seriousness of the conflict and portray it as a mere misunderstanding between two waning communities is irresponsible, he denounced, while questioning whether such statement of the Union Home Minister stems from failure to provide factual report by different intelligence units of the state and central governments or whether the central government to furthering its agenda of oppressing the people.

Reminding several incidents of vandalism and criminal activities including burning down of 17 Forest Department offices by Chin-Kuki immigrants and planting of powerful IED to blow up a bridge near Kwakta along Tiddim line, he further recalled setting the offices of Churachandpur DC arid secretariat office building on fire in a well organised manner.

He also recalled the attack on drivers along National Highway and also triggering a powerful IED on a bridge near Koubru Leikha.

Moreover, there were incidents of killing of Moreh SDPO Chingtham Anand, CRPF sub-inspector Nasaruddin Karkar and head constable Arun Saini by Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists.

The terrorist acts as defined in Section 3 of Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002 (No.15 of 2002) infer that the activities being carried out by Kuki militants towards Meetei are truly terrorist acts.

How could Amit Shah claim that acts of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists are not terrorism, he questioned, while alleging the central government of helping Chin Kuki narco-terrorists in attacking Meetei people to suppress the indigenous people of Manipur.

Regarding the scrapping of Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar owing to the volatile situation in Myanmar, Surjitkumar explained that the scrapping FMR is to protect the land from the threats of immigrants.

Recalling the statement of incumbent chief minister of Manipur about efforts being made for resettlement of displaced people to their respective homes, the media coordinator said that the removal of central forces from sensitive areas contradicts statement of the chief minister.

He enquired how the process of resettlement could be done when central forces are withdrawn from sensitive areas and there is no scope of filling the space by state forces.

Such act can be considered as a strategy to prolong the conflict, he contended.

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