Manipur conflict: Confusion overshadows Delhi meet
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, October 15 2024: The all-important meeting to find a way out to resolve the over 17- month-long ethnic strife in Manipur was reportedly held in New Delhi on Tuesday, even as some national media reported presence of Kuki, Meetei and Naga legislators whereas news agencies contended that Kuki MLAs held separate meeting with MHA officials.

IANS quoted sources as saying that ministers and MLAs belonging to Meetei, Kuki and Naga communities attended the meeting called by the Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) .

According to the IANS, "Several rounds of meetings between the MHA officials and the elected representatives, civil societies and NGOs would be held in the upcoming weeks to find out a lasting solution to the ethnic crisis in Manipur.

After around a four-hour-long meeting, neither the officials nor the Ministers and MLAs talked to the media to disclose the outcome of the meeting.

However, the MHA said in a statement, "The meeting unanimously resolved to appeal to the people of the State belonging to all communities to shun the path of violence so that no more precious lives of innocent citizens are lost" .

Speaker Th Satyabrata Singh, MLA Thongam Biswajit, belonging to the Meetei community, and representatives from the Kuki community -- Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen, both ministers -- attended the meeting.

MLAs Ram Muviah, Awangbow Newmai and L Dikho attended the meeting from the Naga community.

IANS also quoted a highly placed source as saying that several Ministers and legislators from the three communities attended the meeting and raised their demands and viewpoints over the ethnic riot.

An MLA, belonging to the Kuki community, on condition of anonymity said that they would discuss the matters of Tuesday's meeting with their community leaders and functionaries then they would disclose their next course of action.

"Because the meeting was called by the Central government, that's why they attended the meeting.

We do not have any faith in the Manipur state government," the legislator told IANS over the phone from New Delhi.

He said that MHA's advisor, North East Affairs, AK Mishra and other senior officials were present at the meeting.

Tuesday's meeting was the first deliberations convened by the government after the ethnic conflict broke out between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur on May 3 last year.

All the Naga, Kuki and Meetei MLAs and ministers who attended the meet were invited by the MHA through letters and telephone calls, sources said.

The vital meeting was held after Home Minister Amit Shah last month indicated to resolve the ethnic imbroglio in Manipur through discussions between the Meeteis and Kukis.

On June 17, the Home Minister during a review meeting on the law and order situation in Manipur gave similar indications.

Meanwhile, 10 MLAs, including seven BJP legislators, and several Kuki-Zo organisations including Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) since the ethnic violence started in Manipur in May last year, have been demanding separate administrations or a Union Territory for the Kuki-Zo tribals in Manipur.

The 10 legislators included Letpao Haokip and Nemcha Kipgen, who are ministers in the Chief Minister N Biren Singh-led 12-member ministry in Manipur.

None of the 10 Kuki MLAs set foot in Imphal valley and capital Imphal in the last year and a half.

They have also given all the Assembly sessions held since then a miss.

According to PTI, around 20 MLAs belonging to the warring communities met on Tuesday in a bid to hammer out a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambit Patra and three MLAs from the Naga community were also present at the over-two-hour-long meeting convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as part of its efforts to iron out differences between the Meeteis and Kukis, and find an amicable solution to the crisis.

Sources said both sides put forward the views and grievances of the two communities and their sufferings during the long turmoil.

The MLAs also discussed the way forward and how to go about in the coming days, but nothing concrete could be achieved, they added.

"It was a good beginning.

We were not expecting a miracle at the first meeting but it is an achievement that we could bring MLAs of the two communities under the same roof.

We hope that they will meet again in the near future so that a peaceful solution is found," a source privy to the deliberations said.

On Patra's presence at the meeting, the sources said he is the BJP's coordinator for the northeast and was instrumental in bringing the MLAs to the capital.

Efforts will be made for similar meetings of civil society groups of the Meitei and Kuki communities so that their differences could be bridged and peace restored in the state, the sources said.

The state and the Central governments have on a number of occasions rejected the demand for separate administrations or a Union Territory.

On the other-hand, Moushumi Das Gupta of The Print reported that the much talked about joint meeting called by the MHA with MLAs from Meetei, Kuki and Naga communities on Tuesday ended up only exposing the deep schism that still exists between the Meeteis and Kukis.

The report cited multiple sources that instead of holding a joint session to resolve differences between the Meeteis and Kuki-Zo communities, as was previously planned, representatives from the MHA - led by AK Mishra - first met separately with Kuki MLAs.

Mishra was accompanied by other MHA officials and BJP's North-East in charge Sambit Patra and Manipur in-charge Ajit Gopchade.

After their meeting, a separate short meeting was held with the Meetei and Naga MLAs.

During the two meetings, MHA stressed the need to restore peace in the hill state and said a joint meeting will be held again soon.

A source privy to the development said only four of the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs were present in Tuesday's meeting.

"The Kuki-Zo MLAs had requested an exclusive meeting with the MHA at this juncture, which was accepted by the latter," the first source said.

"The Kuki MLAs requested the MHA that since they did not get enough time, they could not consult their constituents, other Kuki MLAs as well as the Civil Society Organisations (CSO) about their stand.

They conveyed that they do not want to engage in any discussions with the Meetei MLAs without consulting the CSOs.

So, they wanted to have a separate meeting with MHA officials instead of a joint one with the Meeteis and Naga MLA," a second source aware of the development said.

"The Kuki MLAs were asked about their position on the situation in the hill state, " the first source said, adding that six of the 10 Kuki MLAs could not attend Tuesday's meeting as they were informed only on Friday.

"There was not much time as some already had engagements that they had committed to," the source said.

The Meetei and Naga MLAs were asked for their views on the prevailing situation in the state and leaders from both the communities urged for amicable solution to the conflict.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Kuki People's Alliance, which has two MLAs in the Manipur assembly, while endorsing the central government's proposal for talks, reiterated that the Kuki MLAs will "steadfastly advocate our rightful claim to a Union territory with legislative powers, a necessity borne out of compulsion given our territorial segregation".

While the tribal groups including the Chin, Kuki, Zomi and Mizo, the Hmar and Nagas enjoy ST status in Manipur.

The non-tribal Meeteis do not.

The ethnic violence between the Meeteis and Kuki-Zo broke out on May 3 last year after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts few days after a high court of Manipur ruling on Meitei/Meetei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

So far, over 230 people have been killed in the strife.

As many as 11,133 houses have been set on fire, out of which 4,569 homes have been completely destroyed.

A total of 11,892 cases have been registered in different police stations in connection with the ethnic violence.

The state government has established 302 relief camps to provide shelter to 59,414 internally displaced persons.

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