Posers raised on 'safety of farmers' vow
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, June 26 2025:
Meitei Alliance has strongly condemned the recent armed attacks on Meetei farmers by Kuki militants, asserting that these assaults are part of a deliberate attempt to prolong communal disturbances, seize farmland at gunpoint, and destroy the agrarian backbone of Manipur.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Alliance expressed deep outrage over a series of incidents targeting farmers in the fringe villages.
The year's first repor ted attack occurred on June 15 at Sadu Lampak, Leitanpokpi in Imphal East, despite the presence of central security forces.
A second incident on June 19 left 60-year-old Ningthoujam Biren injured, while working in his paddy field at Phubala in Bishnupur district.
The attackers were cadres of the Kuki National Front (MC), a SoO militant group stationed at Camp S Nabil in Thangjing Hills, it stated.
The Alliance also recalled that similar armed attacks had taken place earlier, including the killing of woman farmer named Sapam Sophia Leima in Saiton on November 7, 2024 .
It called on law enforcement agencies to apprehend those responsible and warned that failure to act would raise serious questions about the government's proclaimed Zero Tolerance Policy" towards terrorism.
"If the Government of India is truly committed to suppressing terrorism, it must immediately wipe out Kuki cross-border terrorists operating in Manipur," the Alliance demanded.
It voiced strong opposition to any move to hold talks with Kuki militants for an extension of the SoO agreement, pointing out that Manipur Legislative Assembly had already passed a unanimous resolution on February 29, 2024, not to extend SoO agreements with Kuki militant groups.
This followed the Manipur government's decision on March 10, 2023, to abrogate SoO with Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), citing repeated violations of ground rules by the groups.
The Alliance questioned the disparity between the government's rhetoric and actions, noting, "The phrase 'Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan' rings hollow in Manipur when jawans are heavily deployed but kisans are left unprotected" .
It pointed to the latest incident on June 25, when jawans reportedly prevented Meetei farmers from working during the peak farming season at Thinungei in Bishnupur district.
"For over two years since the Manipur disturbance began on May 3, 2023, Meetei peasants and farmers have been facing sustained threats.
Farmlands have become conflict zones, putting the state's food security at grave risk," the Alliance warned.
It also criticised the imposition of President's Rule, stating that instead of taking punitive action against Kuki terror groups under SoO, the current administration has enabled them to occupy new areas under the guise of camp relocation.
Such leniency, it warned, would deepen the suffering of Manipur's people and prolong the cycle of violence arid instability.
The Meitei Alliance called on the government to enforce clearly defined rules of law and to ensure the restoration and protection of the fundamental rights, safety, and dignity of every citizen in Manipur.
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