WMC on track to get UN to review stand
Drive logs over 1.18 lakh signatures
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 04 2023: The online petition campaign to review and rectify a United Nations press release on the Manipur issue has recorded more than 1.18 lakh signatures, said World Meetei Council (WMC) today.

The online signature campaign closed yesterday with 118,900+ signatures from 88 countries spread across five continents, it said.

Significantly, the online signature campaign was launched amid the mobile internet ban imposed in Manipur over the Meitei-Kuki conflict that has killed more than 170 persons and displaced over 60,000 people.

The World Meetei Council, representing the Meeteis in India and Meetei diaspora around the world had launched the campaign to amplify a collective voice representing hundreds of thousands of individuals seeking a re-evaluation and amendment of the UN press release to ensure a more equitable and comprehensive understanding of the issue, it said in a statement released to the media today.

The UN Special Rapporteur released the Press Release on the Manipur crisis on September 4 under the title "India: UN experts alarmed by continuing abuses in Manipur" characterising the conflict as religious and gender-based.

"The 118,900+ signatures recorded shows how deeply the people are concerned about the UN Human Rights Commission's act of injustice against the indigenous people of Manipur," WMC said.

It is evident that the overwhelming support stems from the collective disappointment that the United Nations has seemingly endorsed the global propaganda of the Kuki community by unjustly favouring them due to their Christian religion, minority, and victimhood claim.

The press release lacks balance and impartiality, potentially perpetuating a divisive narrative, it said.

The Council said the petition disputes several points raised in the UN press release, including the portrayal of the conflict as religious, gender-based, incited by hate speech, the characterization of the Kuki community as an ethnic minority, and their portrayal as victims.

The petition sheds light on the complex dynamics of the conflict, emphasizing the Meetei community's status as the indigenous and endangered community in India.

It addresses the grave consequences of the ethnic cleansing of Meeteis in Chin-Kuki-dominated districts on May 3, 2023, marking the onset of the ongoing Manipur violence, said WMC.

Additionally, it exposes the primary cause of the issue as the illicit plans, actions, and aggression associated with Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist groups, their political representatives, and militant factions operating under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements with the Government, all motivated by a common goal of establishing a separate Nation, "Zale'ngam", WMC said. The petition, along with the total number of signatures, will now be submitted to the United Nations' OHCHR.

"We are optimistic that the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights will now reassess the biased press release issued by the Special Mandate Holders.

Our voice must not go unheard," said the World Meetei Council.

The United Nations shall maintain its credibility as a neutral and objective international organization, it added.

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