KCP group dissects ethnic clashes
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 20 2023: In the wake of violent clashes between two com-munities of 'Kangleipak' on May 3, the armed Kangleipak Communist Party-Politburo Standing Committee con-vened an emergency meet chaired by chairman Ibungo Ngangom and formed a Crisis Monitoring Cell under the su-pervision of home secretary Thouba Mangang.

According to a KCP state-ment, report presented by Thouba Mangang at the meeting pointed out that the clashes between Meeteis/ Meiteis and Kukis are main-ly due to long-drawn plan of certain vested interests among the Kuki political class to assert importance and impose will on people in the hills.

The report also said that the violence cannot be attributed to both the com-munities in their entirety as many sections and groups of both communities continue to communicate with one another throughout these challenging times.

Not all the Kukis support the impossible idea of a separate admin-istration for the so-called Zo people and the outfit is in touch with a major Kuki group, whose chairman has agreed in principle to issue a statement against the treacherous demand to partition Kangleipak.

According to the report, paid propaganda and sys-tematic spread of rumours, particularly through social media, also aggravated the situation.

But not all were lost between the two communities, who have to understand and accommo-date each other's reasonable concerns.

Despite violent clashes break-ing out in other parts, true heart-warming reports and videos of Meeteis helping trapped Kukis and vice versa continue to crop up from many sectors.

It also said that the so-called So0 agreement is noth-ing but eyewash to deploy the concerned groups against the liberation-oriented groups of Kangleipak for a pittance.

How-ever, the double-edged nature of these groups has come to the fore when they also attack govern-ment forces like the Assam Rifles and Manipur police commandos.

Now that they have started act-ing like Frankenstein monsters, there is a big possibility that the Government of India may seek to dilute the legitimate interests of the Meetei/Meitei community so as to appease these Frankenstein monsters and lure them back to their bases.

Despite the vehement calls by sections of the Meetei/ Meitei community for the lib-eration-oriented armed organ-isations to get involved in the clashes, the leadership of the entire liberation-oriented armed movement of Kangleipak have shown commendable maturity and foresight by exercising re-because of which the Meetei/ Meitei community as a whole has been saved from falling into the trap systematically laid in advance by the divisive commu-nal forces.

Otherwise, it would have become the unfortunate punching bag of all the Indi-an media.

The vast majority of the victims of the communal flare-up were innocent people.

Indeed, it is only the innocent people on both sides who have had to face the full brunt of the violent eruption and subsequent clashes.

While asserting that some an-ti-Kangleipak elements have started circulating a thoroughly distorted narrative on the histo-ry of Kangleipak, the outfit said it is imperative that the people of Kangleipak stand united and counter this baseless narrative in a resolute manner through all possible channels.

According to the outfit, peaceful coexistence large-ly depends on strengthening the liberation-oriented armed movement, which is the only legitimate representative es-tablishment of Kangleipak.

Because, in order to gain and retain political power and/or draw political mileage, the so-called political leaders can go to any extent or resort to any of communal harmony amongst different indigenous communi-ties of Kangleipak.

As such, all the indigenous communities of Kangleipak should seek to strengthen the liberation-ori-ented armed movement and join hands with us in our struggle for an independent socialist Kangleipak.

The outfit further said that the loss of once strong foothold of liberation-oriented armed organisations such as RPF/ PLA, KYKL/MYL and others in the western and southern hills of Kangleipak has given divisive communal forces in the hill-based political circle a big opportunity to play out their divisive political cards without fear.

If the effective presence of the liberation-oriented groups continues to be maintained in the western and southern hills of Kangleipak, no such communal flare-up would have ever hap-pened in Kangleipak.

The outfit then appealed to all indigenous communities of Kangleipak to forgive and forget each other's acts, understand each other's sensitivities and also remain vigilant against the divisive communal forces who seek to prolong their personal political and financial interests even at the cost of the lives of innocent lives.

Comment