Kangpokpi sit-in seeks Centre's intervention
Source: Chronicle News Service

Kangpokpi, May 22 2023: Accusing the cen-tral government of keeping silence for so long, the Kukis, during a sit-in-protest held at Kangpokpi town on Mon-day, sought the immediate intervention of the centre to address their grievances fol-lowing the communal violence in the state and subsequent displacement of large number of people.

Thousands of the Kukis, mostly women, congregated at Brig M Thomas ground and held a sit-in protest demand-ing the central government's intervention to address griev-ances of the Kuki community.

The protestors hold banners and placards which read, "No forceful peace", "Don't bull-doze public sentiment", "Why is the Central Government still silent when our people are killed, raped and our houses, and churches burnt", "What about Arambai Tenggol? What about Meitei Leepun?", "De-clare Arambai Tengol and Meitei Leepun as outlawed organisation", "Past is not past, Gone is not Gone, Down Down Biren", "Cries and mis-eries of the tribal Kukis remain unheard", "We demand the immediate intervention of the central government over the Kukis grievances in the ethnic cleansing in Manipur", etc.

Kangpokpi sit-in seeks Centre's intervention

The sit-in protest organised by the Committee on Trib-als Unity, Sadar Hills was also joined by the internally displaced persons shifted to Kangpokpi district.

Speaking on the sidelines, Committee's Media Cell convenor Janghaolun Ha-okip sought clarification on the centre's silence and not paying attention to alleged ethnic cleansing of the Kuki community in Manipur.

He also asked as to why the cen-tre is still not removing the Chief Minister even after he admitted his government's failure over the present crisis.

"It is clearly a failure of the government and even the chief minister himself had already admitted it, but then why he is still in the position and why he is not yet dismissed," asked Haokip.

Questioning why Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun were not yet declared as an outlawed organisation even after substantial number of government issued service weapons were confiscated from their possessions, Jang-haolun said: "We would like to make firm and clear that there would be no peace and har-mony unless we are separated from the valley as it is crystal clear that we could no longer live together with the valley people as we have lost faith upon this government and as well as upon our neighbouring Meitei community".

He further urged the cen-tral government to initiate legal action against the Chief Minister for terming the Ku-kis as illegal immigrants and foreigners while in all the historical records and books, the Kukis are proven they are not illegal immigrants or for-eigners.

Haokip also urged the cen-tral government to immedi-ately intervene for the separa-tion of the tribal Kuki from the valley if it really is interested in bringing normalcy and peace between the two communities.

According to the Commit-tee, a similar sit-in protest will be organised in various other places in the district.

Meanwhile, an internally displaced person sheltered in a relief camp, who also joined the sit-in protest, said that CM N Biren could save us (the in-flicted Kuki people) in Imphal had he not turned a blind eye rather than letting loose the people wearing a black cloth to loot the weapons from Ma-nipur Training Centre Pangei to inflict harm on us.

She continued: "On May 3, we know the people in black cloth came to attack us but we hoped that if we could survive tonight our CM will send secu-rity to save us the next morn-ing but many were killed, and our houses were burnt the next day and we became homeless and displaced".

She then accused Chief Min-ister N Biren of being respon-sible for all the violence and killing in the state, stating that he failed to protect his people as he dreadfully committed his communal war.

"Many of us, the tribal, are under his constituency and we vote for him only to be mercilessly killed, inflicted, and render homeless," she asserted.

The heartbroken woman averred that the act of the Chief Minister clearly shows Manipur belongs only to the Meitei and that is why we are targeted and inflicted at most and he treated us like aliens.

She also said that we con-sidered him as a father figure being the chief minister but he is never a father to us, because a father never segregated his children.

"Now, we have come to un-derstand very clearly that we are not the children of Manipur and therefore, we consider it best to live separately", she added.

"Let the Meitei people live happily in the valley and the tribal in the hills separately for our better future," she further added.

Another internally displaced woman said that they were inflicted at the highest level in all angles and forms but the majority Meitei community fabricated it all as if whatever was done to us by them is done by us to the Meitei community and many people believed it as they are expert in acting.

"Bringing up our acting in the Shumang Leela in real life will never serve a pur-pose.

Why don't you let your onscreen acting remain on-screen," she wondered.

"Your fabricated stories are all already exposed and no-body believes it," she added.

Hitting hard on the chief minister, the internally dis-placed lady said that N Biren is the Chief Minister of only the Meitei people not for the tribal people.

Another internally displaced woman said that we are always trying hard to live peaceful-ly but CM N Biren Singh has nefarious and sinister plans for the past few years to drive away the tribal by forming the people in black cloth and ultimately unleash his disas-trous plan upon the tribal.

However, despite inflicting severely upon us we still pray for them but we wondered why the father of the state has such a plan to destroy us, she added.

She also said that wherev-er the majority Meitei corn-munity saw us, they call us "hao" and treat us in the most demeaning ways but they ve-hemently are begging for ST status, which is very mean-ingless.