Combined force of drug money, arms and terror : Brinda
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 27 2023: Manipur is facing the combined force of three--drug money, arms and terror.

Narco-terrorism is the cause of the present violent conflict and it has been here for many years without proper intervention and measures taken by the Government, said Th Brinda.

Speaking to media persons at her residence at Yaiskul Janmasthan, Brinda said she has met with the people affected and displaced by the conflict.

In the presence of displaced people of Churachandpur, Sugnu, Kanto Sabal and Taretkhun, she said in 2021 October, she had given an interview to a local TV channel on current and possible issues that the State may face in future.

Prior to the interview in 2020, Brinda said she had spoken about the presence of narco-terrorism in Manipur.

However, the Government took it lightly and ignored the warning.

As such, the Government was ill prepared to face the current conflict.

Combined force of drug money, arms and terror : Brinda

Money earned from drugs are being used to procure arms and these arms have been used against the people, killing innocents, causing fear and attempting to disintegrate Manipur, she said.

Manipur, situated on the border between South East Asia and South Asia, is an important route and a corridor for smuggling and supply of drugs in the region due to its geographical location.

Drugs from the Golden Triangle are smuggled via Manipur to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Nepal etc.

The drug cartel operating in Manipur include elites of the State Government.

The cartels have influence and they can buy Departments of the Government that can be bought.

They have reach and are in other parts of India as well, she claimed.

Brinda said the hills constitute 92 percent of the total land in Manipur while the remaining 8 percent is valley.

Of the 8 percent valley region, 2 percent is water bodies.

As such, the inhabitable area in the valley region is only about 6 percent.

Poppy cultivation is done in the 92 percent hilly areas.

Poppy plantations cover acres and acres of vast land in the hilly region.

Poppy cultivation has been here for decades and the Government cannot claim that it had no knowledge of the plantations, she said.

The hill districts have Deputy Commissioners, SPs, adequate State security forces and Central security forces.

However, poppy cultivation has continued without much objection.

As the Government has allowed poppy cultivation to continue at such an alarming magnitude, the hands of politicians are suspected, she said.

In the eyes of the law, the Government is a party in the drug business flourishing in Manipur, she claimed.

The narco-terrorists operating in Manipur are international drug-cartels.

They use drug money to bring in illegal immigrants and provide shelter to them while narco-terrorists provide protection and security.

As their numbers have increased over the years, they are now trying to break Manipur, she said.

Manipur has many insurgent groups but their aim and objectives are very different from that of the narco-terrorists.

While narco-terrorists use drugs as weapons, they have no objective to protect the land and the people.

Insurgents on the other hand revolt to save their people and their land.

However, the Government and its policies have been trying to persecute the insurgents while encouraging narco-terrorists, Brinda said.

The violence that started on May 3 was not spontaneous and immediate but planned, she said.

The State has its intelligence networks.

The Chief Minister could have deployed the State forces and Central security forces to control the violence in the initial stage, she added.

Brinda also asserted that the alleged arrangement to bring peace, advised by the Union Home Minister, has created confusion among the people.

The Chief Minister agreeing to the arrangement to let the Centre handle the hills and State handle the valley is shameful.

He should have objected to this arrangement.

If he had, as a man, objected to this proposal, he could have earned accolades from the people, Brinda said.

To bring normalcy and peace, the Suspension of Operation (SoO) policy must be revised.

It should be debated and discussed in public forums.

The SoO cadres must be made to adhere to the ground rules.

Documents related to the SoO agreement should be made public, she said.

She further stated that the Government should implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur and seal the porous border.While appealing for harmony and peaceful coexistence, she asked Kuki brethren what wrong had been done to them by the Meitei community.

Like them, the Meitei community is also facing the consequences of bad governance, Brinda said.