Re-impose AFSPA : Kuki CSOs
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 16 2023:
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the Kuki Students Organisation, Kuki Chiefs Association Manipur and Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi have urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to re-impose Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur valley.
Through a joint memorandum, the Kuki CSOs appealed to the Union Home Minister to put in place more stringent and enhanced security measures in order to control and check subversive, prejudicial and anti-National activities of militant groups particularly in vulnerable areas; and to deploy more Central security forces in the buffer zones in order to ensure security of the civilians.
No units of Central forces including the Assam Rifles who are presently engaged in the maintenance of law and order should be removed or replaced, said the memorandum.
It also urged the Union Home Minister to strip N Biren Singh of all responsibilities, be it political or security matters and replaced by a competent army officer as the head of the Unified Command in order to build confidences and trusts thereby paving way for negotiated settlement; and to immediately end the constant aggression on Kuki areas by Meitei forces.
To thoroughly probe the role of the State Government in allegedly handing over arms and ammunition to the Meitei militias from the State's armouries and security establishments and to ensure full recovery of the 'looted' arms, was another demand raised by the Kuki CSOs.
It demanded a probe into the alleged nexus between secessionist militant groups and N Biren Singh.
The tragedies and debacles of Kuki people have grown manifold with each passing day despite the unwarranted claims that there is 'improvement' in the situation, said the memorandum.
Alleging that N Biren Singh was the architect of the chaos and mayhem besieging Manipur, the Kuki CSOs said that allowing a free reign to the person responsible for the violence is akin to keeping the tension simmering and prolonging the crisis.
Besides, it has defeated the purposes and intents of all peace initiatives of the Centre, it said.
"With Biren Singh at the helm of the State's affairs, the onslaught on our people and villages only intensified; and, the crisis took a new dimension with militant groups being given a free hand to lead the assault on our villages and people", it alleged.
It further accused Meitei CSOs and even MLAs of causing obstruction to the Central paramilitary forces from performing their duties with all neutrality.
Besides, the Central forces are restrained on ground that most of the areas in the valley are de-notified and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) being lifted from the areas, it alleged.
Biren Singh's double standard dealing is a well-known fact.
He preaches peace on one hand while encouraging his people to attack the Kukis on the other hand.
He was swift in pointing accusing fingers at SoO groups for the violence (although not corroborated) and he even went to the extent of branding them 'terrorists' .
On the other hand, he turns blind to the prejudicial activities of outlawed armed groups whose lead role in the attack on Kuki civilians and whose involvement in communal riots is widely known by all, the memorandum alleged.
As the head of the Unified Command, N Biren Singh has done nothing to recover the thousands of arms and ammunition which were allegedly handed (said to be 'looted') to the Meitei militias in the course of the violence.
Negotiations or peace cannot take place when the Kukis allegedly come under constant aggression from the Meiteis, it added.
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