Kuki militants instigating Kuki civilians: MTU to Shah
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, June 02 2023: Emphasising that the ongoing crisis in the state is unrelated to the ST demand of Meetei/Meitei, Meetei Tribe Union (MTU) secretary Mutum Chura-mani expressed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah will eventually realise how Kuki militants instigated the Kuki civilians vis-a-vis the communal clashes once the proposed high-level inquiry commission is constituted and investigation commenc-es.

Speaking to newspersons at Manipur Press Club here on Friday, Churamani re-counted that MTU had filed a writ petition in the High Court of Manipur urging to direct the state government submit its recommendation to the Centre regarding the demand for ST status to Meeteis.

The petition was filed to seek legal assistance as the state government had been sidelining the demand, despite directive from the Centre to send its recom-mendation on the same.

Kuki militants instigating Kuki civilians: MTU to Shah

He also clarified that the high court's directive is not the final words on the matter, as granting ST status or not to the Meetei community will be the prerogative and wisdom of the government.

Furthermore, the secre-tary alleged involvement of Chin-Kuki illegal immigrants in activities such as illegal poppy cultivation, defor-estation and encroachment in reserved forest areas for several years.

On May 3, ATSUM organised a tribal solidarity rally in opposition to the high court s direc-tive, which received mixed response across districts, he recounted and claimed that illegal immigrants from Myanmar, who also partici-pated in the rally, exploited the tension prevalent to ex-acerbate the situation.

Churamani pointed out that Kuki militants, bound by the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, have been indulging in tax collection and other criminal activities for decades.

During the rally on March 3, they even set fire to several forest offices, which had no connection to the ST demand of Meeteis.

Surprisingly, despite these facts, Amit Shah attributed the crisis to the high court's order, displaying a lack of understanding of Manipur, particularly the Meetei com-munity, the secretary main-tained.

He then expressed confidence that on comple-tion of the inquiry initiated into the violence, Amit Shah will acknowledge irrelevance between the crisis and the ST demand.

Joining the media briefing, MTU vice-president Robin-dro expressed concern that the violence is predomi-nantly concentrated in the foothill areas while the valley area is relatively calm.

He stated that Meetei civilians are defending themselves with licensed guns, albeit inferior compared to the so-phisticated firearms used by Kuki militants, who continue to attack Meetei villages and burn houses.

He also criti-cised Amit Shah for holding the HC directive accountable for the restive situation.

Robindro highlighted that prime reason for the present crisis was the government's crackdown on encroach-ments in reserved and pro-tected forest areas and poppy plantations as could be com-prehended from the tense situation prior to the May 3 rally.

He cited the burn-ing of several forest offices during the rally as evidence and questioned reliability of the intelligence network of both the central and state government.

Furthermore, Robindro expressed suspicion that the crisis is a deliberate and well-planned attempt to suppress the Meetei community.

He also raised concerns about the Central government's possible soft-corner for Kuki militants during this crisis and questioned Amit Shah's silence regarding the armed attacks and arson on Meetei villages during his visit to the state.

The vice president also noted security forces' failure to retrieve several bodies in the Sugnu area, which had been occupied by Kuki mil-itants for several days, only managing to do so on Friday.