KKL demands removal of AR from Chandel, CCpur, Tengnoupal
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 11 2023: Drawing the attention of the Government of India on the present crisis in Manipur, the Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL) Manipur demanded removal of Assam Rifles from Chandel, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal districts and the responsibility for guarding the border be handed to In-dian Army or Border Security Force.

Doubting the role of Assam Rifles in overall security sce-nario of the state amid reports of the force channelling in armed Myanmar-origin Kuki militants through the porous international border, the KKL said the entire Moreh town up to Sita Lamkhai has been under control of the AR but did nothing to prevent attacks on Meetei settlements and their houses looted and burnt.

Further stating that a top police officer, who belongs to a prominent Kuki family and has the power to direct the state's forces to act or remain idle in any given situation, appears to be siding with his community, KKL, in a state-ment wondered if the gov-ernment of Manipur can have the chief secretary replaced then what is preventing it from replacing the top cop, who also recently justified the non-banning of the so called Solidarity March called by the ATSUM on May 3 to avoid repetition of the earlier incident in Churachandpur in which nine lives were lost during the initial stage of the ILP movement.

As the head of the police force it was his bounded duty to inform the chief minister to have the rally banned keeping in mind of the incident a few days back when the CM was forced to cancel his Churachandpur visit after the open Gymnasium he was scheduled to inaugurate was burnt down.

Further posing what secu-rity measures were initiated to prevent any untoward incident from taking place in connection with the ral-ly, KKL also pointed out that footages have surfaced showing Kuki militants armed with AK-47 and M-16 rifles marching in front and sub-sequently burnt houses at Torbung and attacking the Meetei settlements there.

The attacks were then carried out on Meetei settlements in Chu-rachandpur town beginning from Thengra Leirak.

It was a genocidal attack.

As the officer in charge of Manipur police was replaced during the Meitei-Pangal riots of 1993, the officer in question should also be removed immediately, the KKL said.

Taking serious note of role of an MLA in the present cri-sis, the KKL said the MLA bypassed the chief minister by reporting straight to the Centre as the matter revolves around Reserved Forest.

As a person elected to the Mani-pur Legislative Assembly, it was a childish statement and perhaps the MLA did not read what the Union forest min-ister recently said in Imphal that forest areas both Re-served and Protected come under the concurrent list of the Constitution and that it is for the state to protect it.

Perhaps the MLA was speak-ing on behalf of the poppy cartel, the main factor behind this present fiasco, the KKL maintained.

While alleging that the Government of India has a sinister plan to subjugate the entire Meetei polity as a long term policy using the Myan-marese Kuki armed militants, the KKL claimed to have reports of the Assam Rifles carrying out joint patrolling in Pukhao Dolaithabi areas with the Kuki outfits.

The KKL also said that the killing more than 60 peo-ple, hundreds injured and thousands rendered homeless is a not a matter of joke and imposition of President's Rule will not bring any solution.

It also said that the ongoing problem was direct fallout of Solidarity March of the AT-SUM on May 3 .

The KKL also demanded immediate sealing of the en-tire border area between In-dia and Myanmar in Manipur sector and there should be no dialogue process with Kuki militants at any level.

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