Manipur delegation urges Centre to restore peace

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the largest civil society groups in Manipur, on Tuesday urged the Centre that the resolution adopted at the People’s Convention on May 3, should be escalated at the highest level at the Centre.

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On May 3, a people’s convention was held in Imphal to mark the second anniversary of the ongoing ethnic violence in the state. The convention had formally held the Government of India accountable for its “role in perpetuating the crisis”, demanding immediate steps to restore peace, and law and order.

The Union Home Minister’s recent characterisation of the violence as an ethnic clash between Kuki and Meitei communities was also condemned as “misleading” and “reductionist”.

A seven-member delegation of COCOMI also met senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in this regard. The COCOMI members urged the Centre to terminate all indirect support to foreign-origin armed groups operating in Manipur under the ‘Suspension of Operation’ agreements.

The resolution had also demanded the reinstatement of justice, communication, education, health services and mobility. The people demanded enforcement of free and safe movement across Manipur and called for decisive action against illegal armed zones, poppy cultivation and illegal settlements altering the state’s demography. The enforcement of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was also demanded.