COCOMI sought immediate compensation and rehabilitation of all the victim families of both Meitei and Kuki communities into their respective homes by providing adequate security protection and also arranging for mutual protection of each other’s group by civil society volunteers and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).
TFM Desk
Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in a memorandum submitted to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has asked the Centre to uproot the “SoO and Non-SoO Narco-Terrorist Aggressors” from Manipur to restore peace and normalcy.
The memorandum signed by coordinator of COCOMI Jeetendra Ningomba and four others asked the Union Home Minister to take appropriate measures for the protection of territorial and administrative integrity of Manipur. It also asked the centre to immediately abrogate the Suspension of Operation (SoO) with Kuki militants under the umbrella of United People’s Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) for the protection of lives and properties of the innocent Meetei Villagers inhabited at the foothills of Imphal valley and innocent people in the hill areas of Manipur.
The memorandum sought immediate and effective “counter-terrorist action to uproot the SoO and Non-SoO Narco-Terrorist Aggressors in Manipur to restore peace and normalcy”.
It also asked the Union Home Minister to replace Assam Rifles from the Indo-Myanmar International Borders with other security forces like Border Security Force (BSF) etc. and also to follow roster deployment for every six months.
COCOMI sought immediate compensation and rehabilitation of all the victim families of both Meetei and Kukis into their respective homes by providing adequate security protection and also arranging for mutual protection of each other’s group by civil society volunteers and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs).
COCOMI narrated that the people of Manipur have been suffering since May 3, 2023. In the last 26 days, “Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists bearing sophisticated arms including snipers have been attacking Manipuri Meetei villages in the foothills of Imphal valley continuously. In this period, hundreds of houses were burned and many innocent citizens were shot dead. Some of the security forces were also killed while defending the villages”.
In this regard, COCOMI also placed what it called facts and figures for the union home minister’s perusal and necessary actions. The committee said that Manipur’s hill and valley comprise a composite geographical entity and any effort to dismember it will significantly destabilize the social and economic cohesivity of the region.
The memorandum stated that all human activities in Manipur including social, political and economic are executed via this valley. The valley is the central station for all communication purposes. No distinct headquarters in the hills can be effectively connected without touching Imphal.
Historical Legacy: The princely state of Manipur was merged with India on 15 Oct 1949, reminded COCOMI and said that Manipur had a pluralistic society and mixed settlement with 35 different groups of people. These 35 groups of people settle in almost all the districts. Demanding exclusive land for a group is not possible. It will lead only to bloody ethnic cleansing and group war amongst the different groups.
Economic inter-dependence: The hills and valley of Manipur are an integrated economic entity. The Imphal market is the main business hub/centre of the state. All the commodities, from small to big are first reached Imphal to the whole-seller/agent and distributed to all the district headquarters both in the valley or the hills.
Social inter-dependence: The hill society of Manipur is intricately woven with the valley society. The two families both from the hills and the plains are very close and bound by family ties. A few lakhs of off-springs born out of such relationship are facing a lot of emotional trauma, hardships because of the hill valley hiatus.
The Issues/Hard Realities:
- The changing demography and breaking down of subtle balance
- Illegal intrusion hordes of Myanmar Chin-Kuki immigrants.
- Intrusion of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist groups: Massive poppy plantation.
- Nexus of narco-terrorist and Chin-Kuki/Zo nationalists.
- Narco-terrorist funding in democratic funding elections
- Threat of Indian national security; the Chinese connection
COCOMI also said that Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had taken certain actions against “Chin-Kuki Narco-Terrorist” that include:
- War on Drugs
- Eviction from Reserved Forest Areas
- Updating of National Register of Citizens (NRC)
- The introduction of Bengal Eastern Frontiers Regulations 1873
- Establishment of Manipur Population Commission
THE MAY 3, 2023 AGGRESSION
COCOMI stated that 10 Kuki MLAs came out to demand for a separate administration. “The Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist in in connivance with the Chin-Kuki-Zo nationalists used violence and terror to achieve their target of a liberated Kukiland for the benefit of the drug cartels”, said the committee.
Their campaign started with Tribal Solidarity March against demand for inclusion of Meitei into the Scheduled Tribes list. Then it became a fight between Kuki against Meitei and gradually changed into a clash Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar against Meitei. Once this began, it became Kuki SoO Militants against Meitei villagers and finally now it is a “Chin-Kuki Narco-Terrorist Aggression”.