After the barbaric execution of three persons in Thowai village in Ukhrul district on Friday, protests have broken out across Manipur’s Kuki-Zo Tribals-dominated districts, notably in Kangpokpi district. Since Friday afternoon, hundreds of women have been blocking traffic along National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) in Kangpokpi district.
During the event on Saturday, protesters carried banners
In Manipur, which has been experiencing ethnic conflict, the recent death has shattered the uncertain discrete that prevailed for about two weeks. To condemn the Friday killings of three Village Defence Volunteers (VDV) from the Kuki community in Ukhrul district, thousands conducted large-scale protests on Saturday in several districts of Manipur, particularly in Kangpokpi district. The protests were coordinated under the banner of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU).
The imprudent remark made by the union Home Minister on August 9 claimed that the ethnic violence brought on by the inflow of illegal immigrants from Myanmar has caused great harm to the Kuki-Zo people. He also accused the Kuki Democratic Front, a fictional organisation with roots in Myanmar, of inciting unrest in the region.
The ethnic cleansing committed against the Kuki-Zo people by the dominant Meitei group, it stated, “has deepened the wounds of the Kuki-Zo people as a result of such irresponsible statement of the Union Home Minister.” Additionally, the tribal organisation asked that FIRs against academics and intellectuals be dropped.
The first killings in the state in 13 days occurred on Friday.
The settlement is located on the border of the Meitei- and Naga-dominated Imphal East and Ukhrul districts of northeastern Bangladesh. The local administration named the three victims as Thangkhokai Haokip, 35, Jamkhogin Haokip, 26, and Hollenson Baithe, 24.
An anonymous group of miscreants set fire to Thangso Baite’s home in Imphal’s Lamphel neighbourhood on Friday afternoon, only hours after the incident in Ukhrul. When the incident happened, nobody was home. Up until Saturday night, no new reports of violence in the state were available.
In the state, where ethnic confrontations between Meitei and the tribal Kuki clans have been taking place since May 3 and killed over 160 lives and forced about 50,000 people from their homes, the recent murders once again broke the shaky ceasefire that lasted for almost two weeks.
Meitei militants have become active again
“The Imphal Valley has repealed AFSPA, but the hill regions have not. Meitei militants are once more active as a result of its removal. According to Ng. Lun Kipgen, coordinator of COTU’s media cell, “We want it to be reimposed in the entire Imphal Valley and in areas where it is not currently operational.” In Manipur (except the Imphal municipality region),
AFSPA was implemented in 2004, giving security personnel the authority to detain, arrest, and even fire people without a warrant. It was taken out of 15 police stations in six districts in April of last year. It was further taken out of four additional police stations in March of this year. Currently, ASFPA has jurisdiction over all regions of the state except the 19 police stations.
“We want the Assam Rifles to be deployed in the mountainous regions. Following requests from Meitei organizations like Meira Paibis, an outpost of the force was relocated from the region, which led to Friday’s attack under the Litan police station. To secure the safety of our citizens, the police must be repositioned, according to Kipgen.
The document, provided by the deputy commissioner
The document, provided via the deputy commissioner of Kangpokpi district, stated that “if AFSPA is reimposed in the valley districts, then the Army and Para military forces would be able to contain the violence in these areas.” According to Lun Kipgen, coordinator of the CoTU media cell, because the Centre was not imposing President’s rule in Manipur, the government must reinstate AFSPA in the valley districts and redeploy the Assam Rifles to the tribal areas where they were previously stationed.
CoTU also expressed displeasure with the recent comments made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha in their memorandum.
Shah’s comment on “illegal immigrants” sparks a protest by Tribals students on campus.
Source of Image- Deccan Herald
A protest march was held on Saturday in Churachandpur by Manipur’s Joint Students’ Body (JSB) over Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark in Parliament that the state’s current predicament was brought on by an inflow of illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
The JSB, which has requested clarification from the home minister, is made up of the Zomi Students Federation (ZSF), Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), and Hmar Students Association (HSA).
The student body also voiced their displeasure with the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, who said that illegal immigrants are mostly responsible for the majority of the dead found in the mortuaries of RIMS and JNIMS hospitals.
