CoTU Alleges ‘Political Conspiracy’ Behind Lhungjang Attack, Says Plot to Topple Popular Government in Manipur

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), Sadar Hills, on Monday alleged a “political conspiracy” behind the pre-dawn attack on Lhungjang village, accusing armed cadres of the NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson) of deliberately provoking violence to destabilise Kangpokpi and fuel political pressure against Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen.

In the attack, a government primary school, the only education provider for children in the area, was also burnt down by the attackers.

The destruction of the school, CoTU said, has not only damaged public property but has also struck at the basic educational access of children in the remote village.

The CoTU alleged that the attack, which took place around 5 am on September 7, was “choreographed” to trigger a retaliatory response from the Kuki-Zo community, thereby portraying Kangpokpi as a fresh flashpoint and strengthening efforts to remove the Kuki-Zo deputy chief minister from the state Cabinet.

The Sadar Hills based tribal body accused sections of the Kacha Tangkhul leadership of allegedly turning elected representatives into “torchbearers” of NSCN-IM supremacy, claiming that legislators were being pressured to keep the state embroiled in tension as part of a larger political attempt to topple the government headed by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh.

The CoTU questioned what it called the “selective justice” narrative emerging from the latest violence, asking how isolated incidents could be treated separately when the state has witnessed massive loss of life, destruction of villages and displacement since the ethnic conflict erupted on May 3, 2023.

It also launched a direct political attack on Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho and MLA Awangbou Newmai, accusing the two legislators of failing to adequately respond when armed groups allegedly associated with the NSCN-IM and ZUF were accused of attacking civilians and uprooting villages in Noney, Tamenglong, Ukhrul, Kamjong and Senapati.

“Where was the outrage and demand for justice when civilians and villages belonging to other communities, particularly the Kuki-Zo, were allegedly targeted?” the CoTU asked, accusing the legislators of “misplacing” their constitutional responsibility as people's representatives.

The committee further alleged that sections of the Kacha Naga community and valley-based political actors were working in tandem to sustain instability in the hills and valley, allegedly with the political objective of bringing down the present dispensation and installing a leadership opposed to the Kuki-Zo community.

“The idea of Manipur cannot be monopolised by divisive politics,” the CoTU said, asserting that the state's future must be shaped by leaders committed to plurality, inclusiveness and coexistence rather than exclusivity.

In a direct appeal to the Centre and the state government, the CoTU demanded an immediate end to what it described as a “political musical-chair of blame game” and called for decisive action against armed insurgent groups allegedly involved in destabilising the hill areas.

It specifically demanded that the NSCN-IM and ZUF (Kamson) be prevented from using violence to inflame communal tensions and urged the government to initiate appropriate legislative action against elected representatives allegedly involved in inciting hatred, spreading “concocted lies” and misusing their political positions.

The CoTU said Manipur could not afford another cycle of provocation and retaliation, warning that political manoeuvring at the cost of civilian lives would only deepen the state's prolonged crisis.