The Chingdai Area Core Committee has vehemently condemned and rejected what it described as a “misleading and unfortunate” statement issued by Manipur Police linking the Nongshum incident to the three villagers apprehended at S. Phailengkot on October 20.
The committee has demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the trio apprehended by a joint team of Manipur Police, the CRPF and CoBRA. It has also demanded the deployment of a battalion of the Central Armed Police Forces in Kuki-Zo settlement areas under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Kangpokpi, to ensure security and allow people to carry out their daily activities without fear or mental anguish.
Condemning the statement issued by Manipur Police, the Chingdai Area Core Committee (CACO), in a press release on Wednesday, stated that Seilal Haokip, one of the three apprehended individuals, is a well-known civil society organisation leader who has been instrumental in bridging the gap between the central forces and the public, maintaining peace and reconciliation, and playing a major role in the rehabilitation and resettlement of the Chingdai area.
“Branding him as guilty is highly unfortunate. The government should be rewarding such peacemakers, not criminalising them. He is currently undergoing treatment for an eardrum injury and liver cirrhosis,” the committee stated.
The committee warned that the government would be held fully responsible if anything untoward happened to Seilal. It also demanded his immediate and unconditional release and that the government bear the full cost of his medical treatment.
According to the release, the other two apprehended individuals have no links to any insurgent or militant groups. The committee stated that they are innocent village volunteers whose sole aim is to protect their village from any kind of intrusion.
“We firmly object to the method of the police—beating the cat until it agrees that it is a lion. That is exactly what has happened in this case. Linking the Nongshum incident to the innocent volunteers is highly condemnable. If you are serious about justice, go and catch the real culprits. Do not turn innocent people into criminals to save your own image. This is an act of cowardice,” the committee stated.
CACO also questioned Manipur Police, the CRPF and CoBRA about their whereabouts when the Kuki-Zo community in the area was allegedly surrounded by thousands of Arambai Tenggol members and Meitei mobs, with the alleged support of the Gorkha Regiment stationed at Chanung, on May 31, 2023. The committee alleged that people were killed, houses were burnt and properties were destroyed during the incident.
“We are tired of this biased justice and ill-feeling towards our community. Had you controlled the mobs and stopped the arson and killings, we would have regarded you with the highest honour,” the release stated.
CACO stated that the Kuki-Zo community had suffered enough under what it described as the “high-handedness of Biren” and his cohorts. It added that the community now felt insecure under the “high-handedness” of Y. Khemchand and in the presence of security forces.
The committee further stated that as long as the perceived bias of the Meitei-centric government and the partiality of the security forces continued, peace, security and development in Manipur would remain an impossibility.
Acknowledging that security forces had recovered arms, CACO reminded the government that the Kuki-Zo community in the area had been pleading for protection since the conflict erupted in May 2023 but had received no protection. Instead, the committee alleged, Kuki-Zo residents were chased and killed, their homes were burnt, and they were forced to abandon their villages, homes and fields.
“When the law and the government fail to protect us, it is the law of nature to protect ourselves. Yet, we ask the Meitei villages on the periphery of Chanung: Did we ever create chaos, kill people, burn houses or cause disturbances? Absolutely not. We only took steps to safeguard our own villages and people,” the release stated.
CACO further stated that on the day the three Kuki-Zo individuals were apprehended, a person from Leimakhong P. Molding was allegedly murdered by the NSCN-IM, while houses at Patlenjang, near TM Kashom in Ukhrul, were burnt. However, the committee alleged that security forces did not launch an operation to apprehend those responsible.
The committee questioned why an operation was launched in S. Phailengkot, creating an atmosphere of fear among residents, against people who, it maintained, had no links to the Nongshum incident.
Stating that the Kuki-Zo community in the area had always respected the buffer zone established by security forces, the committee appealed to all other communities to respect the buffer zone and maintain it until a broader peace agreement was reached.
The committee also demanded the establishment of a grouping centre, along with relief, rehabilitation and resettlement measures for villagers who had vacated their villages due to fear and insecurity.
“If the government is keen on maintaining peace and tranquillity in the region, it must protect us and treat us the way it protects other communities,” the release stated.
The Hills Journal
K. Salbung, Churachandpur
Manipur-795128
