KSO-GHQ Criticizes Legal Threats Against PUCL Following Report on Manipur Ethnic Conflict

The Kuki Students’ Organisation General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) has expressed strong concern over what it describes as a recurring pattern of legal intimidation and counter-narratives targeting independent organisations and individuals who challenge the dominant narrative surrounding the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.

In a statement released today, the KSO-GHQ condemned the recent backlash against the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) following the release of its report by the Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) on the ethnic strife plaguing the state. The report, which offers a critical assessment of the ongoing conflict and its humanitarian implications, has sparked strong opposition from the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and several other Meitei civil society organisations (CSOs).

The KSO-GHQ noted that such pushback—often in the form of public denouncements, legal threats, and FIRs—has become an alarming trend whenever findings or reports appear to counter the Meitei-centric narrative. “Any report or findings—whether from a reputed independent organisation, a prominent social activist, or a human rights advocate—that does not align with the Meitei narrative and agenda is quickly dismissed as false, labelled ‘anti-Meitei’ and ‘pro-Kuki-Zo’, and is met with severe repercussions, including legal actions,” the statement read.

This, the KSO-GHQ argues, is not an isolated case. The organisation recalled the controversy surrounding the Editors Guild of India (EGI) in 2023, when it sent a fact-finding team to assess media coverage in the Imphal Valley. The EGI’s subsequent report, released on September 2, 2023, accused local media of biased reporting. It was met with swift condemnation from Meitei media bodies including the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM), who threatened legal action. The then Manipur government, under former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, went on to file an FIR against the EGI.

In its latest statement, the KSO-GHQ also challenged COCOMI’s authority to speak for the entire state. Responding to a COCOMI press release dated August 26, 2025—which opened with, “The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), on behalf of the people of Manipur, unequivocally rejects the recently released Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) report of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)”—the KSO-GHQ said such a claim is misleading.

“COCOMI may speak on behalf of the Meitei community, but it does not possess the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the entire population of Manipur,” the organisation asserted. It described COCOMI as a “Meitei civil society organisation, working solely in the interest of the Meitei community,” and warned against framing its rejection of the PUCL report as representative of the broader public sentiment in Manipur.

The KSO-GHQ concluded its statement by calling for a more inclusive and impartial examination of the ethnic crisis, urging all stakeholders to respect the role of independent bodies and human rights groups in bringing truth and justice to the forefront.