A day after Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram said the crisis in Manipur was a “law and order situation” that was being dealt with by the Home Ministry, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), a Kuki-Zo civil society organisation in Churachandpur, on June 20 said that this characterisation of the conflict was “misinformed” and asked Mr. Oram to delve into the details so that he may be able to help tribal people.
In an interview to The Hindu on Wednesday, Mr. Oram, who has taken over the Tribal Affairs Ministry in the new NDA government, said it was natural for everyone to look for solutions when such a conflict happened but added that this particular “law and order” situation was being handled by the Home Ministry with the State government and the Governor in Manipur.
Editorial | Lame excuses: On Manipur and the ethnic conflict
Responding to the remarks, the ITLF said that Mr. Oram was “misinformed for thinking that the ethnic conflict in Manipur is a simple law and order situation”. It said this would have been true for the first 24 hours of the conflict, during which an “impartial government could have stamped out the violence”.
“But it is well documented that State police forces from the majority Meitei community made no effort to stop the attacks on minority Kuki-Zo tribals but actively participated in the violence… After more than a year of hostilities, the deaths of more than 200 people, and the displacement of more than 60,000, it should be clear to everyone that the conflict is not a simple law and order issue,” said the ITLF, which came up as a representative civil society organisation for the Kuki-Zo tribes in Churachandpur after the conflict broke out.
The tribal body went on to say that the conflict had happened because of the “actions of the State Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and his patronage of militant Meitei organizations like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, who orchestrated the systematic targeting of tribals”.
It also said that some of these groups had publicly vowed not to stop their attacks until “they kill all Kuki-Zo tribals or drive them out of the State”.
“They have raped, tortured, killed, and desecrated the dead bodies of tribals and openly recorded their acts on video without facing any repercussions. The State and Central government refuse to act. If this is not ethnic cleansing, then what is?” the ITLF added, further asking the Minister to study the matter “more deeply and help the tribals in their hour of need”.
