NEW DELHI: Hostile forces in Manipur are working to ensure the situation takes a turn for the worse and mass civil disturbance takes place. Armed groups allegedly owing allegiance to the Kuki community who came from Myanmar, allegedly targeted civilians residing in Meitei areas, using drones and rockets.
Meitei groups have claimed that the narco and terror groups belonging to Kuki community have carried out these attacks on civilians and despite the Central forces, especially the Assam Rifles, being informed about such groups, the forces have failed to take steps to arrest these groups, leading to Meitei groups alleging a tacit understanding between these Kuki terror groups and the Central forces.
Representatives of Meitei groups on Saturday told The Sunday Guardian that on 1 September and 2 September, at least 50 bombs were dropped on different Meitei civilian population clusters using drones. However, only two instances, in which people were injured and fatally wounded, were reported in the media.
On Friday, in two separate incidents, alleged Myanmar Kuki terrorists used long-range rockets at two places in Bishnupur district, killing one person and injuring six others.
On Saturday, at least five people were killed in Jiribam district. While one person was shot dead in his sleep, the other four were killed in a subsequent exchange of fire between people from two warring communities in Jiribam. The state has so far witnessed the death of at least 200 people in the ethnic violence that started in May last year.
Failure to contain violence and the growing anger that may spill out on the street could make the continuance of Chief Minister Biren Singh, who also holds the Home portfolio, and top police officials, including security advisors, who have been given a long rope so far by Delhi, untenable.
Local media editorials too, apart from the Meitei groups, have stepped up their demand for the removal of these entities.
The recent attack on Meitei civilian areas was executed from hilly areas surrounding the state, which are mostly dominated by Kuki armed groups.
On Saturday, the Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) K. Kabib confirmed the role of Myanmarese Kuki terror groups in these attacks. “
Yesterday, some Kuki militants attacked and fired at some fringe areas including Bishnupur and Churachandpur border. In response to that, combined teams of the security forces conducted combing operations. They have destroyed two bunkers which were previously occupied by militants. After that, there was a rocket attack from the hills by Kuki militants at Moirang, in which one senior citizen was killed and six others were injured. Today morning, the Kuki militants attacked a village in Jiribam, killing a senior citizen. The militants kept firing and ran away. Some village volunteers retaliated, and when the Jiribam police reached the area, they were fired at, after which the police also fired back,” he said.
On Saturday, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), the main representative body of Meitei groups declared an indefinite public emergency in the state.
“In response to the rapidly escalating violence and the complicit role of the Indian Armed Forces in shielding immigrant Kuki militants, COCOMI has declared a state of Public Emergency in Manipur, effective immediately. The declaration comes after months of violence, particularly the recent drone and missile attacks targeting civilians, which have resulted in multiple casualties. The people of Manipur…now face a coordinated proxy war by the Indian government and its military allies,” the body stated in a statement shared with this newspaper.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Khuraijam Athouba, a prominent face of the organization alleged that it was clear that the Kuki groups were directly or indirectly getting support from bordering countries, while referring to Myanmar and Bangladesh and from the United States of America.
The United States deep state has been accused of allegedly supporting the Kukis as most of them practise Christianity.
“Today we have issued an ultimatum to the government in Imphal and Delhi that if the Indian Armed Forces fail to address the crisis within five days, drastic steps will be taken by the people to protect themselves and the indigenous population, including the expulsion of central forces from Manipur. The Assam Rifles is taking a complicit approach and are aiding Kuki militants, who continue to attack indigenous people. The people of Manipur have lost trust in the central forces’ approach,” Athouba told this newspaper.
The influential group claimed that rocket and drone attacks were launched from militant camps located near Assam Rifles positions, yet no intervention was made by the forces.
“The Indian government’s response has been limited to dismantling bunkers in photo-ops, with no real measures to stop the aggressors. On 5 September missile strikes targeted Tronglaobi and Moirang in Bishnupur district, fired from a distance of 7 km. Despite the visible launch sites and remains of the projectiles being recovered, no Central forces have acted,” another member of the group claimed.
The Sunday Guardian’s messages to Chief Minister Biren Singh and retired IPS officer and former CRPF chief Kuldiep Singh, who was appointed as the security advisor in May last year, seeking response on the allegations and claims made by Meitei groups elicited no response by the time of the story going to print.
In an indication of how precariously things are placed in the state, the Meitei groups on Saturday indirectly gave a call to people to arm themselves to protect themselves and prepare for any adversaries.
They also asked the Central security forces to show visible action against the Kuki groups within three days or leave the state or confine themselves to their camps.
Meira Paibis, the Meitei women’s groups and local clubs have been asked stop any movement of the Central armed forces within civilian areas and border zones if no progress is seen within three days, while asking the state police “to protect the citizens of Manipur” and join the movement if Central forces obstruct their duty.
Representatives of the Meitei groups, in a picture shared with The Sunday Guardian, claimed the presence of camps spread at 16 locations in and around Manipur that housed Kuki armed groups. All these camps are located on hills that surround the state. Athouba said that they have received reports of high-end batteries that are used in drones, too being sent to Manipur from neighboring states for possible use in drone attacks on Meiteis.
“Manipur has a 398 km open border from where armed terrorist groups are entering. Public declarations from the United States providing support to Kuki groups have also been made. We have raised these issues at multiple levels. Right now in Manipur, there are 65,000 Central armed forces, 35,000 state police. This total of 1 lakh armed forces are not being able to stop the 25 Kuki armed groups…how is that possible? The Assam Rifles has been coordinating with these Kuki groups in counterinsurgency operations since 2005. That is why they are becoming complacent when it comes to Kuki groups. We demand the replacement of Assam Rifles with any other Central force, be it CRPF or BSF,” he said.
“You will be surprised to know that some of these Kuki groups, that are taken so seriously by some politicians in Delhi, have only 11 to 13 cadres. They are just gangs, yet they were invited to Delhi for talks and then are sheltered in camps which were built surrounding the valley. Assam Rifles is using these Kuki armed groups as their proxy arm. Meiteis are Hindu, so people outside Manipur think that we are getting support from the BJP, but there is nothing like that. We are facing a lot of trouble. The Kuki armed groups, post 2005, started strengthening themselves, got into narco trade as they were being cared for by the government at the Centre and the state because they were seen as influential Kuki armed groups. In return, what these groups did was to bring people from Myanmar and Bangladesh, settle them here and adopt villages,” he claimed.
Sources in Manipur said that large-scale violence between Kuki armed groups and members of Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei armed organisation cannot be ruled out in the coming days. When questioned about the role of the Meitei armed group, representatives of COCOMI told The Sunday Guardian that they were not dealing with the activities of Arambai Tenggol.
Undated videos seen by The Sunday Guardian showed armed groups, alleged to be Kukis, flashing rocket launchers at a congregation.
Earlier in the year, The Sunday Guardian had reported how armed forces were losing ground (Challenge for security forces as armed militias keep Manipur on the boil, March 3).
Six months down the line, things have taken a turn for the worse in a state which is a part of the “Chicken’s Neck” corridor, a narrow stretch of land that connects India’s northeastern states to the rest of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the matter and is considering a raft of policies to contain the situation created by Myanmar Kukis.