Meitei Groups Seek Citizens' Register In Manipur To Identify Foreigners

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Imphal-based civil society organisations, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the northeastern state to identify illegal immigrants involved in narco trade.

In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the COCOMI also demanded that no separate administration be allowed for the Kukis as demanded by a section of the state's MLAs and others.

The central government should “ensure that the foreign elements including some of the leaders of the Kuki-Zomi Suspension of Operation (SoO) groups who are of foreign origin be identified and confined or deported to Myanmar,” the memorandum said.

The SoO was signed by the Centre, the Manipur government and two conglomerates of Kuki terrorists outfits - Kuki National Organisations and United Peoples Front. The pact was first signed in 2008 and extended periodically.

“The territorial integrity and the system of administration in Manipur should not be altered... Any change in the territorial integrity and administration may bring a death knell to many small tribal communities, which will be a great loss as even now they are highly marginalised,” the COCOMI said.

Ten tribal MLAs belonging to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group in Manipur have urged the Centre to create a separate administration for their community in the wake of the violent clashes between the Meiteis and tribals.

“To identify illegal immigrants, the National Register of Citizens must be implemented in the state with 1951 as the base year. This is to deprive illegal immigrants of being citizens though they may continue to stay as guests, if necessary, without indulging in destructive politics,” the memorandum read.

These are the resolutions adopted in a rally held on July 29 in Imphal, said the COCOMI, which on Sunday announced that it has decided to boycott the Manipur government for its failure to convene an emergency session of the assembly and inept handling of the ongoing unrest in the state.

The memorandum also claimed that the ongoing strife is a manifestation of the simmering tension over deforestation, illegal opium poppy cultivation and change in demography in certain areas of the state mainly caused by illegal immigrants from Myanmar.

More than 160 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals - the Nagas and the Kukis - constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

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