Manipur Group Asks Centre Not To Hold Talks With Insurgents

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of several Imphal-based civil society organisations, on Tuesday urged the Centre not to hold talks with Kuki militant groups claiming that members of those bodies are responsible for the current turmoil in the state.

The influential group in Manipur representing the majority Meitei community also claimed that members of Kuki militant groups are "foreigners".

"We have received inputs from sources in the media that the government of India is scheduled to hold talks with the Kuki outfits on Wednesday. We are totally against it," COCOMI Convenor Jitendra Ningomba told a press conference at Imphal.

The government should not hold talks with any of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups.

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

"We are against any talk between Kuki militant groups and the government of India as those are made up of foreign nationals, Ningomba said.

He said the COCOMI will organise a rally on July 29 to press for its demand that the territorial integrity of the state cannot be compromised and no separate administration would be allowed.

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.

Meanwhile, in another press conference in New Delhi, COCOMI spokesperson Kh Athouba accused the state and union governments of not doing enough to stop violence in Manipur.

"It took four days to control the situation during the (2002) Gujarat riots. Why cannot the violence be controlled in a small state like Manipur, despite the deployment of force," he said.

Athouba also charged the Assam Rifles with supporting militants, and said their group is gathering supporting evidence, and demanded that some battalions of the paramilitary force be removed from the state.

Assam Rifles has already filed a sedition and defamation case against COCOMI after the organisation had given a call asking the majority community not to surrender weapons.

Ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state nearly three months ago, killing over 160 people since then, and injuring hundreds.

The violence erupted 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, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.

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