Fresh violence may derail peace process in India’s Manipur

A Church leader in India’s Manipur has expressed concern that the latest killings in a fierce gunfight between tribal Kuki militants and security forces may lead to “further escalation of violence” in the troubled northeastern state.

At least 11 militants, who were described as “village volunteers” by their tribal body, were killed when security forces claimed to have “repulsed an attack on a police station” by them on Nov. 11.

The fresh bout of violence will “increase animosities between rival groups” and “may jeopardize the federal government’s initiative to restore peace” in the state, the Church leader who did not want to be named due to security concerns told UCA News on Nov. 12.

Government sources said two personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured as the militants in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at the Borobekra police station in Jiribam district.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) condemned the killings of tribal men and denied the government’s claim that they were militants.

The tribal body in a statement on Nov. 12 expressed deep sorrow over the “tragic loss of our 11 brave volunteers.”

The gunfight comes close after the burned corpse of a Kuki woman was found in the district last week.

The woman was reportedly killed by Meitei gunmen in Zairawan village on Nov. 7.
The ITLF claimed that “the CRPF personnel posted nearby refused to fire even one shot to help the villagers.”

They stayed put in their camp as the village was pillaged and burnt for over an hour by the Meitei armed attackers. But they brutally killed 11 Hmar village volunteers “who were on patrolling duty to sanitize the area where the indigenous woman was killed,” it alleged.

The Hmar people are a smaller group within the Kuki.

“They are martyrs who selflessly gave their lives for our land,” the statement said, adding that “their sacrifice will serve as a beacon of hope” and “motivate us to keep defending our land.”

The ITLF questioned the bias of the personnel from CRPF, a federal paramilitary force, against the indigenous people.

The hilly state of Manipur bordering civil war-hit Myanmar has witnessed unprecedented violence since May 3 last year.

The long-standing tensions between the predominantly Hindu Meitei majority and mostly Christian Kuki people revolve around their claims over land and government jobs.

The state has continued to witness sporadic violence that claimed the lives of over 230 and displaced 60,000, a majority of them Christians.

Manipur is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The tribal people are opposed to any peace deal with the BJP’s Chief Minister N Biren Singh who is a Meitei. They want a separate administrative setup for their districts directly under the control of the federal government.

Tribal people make up 41 percent of Manipur’s 3.2 million people while Meiteis form 53 percent and dominate the politics and economy of the state.

This article was originally published on https://www.ucanews.com/news/fresh-violence-may-derail-peace-process-in-indias-manipur/106973