The United People’s Front and the Kuki National Organisation, which work to protect the interests of the Kuki Zo community in Manipur, declared on Sunday that the killing of innocent people during ethnic conflict has caused great suffering and that the region will suffer if peace is not quickly restored. The two groups expressed their excitement for Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s upcoming visit to Manipur in a statement.
“The loss of innocent Kuki Zo lives brought on by escalating racial hostility has caused enormous suffering. The region’s residents will suffer if justice is not swiftly administered and peace is not speedily restored. We have endured unimaginable anguish as a result of the irreparable loss of our cherished brothers and sisters,” the statement stated.
The United People’s Front and the Kuki National Organisation paid tribute to those killed in the ongoing ethnic clashes in the northeastern state and claimed that the peaceful Kuki Zo tribe was forced to defend innocent lives when attacked by “armed mobs supported by various agencies with vested interests.” “We acknowledge the deployment of central forces in troubled areas as a positive step to safeguard our community from further attacks,” they said.
The two NGOs said they support the Centre’s approach now that the Union home minister is travelling to Manipur for three days to assess the situation and try to find a way to end the continuing ethnic conflicts. “The Kuki Zo tribe now feels secure as a result of this prearranged visit. We anticipate his initiatives and directives to put an end to the existing racial tensions between the two groups,” they stated.
The groups pleaded with the people of Kuki Zo to uphold peace as they awaited the results of Shah’s peace trip to the state. Shah recently said that he will soon go to Manipur for a three-day visit while speaking at a session in Assam.
Shah is expected to go to Manipur on May 29 to help end the present ethnic unrest, according to Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, who made the announcement during a news conference in Imphal. A “Tribal Solidarity March” was arranged in the hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s desire for Scheduled Tribe (ST) designation, which sparked the ethnic riots that have left more than 75 people dead in Manipur.
On Sunday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that since an operation to reestablish calm in the northeastern state was began, security personnel had killed over 40 armed terrorists who had been torching homes and shooting at people. Tension over the displacement of Kuki people from reserve forest area had caused a number of local agitations before to the violence.
