At a ‘peace rally’ staged on Sunday at Jantar Mantar in this city, members of Manipur civil society and student organisations urged that the government stop the flow of ‘illegal migrants’ from Myanmar into the state. Many residents of the state who reside in the capital of India attended the event, which was planned by the Manipur Coordinating Committee, Delhi, a group of student and civil society organisations.
A committee member identified Chan Meitei stated that the event was held to protest ‘divisive forces and external aggression’ that the people of Manipur were subjected to and to call for peace in the state. Participants urged the administration to prevent ‘illegal migrants’ from Myanmar from entering Manipur.
‘The illegal migrants from Myanmar are responsible for the unrest and violence faced by Manipur. They indulge in poppy cultivation that has also added to deforestation on the hills,’ said Joy, a medical student from Thoibal in Manipur.
The committee members recommended that the government also stop the violence carried out by Kuki ‘militants’ who have emigrated from Myanmar. ‘All the stakeholders of Manipur are equally responsible to bring peace and development in the state. Manipuri Kukis are our relatives, brothers and sisters and we are not against them,’ said Prem Meetie, who also took part in the rally.
The Manipur state government said earlier this week that the ethnic violence that erupted there a month ago resulted in at least 98 deaths and 310 injuries. Currently, there are 37,450 people living in 272 help camps.
On May 3, after the hill districts held a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to protest the Meitei community’s petition for Scheduled Tribe designation, fighting first broke out. The majority of Meiteis, who make up around 53% of Manipur’s population, reside in the Imphal Valley. Another 40% of the population is made up of the tribal Nagas and Kukis, who live in the hill districts.
To restore peace in the state, over 10,000 Army and Assam Rifles soldiers have been sent in.
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