Manipur CSOs confirmtalks with MHA on June 30

Three prominent civil society organizations – COCOMI, AMUCO, and FOCS – on Saturday decided to send a 19-member delegation to New Delhi to participate in the third round of dialogue with officials of the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA).
The MHA, in its renewed effort to address the protracted ethnic crisis in Manipur, is set to hold a separate third round of crucial dialogue with Meitei based CSOs and Kuki based armed groups under suspension of operation (SoO) next week.
Sources said that the MHA officials will hold the third round of the talks with the Meitei based CSOs on June 30 and another with Kuki armed groups under the SoO truce July 4.
A joint meeting of leaders of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), All Manipur United Clubs Organization (AMUCO) and Federation of Civil Societies (FOCS) held in Imphal today discussed the invitation for the dialogue provided by the MHA.
Addressing a press conference after the joint meeting, COCOMI coordinator Khuraijam Athouba informed that the meeting, after a thorough deliberation of the recent development, resolved to send a joint delegation of 19 members for the dialogue.
During earlier talks with the MHA officials, the CSOs had sent their delegations separately and held the dialogues separately.
“This time we decided to send a joint delegation to hold talks together with the MHA officials,” Athouba said.
He observed that as the crisis instead of improving, showed no signs of ending it anytime in the near future , the three CSOs decided to table what the people of Manipur wanted together to the MHA officials.
The 19-member delegation will comprise seven members each from COCOMI and AMUCO and five members from FOCS, he said, adding that the delegation will leave Imphal for New Delhi tomorrow by different flights.
The COCOMI coordinator said that the meeting will focus on addressing the pressing issues impacting peace and stability in the conflict-ridden state.
The delegation will present the public sentiments and ground realities to the Central authorities, aiming for a constructive and sustainable resolution to the prolonged crisis, he added.
The Centre through the Union ministry of home affairs has initiated dialogues with the leaders of various CSOs of both the communities (Meitei and Kuki) in conflict.
Led by AK Mishra (MHA advisor for northeast, the Centre initiated dialogues with the CSOs of both the communities.
The dialogues began on April 5, with both Meitei and Kuki-Zo delegations participating.
The Meitei side was represented by AMUCO and FOCS, while the Kuki delegation included members of the Kuki-Zo Council, Kuki Inpi Manipur, Zomi Council, United Zou Organisation, and Hmar Inpi.
The second round on May 27 saw participation from COCOMI and FOCS, but AMUCO stayed away.
So far, the meetings, attended by A.K. Mishra and Rajesh Kamble of the MHA, ended without resolution.
The Meitei CSOs were opposing any extension of the SoO agreement while insisting on unrestricted movement along the national highways which was first initiated by the Union home ministry.
Apart from bringing up these issues once again, the joint delegation of Meitei CSOs will also raise concerns about ongoing attacks on farmers by alleged Kuki militants, particularly in peripheral areas, a leader of the FOCS attending the news conference said.
He said that the scheduled June 30 meeting is viewed as pivotal in reopening trust channels and initiating confidence-building measures, particularly in light of continued rural violence and concerns about law enforcement failures.