CoTU imposes emergency blockade on NH-102, NH-37
Correspondent
IMPHAL, JUN 21: Search operations conducted by security forces at Kuki villages in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district sparked protests including blockade along NH-102 and NH-37 that pass through the district on Sunday.
Manipur police, in a post on its official social media handles, said that a joint team of state police, CRPF, and the Army was conducting search operations in the general areas of Leilon Vaiphei and Konsakhul in Kangpokpi district since Saturday night.
Notably, the two neighbouring villages – Leilon and Konsakhul – are the epicenter of the recent hostage stand-off between the Naga and Kuki tribes.
The six Liangmai Naga hostages whose mortal remains were recovered on June 10 after nearly a month of disappearance by the Kuki armed groups were allegedly detained by the villagers of Leilon village before being taken hostage by armed groups.
Amid persisting tensions between the two villages, three Kuki individuals which many Naga-based CSOs claimed to be militants were injured in a gunfight.
Days after the gun clash, the security forces have also conducted an operation to flush out armed groups from the area recently. Sunday’s operation was the second time in recent times in which the joint team of state police, CRPF and the Army conducted combing operation.
Though the police did not provide details regarding the operation in its posts on the social media platforms., various sources which could not be officially confirmed till the time of filing this report alleged that there were gunfights between the security forces and suspected militants during the operations.
Another report said that security forces also conducted similar operations in Leimakhong and Kangchup areas of the district.
In the meantime, describing “partial and selective security operations”, the Committee of Tribal Unity (CoTU), Kangpokpi imposed a flash emergency blockade along the two national highways – NH-102 and NH-37 – with immediate effect from 4pm today until further notice.
Following the announcement, strike supporters, particularly womenfolk, came out on the streets along the NH-102 in Gamgiphai area of Senapati district adjoining Kangpokpi district and imposed the blockade by placing boulders and setting tyres on fire on the road, reports said.
The CoTU reportedly termed the operations as “partial and selective security operations” and urged the Central government to act decisively, impartially, and without delay to prevent further loss of innocent lives. Medical emergencies, ambulances and humanitarian relief activities were being exempted from the purview of the blockade.
The CoTU reportedly appealed to the public to maintain peace, discipline, and restraint during the course of the protest while asserting that the apex body is committed to protecting the rights, security, and dignity of the Kuki-Zo people.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), the apex body of the Kuki tribes, also strongly condemned the operation in Kuki inhabited areas while calling it as “selective and disproportionate” security operations targeting Kuki villages and village volunteers.
In a statement widely circulated on the internet, the apex body alleged that the Kuki people have faced repeated attacks, displacement, and destruction of homes, with little action against those responsible.
It alleged that armed cadres of NSCN-IM and its proxy outfit, known as the Kamson Group, were responsible for killing 14 Kuki civilians and burning 11 Kuki villages.
“Yet, there has been little visible action against the perpetrators or their known bases,” the KIM lamented, while alleging that despite knowing this, the operations continued to concentrate on Kuki villages, particularly in the Kangchup and Leilon Vaiphei areas.
Alleging that the security forces were conducting search operations in these areas repeatedly, the KIM asserted that these repeated combing operations have created fear among innocent civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, who are already victims of violence and insecurity.
The KIM further alleged that even after the recent bomb attack at L Munlui village, where three young Kuki boys were injured, operations were again directed toward “victimized Kuki villages rather than against those responsible for the attack.”
This, it said, raised serious questions about the impartiality and priorities of the security response.
The apex body claimed that village volunteers were formed “out of necessity to protect vulnerable villages in the absence of adequate security.”
They were not “aggressors”, but “defenders” of life, property, women, children, and the elderly and criminalizing or harassing them while failing to act against armed groups responsible for attacks was unjust and unacceptable, the KIM stated.
The apex body then said that “Peace cannot be achieved by treating victims as suspects while perpetrators enjoy impunity.”
“Justice, fairness, and equal protection under the law must guide every action of the government and its security agencies,” it added.