Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Tuesday apologised to the people of the state for the ethnic conflict occurring there since May 2023 and appealed to “forgive and forget” the past.
He also said “Peace is being restored in Manipur, and the only solution lies in discussion and dialogue, which the Central government has already initiated,” while addressing a news conference in Imphal.
However he came under attack of the Opposition leaders who said the CM failed to safeguard lives and livelihood of people and should, therefore, resign. Nearly 250 people, so far, have died in the violence.
The CM’s regret came couple of days after former Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla was appointed as Governor of Manipur.
“This entire year has been very unfortunate. I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what’s been happening today, since last May 3. Many people lost loved ones. Many people left their homes. I feel regret. I apologise. But now, I hope, after seeing the last three to four months progress towards peace, normalcy will be restored in the state in 2025,” Singh said.
sporadic violence since May 3, 2023, between the majority Meiteis and the Kukis over quotas and economic benefits. The ongoing violence has killed over 200 people and displaced thousands.
The Centre has deployed forces in vulnerable zones bordering the hill and valley districts, leading to a dip in incidents of firing in peripheral areas.
The Chief Minister said 2,058 displaced families have been resettled in their original homes in Imphal West, Imphal East, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur. To curb violence along the national highways, the government has deployed 17 and 18 additional companies of security personnel along NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) and NH-37 (Imphal-Silchar via Jiribam), respectively.
“Whatever happened has happened... I want to appeal to all communities to forgive and forget our past mistakes and start life afresh by living together in a peaceful and prosperous Manipur,” he said.
Singh said firing incidents have declined in the state over the last 20 months since the ethnic conflict began in May 2023.
“From May to October, 2023, 408 firing incidents were reported. From November 2023 to April 2024, there were 345 firing incidents, whereas from May this year till now, 112 firing incidents were reported,” he said.
He said that of all the looted weapons, 3,112 have been recovered and 2,511 explosives have been seized during the period. The chief minister further said that 625 people have been arrested and 12,047 FIRs registered so far.
More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
Meanwhile, Manipur, which has been witnessing prolonged ethnic violence between majority Meitei and tribal Kuki communities, accounted for about 77 per cent of the total violence in the entire northeastern region in 2023, according to the latest annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In 2023, Manipur witnessed an increase in violent incidents owing to the prevailing ethnic strife and the resultant increase in the casualties of civilians and security forces personnel as compared to 2022.
The state accounted for about 77 per cent of the total violent incidents in Northeastern region in 2023, according to the MHA annual report. Among the total 243 violent incidents occurred in the Northeast, 187 took place in Manipur.
The counter-insurgency operations in Manipur resulted in killing of 33 insurgents and arrest of 184 insurgents besides recovery of 49 weapons. Further, 80 cadres of insurgent outfits surrendered with 31 arms.
Large-scale ethnic violence erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur on May 3, 2023. The violence resulted in numerous casualties, injuries, and incidents of arson.
Though the issue of violence primarily relates to maintenance of public order, which is a state subject, the central government has been consistently extending its support, as required by the state government.
The annual report said the central government took a series of immediate and sustained actions to handle the situation. Immediate action was initiated by engaging with top officials of Manipur, progressively deploying additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces, Army and Assam Rifles columns, deploying helicopters and drones, and implementing a unified command system.
During the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah from May 29 to June one, 2023, he had held more than 15 meetings with government officers, officers of security forces, political leaders and more than 100 members of civil society organisations.
Further, as per the directions of the home minister, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai monitored the situation by staying in Manipur from May 25 to June 17, 2023.
Reacting to remarks made by Singh Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Annie Raja said the chief minister has no moral right to continue at the top post. RJD leader Manoj Jha said everyone has seen the visuals from ethnic strife-torn Manipur and Singh should check his “morality quotient”. “Everyone saw those visuals.... An audio clip was released recently, in which there were revelations about his conversation with the home minister...,” he said.
