Assam Chief Minister and North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Imphal on Saturday — his first visit to Manipur since violence began on May 3. Calling it a “goodwill visit”, he met his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh and other stakeholders.
After his arrival at the Imphal airport around 9 am, Sarma headed directly to meet Singh at his official residence. He spent over two hours in the Chief Minister’s bungalow after which he went to Hotel Classic Grande, where he held separate meetings with different stakeholders, including state cabinet ministers, party leaders and civil society organisation representatives.
“I came to Manipur to meet Chief Minister Singh, his cabinet colleagues, party leaders, and civil society organisations. For us, peace and stability in Manipur is very important. Whatever I have learned during the day or whatever discussion I had, I will report the same to the Union Home Minister for further necessary actions,” said Sarma.
Asked about his discussions with Singh, Sarma said, “I have come here only for confidence-building measures. I should have come a little earlier. I was feeling a little guilty that I did not come during the last month, so that is why my visit is purely a goodwill visit, nothing more than that. Let us pray to the Almighty that peace not only comes to Manipur but stays in Manipur.”
Responding to queries on the possibility of a change in leadership, Sarma reiterated that his visit was purely to discuss and create confidence-building measures.
Sarma did not meet any Kuki leaders during his visit, which was restricted to Imphal. “I could not meet the Kuki leaders today. But as and when the need arises, we can contact them,” he said.
Sources in Delhi said MLAs and civil society representatives from Kuki groups have been invited to Assam on Sunday for talks with Sarma. “If they cannot go to Assam, Sarma has been asked by Home Minister Amit Shah to travel to Manipur again, which he is likely to do on Sunday or Monday. The central government is keen that the issue is resolved soon and the state returns to normalcy,” said sources.
“A fresh process for reconciliation has begun and the Assam CM has been asked to find ways to ease the tension,” said sources, adding that Shah has instructed Sarma to meet all the stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the announcement of a peace committee led by Governor Anusuiya Uikey was met with some ambivalence by both Meitei and Kuki groups, as episodes of violence continue in the state.
Khuraijam Athouba, spokesperson of COCOMI — an umbrella body of Meitei civil society organisations — said that dialogue would be contingent on stopping the “shooting and attacking from the hills’ side”.
f“We have to be in dialogue, the matter cannot be resolved on the battlefield, it will have to come down to the negotiating table. But right now, the main stakeholders from the Kuki side like the ITLF [Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum] and Meitei CSOs are yet to formally initiate a dialogue. Until shooting and attacking, particularly from the hills’ side, stops, things won’t be able to go back to normalcy. Once that kind of sense prevails, we can have a dialogue,” he said.
Kuki groups also referred to the recent incidents of violence as an obstruction to dialogue. Early Friday morning, three people were killed in a Kuki village.
“The Union Home Minister had appealed for 15 days of peace from our side during his visit, but every day we have been facing violence, even yesterday. Even if the Governor comes to our town, these are the questions we will be asking. We will be ready for dialogue if the attacks stop,” said ITLF president Muan Tombing.
Another issue he raised was the inclusion of Chief Minister Singh in the peace committee. “The Chief Minister should not be there as he is the one who started this… We don’t have any trust in the state government, we can only talk to the central government,” he said.
Thangminlen Kipgen, a member of Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the community, said he was speaking in his personal capacity while saying, “It would be wrong to say that we oppose the formation of the committee. However, other measures of peace can only be initiated when violence is absent. It’s very difficult to make people understand and have confidence building when peripheral villages are attacked?”
Meanwhile, the Manipur government on Saturday extended the ban on internet services for five more days, till 3 pm on June 15. Curfew was relaxed for longer periods in most of the districts, particularly in Imphal East and Imphal West.
With ENS inputs from New Delhi