The Kuki National Organisation, an umbrella organisation of 11 Kuki insurgent groups in Manipur, has said it was not involved in Sunday’s gunfight with Manipur Police commandos. The KNO’s statement came on the heels of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh informing the media on Sunday of the shootouts between Manipur Police commandos and insurgent groups in which 40 militants were killed. “We were not involved in the violence yesterday at all and had not engaged in any shootout. The Manipur state forces had come to these areas armed with automatic weapons and started attacking these areas – it was an institutionalised attack,” said KNO spokesperson Seilin Haokip Monday. “From our side, we know that the number of casualties from yesterday’s violence is three,” added Haokip. KNO sources pointed out that while the cadres “had not been affected” at all in the violence, some “volunteers were affected”. The 'volunteers’ are men who have volunteered to defend their villages from any attack, and not from groups which signed the Suspension of Operation (SoS) pact on August 22, 2008. Manipur Police officials said two people were killed and 12 injured in Sunday’s violence. Officials in Manipur Sunday said that there had been a direct confrontation between armed militants and the Manipur Police in five different areas on the outskirts of Imphal Valley. The chief minister further said that the government had identified 38 vulnerable areas where operations were being carried out. Haokip has, meanwhile, alleged that in the initial violence, when places in Imphal were attacked, the mob belonging to the Meitei community “were led by commandos of the Manipur police, who fired through any barricades set up by residents”. “The commandos have also been at the forefront of mobs which have been attacking villages in the foothills. Where are the SoO groups? SoO groups are in designated camps and elsewhere. The security forces have carried out camp inspections and reports have been filed. So, SoO groups have not been involved in the fight. There are non-SoO groups that may have been involved. There is no question of SoO groups engaging with security forces. If SoO groups were involved in the encounters, there would be a far higher number of casualties from the other side,” said Haokip. “We don’t want violence to spread; we want it contained. But from the outset, there has been ethnic cleansing. Engaging in violence is not to our advantage at all, it is to our disadvantage,” added Haokip. A statement released by the KNO Sunday ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Manipur said peace needed to be restored and justice meted out quickly. “We, the peace-loving Kuki Zo tribe, have been forced to protect our lives when attacked by the armed mobs supported by various agencies with vested interests. We acknowledge the deployment of Central Forces in troubled areas as a positive step to safeguard our community from further attack,” the statement said. “Now that the Honourable Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah is visiting Manipur for three days for an on-the-spot study of the situation to find a solution to the ongoing ethnic clashes, we view the Union government’s initiative positively. This planned visit has given a sense of security to the Kuki Zo tribe. We look forward to his actions and directions to end this ongoing ethnic clash between the two communities,” it added.
