DIMAPUR — The Indigenous Women Forum of Northeast India (IWFNEI) and Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) have condemned the outbreak of ‘ethnic violence in Manipur and the carnage that followed.’
Calling for an immediate cessation of violence, IWFNEI and AIPP, in a joint press communiqué, alleged that the events that unfolded have brought to light the totally inept handling of the situation by the Manipur state government and its highly questionable role that has resulted in loss of lives and properties, displacements, burning of places of worship and houses and other numerous human rights violations.
Such human rights violations constitute blatant crimes against humanity, the two organisations said.
“It has been observed that Manipur has been rife with ethnic tensions for long due to divisive majoritarian politics, social discrimination, inequitable distribution of development funds and lack of transparency in recruitment to Government jobs,” the joint communiqué stated.
In addition, existing major issues such as immigration, land and territorial rights including drugs and contraband trafficking in the trans Indo-Myanmar border over the years and the ambivalent attitude of successive governments and its failure to appropriately address these problems have ultimately culminated in the present violence, it added.
Alleging that the modern-day politics of Manipur is shaped by divisive vested interests, which resulted in eliminating any common ground among the people of Manipur, IWFNEI and AIPP felt that dealing with the present case of violence must also necessarily deal with the conditions that created them.
“To bring about healing, politics must emphasise the common good and cooperation as part of the search for meaningful reconciliation, or it will be yet another divisive politics. This will offer an alternative perspective that can help people find a common ground towards co-operation and understanding,” it said.
While appealing to all parties to restrain from hateful speech and provocative misinformation for normalcy to return, the two organisations also pointed out that peace and reconciliation efforts would not yield results or solve the problem unless the political reality is objectively accounted for with sincerity and honesty.
“This demands immense courage from all parties, and we further appeal to all communities, leaders and right-thinking people to reason together to find a common ground for long-term reconciliation. To start with, we must admit that violence is not the answer, and we must refrain from it,” IWFNEI and AIPP stated.
