GUWAHATI: Given the ongoing political turmoil in Myanmar and the Manipur government linking the ethnic violence in the state to illegal migration, the state’s all 10 Kuki legislators on Thursday urged the Centre to come up with the actual figures on the influx of the refugees.
In a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah, they said the Kuki-Zo tribals felt greatly disheartened by the Centre’s statements in Parliament which “appears to tread the line of the Manipur government linking the ethnic cleansing” to the issue of illegal immigration.
“Therefore, we urge the central government to come up with actual figures of illegal immigration and refugee influx due to the political turmoil in Myanmar,” the legislators, seven of them from ruling BJP, wrote in the letter.
They requested the Centre to expedite the political dialogue for “political and administrative recognition of the ethnic separation that has been forced upon us by the majority (Meitei) community-dominated government of Manipur, which, we feel, will bring lasting peace.”
They said agreeing to Shah’s suggestions, they had shown the first goodwill gesture “despite being victims of ethnic cleansing” by convincing fellow Kukis to lift the economic blockade from National Highway 2.
“However, essential medical and other supplies to hill areas in Churachandpur, Chandel and Tengnoupal districts continued to be blocked by the Meitei community and the state government had failed to give any efforts to ensure the essential supplies reach the hill areas mentioned above,” the Kuki lawmakers said.
They alleged the state government was hell-bent upon trying to inject troops of the state commando unit into the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh “against the wishes of our people who hold them in great fear for their partisan credentials.”
They requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to intervene and stop the state government from trying to forcibly station state police commandos in hill areas.
They submitted that they might no longer be in a position to prevent their people from imposing any blockades in future as they felt let down by them (Kuki legislators) due to the absence of any reciprocal gesture from the Meiteis and the state government “that continues to attack our settlements”.