GUWAHATI: The Manipur government’s decision to destroy the illegal bunkers has met with opposition.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said the destruction of the bunkers would make the Kuki-Zo tribal villages more vulnerable to attacks from “radical Meitei gunmen and mobs”. The decision is not comforting for the Kuki-Zo tribals, it added.
After chairing a meeting of the Unified Command on Monday evening, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had said the government decided to deploy forces to destroy all bunkers built by the villagers.
The ITLF said despite the deployment of a massive number of security personnel and the setting up of military buffer zones, the tribal villages were being attacked almost every day, leading to deaths and the destruction of houses and properties.
“Meitei settlements do not need bunkers because tribals do not attack them; but for tribals, bunkers are an essential part of their defence against unending raids,” the tribal organisation said.
It further said the tribals cannot trust a CM who calls his fellow citizens ‘illegal immigrants’ and “openly sides” with one community despite being a state administrator.
“The CM’s partisanship was on full display during his recent visit to the Sagang area, in which Langja village was attacked by armed Meitei groups. He only visited and paid his condolences to the Meiteis, while totally ignoring the burning of 30 tribal houses and the brutal killing and beheading of an unarmed tribal youth,” the ITLF said.
It further stated that “cosmetic measures are not enough to control the violence”. It urged the Centre to show its fairness to all sides by implementing President’s rule in the state.
The violence in Manipur, which broke out on May 3, has so far left over 120 people dead and an estimated 50,000 others displaced.