Like Kashmir, go after terrorists from Myanmar too: Manipur group

GUWAHATI

An umbrella organisation of civil society groups in Manipur has asked the Union government to show as much urgency in dealing sternly with “terrorists from Myanmar” as it has done in the case of Jammu and Kashmir following the Pahalgam incident that killed 26 persons, including a Nepali citizen.

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) resented the Centre’s “double standards” in handling “similar” situations on two different frontiers of India.

“The Government of India continues to neglect the Manipur crisis while taking prompt action after the Pahalgam incident. It seems the Centre treats the people of Manipur as second class citizens,” COCOMI convenor Khuraijam Athouba said in State capital Imphal on Tuesday.

He said the Centre “appears to treat terrorist groups from Myanmar” in a friendly and complacent manner while responding aggressively to strikes by terrorists in Kashmir and other parts of the country.

Organisations in Manipur’s Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley claim Kuki “narco-terrorists”, many based in Myanmar, have been behind the ethnic conflict with the agenda of creating a separate homeland for Kuki-Zo tribal communities. Kuki-Zo organisations have trashed the claim.

“The government’s biased and unequal treatment of its citizens in different parts of the country has long been a serious concern,” Mr. Athouba said, underlining the Centre’s failure to resolve the crisis in Manipur for almost two years.

“The Government of India’s partial treatment toward the people of Manipur will only deepen the sense of alienation rather than promote integration with the rest of the country,” he said.

The COCOMI also criticised the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to visit the conflict-scarred State or meet with the internally displaced people.