Centre holds meet of Manipur MLAs in peace outreach

At least 15 MLAs from the Meitei, Kuki-Zo-Hmar and Naga communities of strife-torn Manipur held peace talks with representatives of the central government on Tuesday and appealed to the people of the state to shun violence to prevent further loss of lives.
While the ministry of home affairs, which had extended the invitation to the MLAs for the meeting, said the leaders had unanimously called for peace, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), an umbrella body of tribal communities, clarified that officials of the central government held separate meetings with MLAs from the three communities.
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The Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs, in a statement, further asserted that any talks to restore peace can only take place once a separate administration is in place.
The meeting was attended by eight Meitei MLAs, four Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs and three Naga MLAs, along with northeast interlocutor AK Mishra, senior intelligence bureau officials, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs Sambit Patra and Ajeet Khopchade.
At the end of the nearly two-hours-long meeting, the MHA said: “A group of elected members of the Manipur Assembly, representing Kuki-Zo-Hmar, Meitei and Naga communities, met in New Delhi today to discuss on the current scenario in the state.”
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It further added: “The meeting unanimously resolved to appeal to the people of the state belonging to all communities to shun the path of violence so that no more precious lives of innocent citizens are lost.”
The statement from ITLF, an umbrella body of tribals communities based in the state’s Churachandpur district, said that Kuki-Zo-Hmar MLAs only held discussions with government’s representatives during which they insisted on a political solution in the form of a separate administration before starting any talks to restore peace.
“…the Kuki-Zo representatives affirmed that they are representing the voice of the people and will advocate solely for the people. They further assert that a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community is a prerequisite for any peace dialogue,” the joint statement said.
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“There can be no talk of peace until the demands of a political solution in the form of a separate administration or union territory are met,” the statement said.
On holding discussion with Meitei and Naga MLAs, the statement said, “We will have to consult our civil society organisations if we are to have joint talks with the Meitei and Naga MLAs.”
Despite calls and text messages, there was no response from the Meitei side or the CM’s office.
Significantly, Manipur chief minister Biren Singh was not part of the talks on Tuesday for which invitations were sent to the MLAs by the home ministry. Singh, who is a Meitei, has in the past rejected the idea of a separate administration.
With the Meitei and Kuki communities engaged in ethnic conflict for the past 17 months, the Naga MLAs have been meeting the elected representatives from both groups separately at different places such as Kolkata and Guwahati to broker peace.
Over 220 people have died and nearly 50,000 were rendered homeless in the clashes that have roiled the state since last year.