Explosive Tensions Erupt in Manipur: Emotional Kuki-Zo and Meitei Protests Intensify Amid Armed Conflict
In Manipur, dual protest demonstrations unfolded on Tuesday, creating a charged atmosphere while remaining peaceful. In Churachandpur, a major Kuki-Zo settlement, hundreds of participants dressed in black marched with empty coffins, seeking justice for community members killed in a clash with the Central Reserve Police Force and Manipur Police on November 11 in Jiribam district. The deceased, whose bodies remain in the Churachandpur district hospital morgue awaiting post-mortem reports, were claimed by the Joint Philanthropic Organisation (JPO) to be village volunteers, contrary to police descriptions as militants. Demonstrators, advocating for justice and autonomous administration in hill areas, concluded their march at the ‘Wall of Remembrance’ memorial and submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Simultaneously, in the Meitei-dominated Imphal West district, various civil society organizations defied the curfew to rally against the recent killings of six Meitei women and children by Kuki militants, a Meitei youth’s death by police, and the reimposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in several areas of the state. The AFSPA, criticized by AMUCO President Ph Nando Luwang as a “draconian and black law,” grants the armed forces extensive powers in disturbed areas, a measure reintroduced in response to ongoing ethnic violence. The reimposed AFSPA affects six police station areas, including those recently troubled by violence.
The state government has conditionally lifted a suspension on broadband services to alleviate public distress but maintained the ban on mobile data services following the unrest-driven internet shutdown in seven districts. As tensions escalate, the state’s partial restoration of internet services reflects a balancing act amid security concerns and public needs.
Original Story https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/tensions-rise-in-manipur-kuki-zo-and-meitei-communities-hold-protests-amid-armed-conflict/articleshow/115462315.cms
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Publish Date: 2024-11-20 00:26:00
