Imphal, May 2: Both Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar community organisations would organise separate programmes on Saturday to mark the second anniversary of the outbreak of ethnic conflict in Manipur.
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the key bodies of the majority Meitei community, is set to organise a public convention at Khuman Lampak in Imphal on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, the COCOMI would hold a candlelight tribute to the martyrs and victims of ethnic violence at Kangla Nongpok Thong. COCOMI Convenor Khuraijam Athouba said that leaders of various civil society organisations (CSOs), eminent personalities, scholars, intellectuals, Journalists, ethnic community representatives, violence-affected displaced persons, village volunteers and people from all walks of life are expected to participate in both the events.
According to Athouba, the convention is being convened to deliberate on the ongoing ethnic crisis and to adopt resolutions aimed at restoring peace and normalcy. COCOMI has appealed to the public to attend the convention in large numbers and has urged citizens to refrain from regular activities on May 3 in solidarity with the cause.
“The decisions to be taken during the convention would reflect the will of the people and serve as a roadmap towards peace,” Athouba said. To observe the second anniversary of the outbreak of ethnic hostilities, various organisations of Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities would hold numerous programmes in the state, as well as in Guwahati, Delhi, and Bengaluru. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), one of the leading organisations of the Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribals in Manipur, would mark the day as “Separation Day”.
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13, four days after the resignation of N. Biren Singh as Chief Minister. The 60-member Manipur Assembly, which, after the promulgation of President’s Rule, has been put under suspended animation, has a tenure till 2027.
Over 250 people were killed, 1500 injured, and over 70,000 people displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo people on May 3, 2023, after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’, organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
The rioting also left thousands of houses, government and non-government properties, and religious installations destroyed or damaged. In a bid to resolve the two-year-long ethnic hostilities, the first tripartite meeting between the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the representatives of Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities was held in New Delhi on April 5.
IANS