COCOMI: Violence erupted on May 3 engineered, pre-planned by Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists; spearheaded by ITLF, CoTU

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a valley-based civil outfit, has claimed that the violence that erupted in Manipur on May 3 was engineered and pre-planned by Chin-Kuki Narco-Terrorists and spearheaded by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) and Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU).

In a statement issued on Friday, the Meitei coordinating body stated the Kuki-Chin Narco-Terrorists' long nurtured dream of achieving a separate administration, independent state or country had been shaping up in phase wise manner by earning huge profit from poppy cultivation and extortion on highways, looting and tax collection, etc.

COCOMI said: "Their call for establishment of self-government / separate administration in Kuki-Zo dominated areas of Manipur will only worsen the prevailing volatile situation and thereby upsetting the peaceful co-existence of the Kuki-Zo people themselves and would hinder further settlement of Kukis in Manipur", claiming that the governments at the Centre and State are aware of the illegal immigrants who are allegedly responsible for the violence in Manipur.

Recently, the External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, had also stated in New York that large influx of immigrants led to the present crisis in Manipur state, it stated.

COCOMI demanded that the centre and state governments should take up befitting action against those people or organisations who have been demanding separate administration or self-government.

It also said that the responsibilities of the turmoil and ethnic violence in Manipur should also be borne by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum and Committee on Tribal Unity.