Dismayed over the move to scraps FMR, Kuki Inpi urge GoI to reassess its course of action

Extremely perturbed over the decision to implement border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border and the move for the suspension of the Free Movement Regime, or the FMR, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kuki tribes urged the Government of India to reassessed its course of action stating the unforeseen development has prompted a profound sense of concern within the Kuki-Zo community amid the continuous aggression against the community.

The Kuki top body also stressed the cruciality of recognizing that border fencing will not address the complex challenges fuelling the ongoing crisis in the strife-torn Manipur state.

Janghaolun Haokip, Information & Publicity Secretary of KIM said that the apex body of the Kuki tribes has consistently asserted that the ongoing crisis in the Manipur region is a state-sponsored and pre-planned ethnic-cleansing directed against the Kuki-Zo people.

He said that Chief Minister N Biren Singh's allegations, attributing the misuse of the Free Movement Regime to insurgents from Myanmar, illegal immigrants, and drug traffickers crossing into Manipur to foment trouble are but a futile attempt to obscure the genuine roots of the ethnic conflict plaguing the Manipur region.

He also alleged that such allegations are designed as diversionary tactics, deflecting attention from the true genesis of the ongoing ethnic crisis and the involvement of N Biren Singh-led state government in fuelling and sponsoring the conflict in the region.

He then said that such a move could also be perceived as a distraction by the Manipur state government, potentially providing an opportunity to the Meitei State Forces and Valley-Based Insurgent Groups (VBIGs) to carry out further aggressions against the Kuki-Zo people.

He further said that the persistent plea by the Manipur state government for border fencing is rather aimed at deceiving the Government of India to endorse its chauvinistic agenda against the Kuki-Zo people while asserting that the plea also seeks to mask the erosion of democracy and constitutional norms within the state of Manipur under the leadership of N Biren, leading to unprecedented devastation in the Manipur region.

He alleged that the complete breakdown of law and order, coupled with the tyrannical, totalitarian, and oppressive rule of N Biren Singh against the Kuki-Zo community, poses a direct challenge to the constitutional values and principles of our great country.

Therefore, the crisis demands a thorough understanding of its origins to formulate a pragmatic response aimed at restoring peace, normalcy, and stability in the region, he added.

The apex body of the Kuki tribes also implored the government to redirect its attention towards putting an end to the targeted ethnic persecution unleashed by the Manipur government upon the Kuki-Zo.