When the narrative of Kuki militant involvement in attacking the Meitei people in the Khamenlok incident is at its peak, the Khamenlok area villages’ chiefs are in strong opposition to such narrative as they demand the Governments to allow the Suspension of Operations groups to protect them if the security forces are not capable of protecting them and their villages.
In the aftermath of the Khamenlok violence incident where around ten villages had been burnt down, the villages’ chief of the Khamenlok area jointly came out to condemn the incident in the strongest term and also clarified the alleged false and misleading media reports over the incident.
Thangminlal Chongloi, chief of H. Khopibung village; Haokholen Touthang, chief of Chullouphai village; Paojalet Touthang, chief of Aigejang, A. Phainom, and A. Leikot village; Thangjangam Guite, chief of Khamenlok village; Jangkholun Touthang, chief of T. Jordanphai village; Letkholal Lupheng, chief of Govajang village; Letkhojang Touthang, chief of Thombol village; and Ziltong Manlun, chief of Songjang village have jointly issued a clarification against the allegedly false and misleading media reports on the incident while putting the fact on straight.
The Khamenlok area villages’ chiefs alleged that thousands id heavily armed Meitei militants including the banned UNLF cadres and militias aided by armed personnel drawn from Manipur Police Commandos and IRB attacked villages under Khamenlok area in Saikul Sub Division of Kangpokpi for three consecutive days on June 12 till 14 leading to destruction of our villages namely H. Khopibung, Khamenlok, Chullouphai, Aigejang, A. Leikot, A. Phainom, Thombol, T. Jordanphai, Songjang and Govajang.
The villages’ chiefs also categorically described the attack and destruction as “calculated state sponsored design” at displacing them from their homeland.
The chiefs also stated that our valiant defense of our villages with every weapon at our disposal including local made piped guns, and licensed SBBL guns have not been able to withstand the tide of thousands of armed Meitei militants aided by Manipur state police commandos and IRB that finally led to the total destruction of ten villages in the area.
While we have escaped with our lives to seek refuge in neighboring Kuki villages, we can say with pride that our defiant defense of our villages has led to several casualties on our side and there are death of scores of well-armed meiteis who have been terrorizing our areas since the morning of June 12, the chiefs stated.
The chiefs then stated that while we were busy defending our villages, the media houses based at Imphal valley controlled by the Meiteis have painted us to be Kuki militants with spins as absurd as to say that we were the attackers of this terror campaign unleash upon us, for no fault of ours other than to belong to the minority Kuki Tribes.
While the lies and fabrication of facts and circumstances of Meitei print media houses were expected, the fact that the celebrated print media houses such as ‘The Hindu’, ‘The Indian Express’, etc. would spin the Meitei narrative of being the victims of Kukis attack is unfathomable, the chiefs stated.
The Hindu in its article ‘Manipur Violence: at least 11 killed in late night attack in Khamenlok painted us, the Khamenlok area ‘Village Defense Volunteers’ as Kuki militants armed with sophisticated weapons is far from the truth. The fact is that the deaths reported in this article are that of those armed Meitei militants at Aigejang village on the night of June 13. The armed Meitei militants after having destroyed Khopibung on the evening of June 12 went on to carry their destruction campaign at Khamenlok and Chullouphai villages and subsequently at Aigejang village after having exhausted our defense volunteers of almost all ammunition, the villages’ chiefs stated.
On the night of June13, having learned that several armed Meiteis were seeking shelter at partly burnt Aigejang village to carry out further campaigns of destructions of the neighboring villages, the Village Defence Volunteers in a least- ditch attempt to thwart their design carried out a daring attack on the armed Meiteis taking shelter at Aigejang and inflicted several casualties mainly through our piped guns.
Having exhausted all our ammunition and gun powder to power our piped guns, the armed Meiteis with the help of reinforcements sent by the Manipur Government burnt down all the remaining villages of our area on June 14.
“The attack and assault on the Kuki villages on the day of June 14 was directly supervised and commanded by the CM N.Biren Singh, Minister Th. Bishwajit Singh and Leisemba Sanajaoba, MP who stationed at Nongsum Meitei village the whole day till the house burning campaigns were over, alleged the Khamenlok Area Villages’ chiefs.
The chiefs further stated that having been at the receiving end of a state sponsored destruction of our community with the Indian Army failing to protect us, we agree upon the Government of India to allow the armed Kuki militants under suspension of Operations (SoO) to defend what remains of the Kuki settlements henceforth or direct the Indian Army to take sufficient measures to protect us.
This appeal to the Government of India is made so that Kuki settlements giving us refuge now may not meet the same fate as we did, the chiefs stated.
The Khamenlok area villages’ chiefs also appeal to renowned and responsible media houses such as “The Hindu’ and “The Indian Express’ to not paint the victims as aggressors and armed aggressors as Meitei villagers.
A modest check on the Meitei deaths within our villages should explain how you term as villagers’ are but armed meiteis who have come all the way from distant places to carry out their campaign of destruction of our settlements, the chiefs further stated.
The villages’ chief also stated that a FIR on the destruction of our villages and properties shall be lodged and the State Government that sponsored these acts of terrors by arming the Meiteis to carry out their ethnic cleansing campaign upon the minority peace loving Kukis should also be booked in accordance with the law of the country.
While stating that having also faced the full destructive might of Manipur Government, common and armed Meiteis upon us, the Khamenlok Area Villages’ chiefs fervently appeal to the Government of India to urgently take up the issue of Separate Administration of the Tribals living in present day Manipur, particularly the Kukis so that no community shall not ever carry out destructive ethnic cleansing campaign against us in the future.
