Kuki women in border town demand complete removal of Police Commandos from Moreh

The Kuki Women Union and Human Rights (KWU&HR), Moreh, on Friday organized a peaceful sit-in-protest for the complete removal of Manipur Police Commandos from Moreh town under Tengnoupal district.

Thousands of women gathered at the New Moreh playground, located in the India-Myanmar border town, to voice their concerns over the lackadaisical attitute of the government for its failure in withdrawing Police commandos from Moreh, and demanded justice for the same.

The women protesters held placards carrying messages such as: “Withdraw Commando Who Kill Us, We Don’t Want Communal Force, Remove Commando From Moreh, Killer Commando Go Back, Impose PR To Save Lives, Tribal Lives Matter, Govt of India, Find The Truth,” etc., among others.

During the demonstration, the protesters raised their voices in unison, shouting slogans such as: “Go Back Manipur Police Commando” and “To Regain Peace in Moreh Town, Remove Manipur Police Commando.”

The women protestors alleged that the Manipur Police Commandos were involved in several distressing incidents in past. On May 3, the commandos shot and killed two innocent minors at Moreh Bazar, following a road blockade orchestrated by unidentified miscreants. On May 5, the police commandos reportedly subjected civilians to physical assault. Those individuals were ambushed and assaulted by the commandos while they were attempting to pick up their children from Eklavya Model Residential School, Moreh (EMRS ) and Gateway International School, Moreh. The parents of the students had claimed that, in addition to the physical assault, the police commandos confiscated their service weapons and pointed guns at the innocent students too.

Speaking to media at the sideline of the protest, a representative from the Kuki Women Union and Human Rights group highlighted the constant threat faced by civilians due to the presence of communal forces, particularly the Police Commando. A woman who runs a tea stall at the road side at New Mongjang also narrated the police commandos' atrocities in several occasions. In an instance, she alleged, without any lady police assistance, the Police Commandos rushed to her tea stall and pushed her and also beat-up some NHIDCL labourers who were engaged in NH road construction. She said that the NHIDCL labourers were having tea and snacks at her stall when they thrashed them. She also alleged that the police commandos had looted her money amounting to over Rs. 8000.

The KWU&HR representative also emphasized that the pervasive fear created by the presence of the Police Commandos have disrupted the normalcy of Moreh town, and parents were terrified to send their children to school for fearing of their safety.