Memorandum submitted to Shri. Kiren Rijiju

21st May 2015

Kiren Rijiju with Michael L Haokip

Memorandum submitted to Shri. Kiren Rijiju
Honorable Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India
By Thadou Students' Association - General Headquarters on the 21st May, 2015

To seek justice in the mob killing of innocent Thadou tribal man, Mr. Semkhongam Haokip and brutal assault on three others, and for seeking permanent solution to the plights of tribal people of Manipur.

Honorable Sir,

We the undersigned, on behalf of the Thadou Students' Association - General Headquarters (TSA - GHQ) and representing Thadou tribe of Manipur, brings to your attention our serious concerns on the issue of the current communal-like situation in Manipur following the killing of two persons from the valley and the subsequent lynching of an innocent tribal man and brutal physical assault on two others, all belonging to Thadou tribe.

We vehemently condemn the 14th May 2015 incident involving the lynching of an innocent Thadou tribal man - Semkhongam Haokip, a truck driver, to death, the brutal assault on the other two occupants of the truck by the mob in Patsoi area in Imphal West district and the burning down of vehicles, in what is believed to be a retaliatory attack following the murder of two valley men at Thingsat village in Manipur's Sadar Hills on the 10th May, 2015 by a SoO signatory group Kuki Revoluntary Front (KRF) who claimed that it was an unintentional killing during an interrogation and that the duo were cadres of valley-based militant group Kangleipak Communist Party (Nando) who created disturbances in some tribal area.

We also condemn the torching of Church by the mob in Patsoi area which is the residence of one of the persons killed by KRF cadres. The killing of individuals from a particular community by another individual from another community should not be communalised. The truth is that neither Christianity nor the church condones killing; moreover, the killing in the hill had nothing to do with the Patsoi church or its members in the valley.

In a swift response to Thingsat incident, the State security forces in full swing launched a military operation in Thingsat area on the 13th May, 2015 and arrested a number of KRF cadres, suspected to be involved in the murder of the two valley men. While this is a laudable action on the part of the State Government, its failure to arrest, or make attempts to arrest, the culprits in the lynching of Semkhongam places the state administration in a lamentable state and raised a serious concern.

It is regrettable that the reaction to the Thingsat killing had blown out of proportion, with some people in the valley with vested interest taking the law into their own hands and killing an innocent tribal man and physically assaulting three others who all had nothing to do with the incident. Given that the suspected culprits in the Thingsat killing had been arrested and detained in police custody, the law should have been allowed to take its course of action without communalising the issue. If mob justice is justified then democracy and society itself is already in grave danger.

Events and circumstances leading to the death of Semkhongam, who was beaten to death by bandh enforcers on the road in Patsoi area, were most appalling in that the death was clearly a case of failure of the state administration and its intelligence agencies to pre-empt potential violence, especially given that the bandh was announced in advance.

There have been allegations that the security personnel placed on duty at Patsoi on the day turned a blind eye to, if not conniving with, the mob lynching and letting the persons involved in the mob lynching go scot free. If such is the state of affairs, then the tribal people are left to wonder if at all they have a place and a future under the administration of Manipur. This is not the first time the state's bias has been witnessed, and given the historical mistreatment of the tribal people, this probably will not be the last one.

The KRF cadres' action in now way finds any justification, however it also needs to be pointed out that the Government (s) has failed to engage Suspension of Operation (SoO)) signatory groups, a fallout being the Thingsat murder incident. Whilst any act of crime committed by any group or individual is unacceptable and is deserving of appropriate actions taken against according to the law of the land, it is imperative that the Central Government and State Government engage the SoO groups in a meaningful manner that seeks to ensure adherence to SoO ground rules and find a political solution to the issue of the legitimate demand for an autonomy for tribal people within the framework and principles of SoO pact that was signed between the Indian Government, Manipur State Government and the SoO groups under the banner of the United People's Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) way back on the 22nd August, 2008. The need for the Government to take serious and measurable steps or actions on the basis of respect and recognition of tribal people's history and current situation and the legitimacy of a demand for tribal autonomy with an aim of taking forward peace process to achieve a lasting or permanent solution cannot be emphasized enough.

While we appreciate the pressures placed on the Government due to complexities of the issue relating to SoO owing to various reasons, it is of utmost importance that the Government shows its commitment and the political will to address the issue.

In a highly ethnic-sensitive community like Manipur, it is vitally important that the Government does not in any fashion undermine the interests of one ethnic group while siding with another group for political gains. The minority tribal communities need to be able to feel belong in the State with a full conviction that their interests will be protected at all times. What the Government has been doing appears to be crisis response with no tangible policies or plans to find a more permanent solution, but only addressing the symptom and not the cause. The Government cannot afford to just sit back after a crisis, waiting for the same or another crisis to recur or occur. Giving out compensation of some sorts to victims of crime is not only enough but also not a true delivery of justice.

The tribal communities have maintained calm and restraint in the aftermath of the senseless communally-motivated killing and disturbances. The Government should not take this as a sign of weakness but as astrength of desire for peace and harmony and it must build on it for bringing about immediate as well as permanent solutions to the problems the state is faced with.

It is also of our serious concern that leading newspapers and TV news broadcasters within the State have failed to maintain balanced news reporting, portraying themselves to be biased towards a particular community and even instigative of hate. Hence, we urge you to advise all the media operating within and outside of the state to balance their news reporting and demonstrate professionalism at the highest level, and play a positive role in tackling the sensitive issues in the state.

The whole current situation in relation to the killings is a result of the State Government's failure on administration and governance, and the incident of Patsoi killing and the inaction on the part of the State administration over the killing is just yet another manifestation of the State Government's continuous mistreatment and discrimination of the tribal people. This has brought back the painful memories of, amongst many others, the past incidents of gang-rape of tribal women at Parbung in Churachandpur district and landmine in Chandel district, perpetrated by militants belonging to the dominant community in the state. Victims of these incidents are still awaiting justice.

In view of the above discussed situation and to address the problems, we place before you the following points of demand for your timely action:

(i) That equal treatment according to the law of the land be given to victims as well as perpetrators of crime in both incidents of Thingsat and Patsoi, meaning equal amount of compensation on the basis of equal rights and equal value of lives as a citizen and properties in both incidents and that the same law be applied in the processes of justice delivery;

(ii) Perpetrators or suspects of Patsoi killing incident be immediately arrested and an appropriate high level enquiry be immediately ordered into the incident and fitting action taken against anyone found guilty according to the law of the land.

(iii) That adequate compensation and assistance be given to all the victims of crime of Thingsat and Patsoi incidents equally.



(iv) That adequate financial and material assistance be given to rebuild the church at Patsoi that was burnt down and appropriate action taken against perpetrators of the crime according to the law of the land.

(v) That the Government starts meaningful engagement with the SoO signatory groups by holding political talks with the SoO groups as soon as practicable, taking into confidence the SoO signatory groups and the communities concerned to work out a solution.

(vi) That, provisions of the 6th schedule of the Constitution of India be implemented in all the hill areas of Manipur for more permanent and lasting solution to the plights of the tribal communities of Manipur.

Even as we urge both the affected communities to exercise maximum restraint and maintain peace and harmony on the basis of mutual respect and shared interests, we emphasise that there cannot be one law for Manipur's tribal/hill people and another for the valley people, for no one is above the law or the constitution. Hence, justice in the case of Patsoi killing should be delivered without any further delay.

If the Government fails to act on the above points of demand and the already tense situation gets out of control, the Government shall be held solely responsible for it.

We trust and are confident that immediate and most appropriate action in response to the above points of demand and issues will be taken in a timely fashion to mitigate the current situation and to avoid recurrence of the same situation in the future. This will help strengthen national integration and close the gap between different communities of Manipur and also between the Government and the public.

Thanking you with regards.

Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
( Lalthanglen Kipgen )
President, Thadou Students’ Association, General Headquarters
( Michael L Haokip)
Vice-President
( James Haokip )
General Secretary
Thadou Students' Association, GHQ

Copy to:
1. Shri. O. Ibobi Singh, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Manipur.
2. Media for kind publication as news item.
3. Guard File.

TSA-GHQ can be contacted at – [email protected] or +91-8974356872