Seeking central help to end conflict
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: November 21, 2023 -
FORMER Chief Minister and leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) 0 Ibobi seems to have articulated exactly what the people of Manipur, who have suffered enough ip the nearly seven months old violent conflict between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities, have in mind; when he said that the state government must take a decisive action to put an end to the current ethnic violence or seek the help of central government if it is unable to resolve the conflict, which has now turned into a serious humanitarian crisis with far reaching impact.
Speaking on the occasion of observing Quami Ekta Diwas (National Integration Day), which commemorates the 106th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi on Sunday, Ibobi expressed serious concern over the mounting suffering of the people on account of the nearly seven months old violent conflict and stressed the need for holding dialogue to find a solution to the protracted crisis that has also affected the economy of the resource-starved state with reductionin GST collection to the tune of 90 percent.
He is of the opinion that as the popular elected government of the day, the BJ P government in the state should try its level best and take a decisive action to end the current crisis before it gets worsen or seek the help of the government at the centre, which is also headed by the saffron party, in case the state government is unable to do.
This is exactly what the people of Manipur, regardless of their stand and position in the current conflict want today and the state government needs to take note of this fact for its good, if not for any other reasons.
In an apparent reference to the demand of separate administration being raised by leaders of Kuki-Chin community and now the declaration of self-rule, Ibobi also seems to have hit the nail on the head when he pointed that it would be better to resolve any problem by holding dialogue rather than making the people to suffer by raising unrealistic demand.
Failure of the state government to control the violent conflict between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities from escalating after it broke out on May 3 last following a Tribal Solidarity March taken out in the hill districts in protest against the directive of the High Court of Manipur given to Government of Manipur for sending recommendation to the centre for recognition of Meetei/Meetei as scheduled tribe (ST) has been hard to miss for anyone.
In fact, Chief Minister N Biren Singh himself had admitted to this on May 21 when he said security lapses and intelligence failure led to the large-scale violence in the state. "We take responsibility.
It was our failure, our lapses in security and intelligence," were his words.
In the same breath, the Chief Minister had assured that his government would reach out to the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs, who first raised the demand for a separate administration within days of outbreak of the violent conflict.
"They are part of the family. We are all brothers," this was what the Chief Minister had said while answering queries from mediapersons on the government's response to the demand of the Kuki-Chin MLAs.
Even if the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs, seven of whom belong to the ruling BJP and include two cabinet ministers are still part of his 'family', the fact that they have not relented from their demand shows that the Chief Minister has not been able to convince his prodigal 'brothers' even after hundreds of precious human lives have been lost and thousands of families displaced in the conflict that has been going on for nearly seven months now with no sign of any solution.
So, as an elected leader who has been making it clear that there would be no compromise on the issues of territorial integrity of Manipur, illegal immigrants and illegal poppy cultivation, perhaps, it is time for the Chief Minister to listen to his predecessor and seek the help of the central government, either alone or together with the Opposition parties, which have already laid the path by meeting the Governor, for ending the present crisis.
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