58 Meiteis leave Aizawl in Alliance Airlines flight; Mizoram govt ’embarrassed’

Mizoram Home department reportedly tried to assure Meiteis living in the state that they are "not under threat" and adequate security arrangements will be made

New Delhi/Aizawl: The Mizoram government has apparently been left embarrassed as at least 58 Meiteis left Aizawl on Sunday in an Alliance Airlines Aizawl-Imphal-Silchar flight. Sources said no additional flight was arranged between Aizawl and Imphal on Sunday.

The Mizoram Home department reportedly tried to assure Meiteis living in the state that they are “not under threat” and adequate security arrangements will be made. In view of the deteriorating law and order situation in Manipur where Zo and Kuki communities, who share ethnic ties with Mizos, have been targeted, the Mizoram government had already ordered enhanced security for the Meitei population.

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“In anticipation of a possible development of tension which could threaten the security of Meiteis living in Aizawl, due to public outrage against the recent viral video of two tribal Kuki-Zobrutally assaulted in Manipur, security arrangement is made to ensure safety of Meiteis in Aizawl,” said DIG, North Range, Aizawl Police, Lallianmawia, IPS.

In fact, the Mizoram police and state government authorities swung into action after the non-political but influential body, the Peace Accord MNF Returnees’ Association (PAMRA) said in a statement: “The situation in Mizoram has become tense and it is no longer safe for Meitei people from Manipur to live in Mizoram in the wake of barbaric and heinous acts committed by miscreants in Manipur.” Civil society leaders in Aizawl say there are a good number of Meitei community people – Hindus, Muslims and also Christians – staying in the Mizoram state capital and other places.

A large number of Meitei people in and around Aizawl are in the motor mechanic and auto-parts business. Political forces in Mizoram including MNF under BJP’s ally Zoramthanga have also called for reviving the demand for ‘Greater Mizoram’ encompassing the present state of Mizoram, parts of Myanmar and Kuki-dominated hill districts of Manipur.

A large number of Kuki-Zo people — estimated over 12,000 including men and women – who fled Manipur after the violence started on May 3 are now staying in different parts of Mizoram.

The MNF-led Mizoram government has requested the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to sanction Rs 5 crore for providing relief to the “thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs), that is Kukis, from Manipur”.

The Mizoram Home Department is against ‘reverse migration’ of Meiteis from Aizawl and other places in Mizoram. In fact, a visibly upset Mizoram Home Commissioner H Lalengmawia held a meeting with the PAMRA office bearers and lamented that their message had been ‘misinterpreted’.

PAMRA also sought to clarify that it was ‘not a threat’ but only an expression of ‘concern’ for the security of the Meitei people. “We resolved that the PAMRA will withdraw their statement,” an official source said. The Mizoram Home department also released a statement on Saturday stating that the Home Commissioner met with representatives of the All Mizoram Manipuri Association to assure them of their safety wherein Meiteis in Mizoram have been advised “not be misguided by rumours”.

In a telephonic conversation, Mizoram Chief Minister and MNF leader Zoramthanga has assured his Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh of the safety of Meiteis in Mizoram. MNF is also a BJP ally and part of North East Democratic Alliance.

More than 160 people have lost their lives and several injured since ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis and Zo communities broke out in Manipur on May 3. The video footage of two tribal naked girls being paraded in Manipur have provoked nationwide condemnation. This gory episode and the continued violence in Manipur have hit the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

First two working days of the Monsoon session, July 20th and July 21st were a washout. Parliament will resume business again on Monday.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited Manipur in June also announced the setting up of a judicial probe panel headed by a retired high court judge and also a CBI probe to look into the ‘conspiracy’ angle for triggering unprecedented armed conflict between non-tribal Meiteis and tribals and especially Kukis and other smaller Zo community people. However, there is no let up in the situation in Manipur.

Manipur has a legacy of ethnic strife more than once. In the 1990s, Kukis and Nagas (both tribals and Christian) had big differences and clashed for nearly eight years. The Naga (especially Tangkhul tribe) and Kuki clashes were reported also in Kohima and other parts of Nagaland like Athibung and Peren region.

In 2001, Nagas and Meiteis also clashed over the issue of ‘extension’ of ceasefire between Naga militant group NSCN-IM and the Government into ‘Naga dominated regions of Manipur’. In fact, the Meitei-stronghold Imphal valley burned for days and later the Vajpayee government withdrew the clause of extension of the ceasefire.

The Naga peace talks between the Centre and two Naga groups NSCN-IM and umbrella body NNPG are still hanging fire. Observers have suggested that a forward movement in Naga peace talks between militant bodies and the Modi government at this juncture could result in bringing some soothing effect in the northeast.

However, the talks are allegedly “parked wayside” for the last 3-4 years ever since the NSCN-IM has made a case demanding a separate Naga flag and Constitution. The Centre has obviously rejected both the demands.