Guwahati: Babloo Loitongbam, a human rights activist from Manipur and the Executive Director of NGO Human Rights Alert (HRA), denied claims of financial ties with any Kuki militant or individual after a Meitei group accused him of receiving money from the Kukis. He issued a public statement Tuesday, a day after some “50 young men“ entered his Imphal residence and allegedly threatened the family with consequences if Loitongbam made any public appearances.
The alleged incident followed a press conference the previous day by the Meitei Leepun (ML), a group committed to preserving Meitei culture and traditions. Loitongbam was accused of having received money from “Kuki militant outfits” and a warning was issued during the press briefing, forbidding people to work with the Meitei activist.
Video clips of Monday’s incident as well as the press briefing are being circulated on social media.
ML, which has often been considered to be influenced by or linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), was initially seen as a key player in the conflict against the Kuki-Zo tribals, alongside the Arambai Tenggol, a radical armed group of Meitei youth.
Loitongbam called the allegations “unfounded” and “factually incorrect”. In his statement, he said that as a human rights defender for over 30 years, he has always believed in the “peaceful co-existence and co-development of all communities in Manipur”.
“I have no financial transaction with any Kuki militant outfit or individuals. Therefore, the allegation that I have received money from the Kukis is unfounded,” Loitongbam’s statement read.
In the press conference, ML had alleged that Loitongbam had represented a Burmese woman, and accompanied her to the United Nations and the United States for fundraising. The group referred to her as a ‘PDF Women Wing Commander’. The People’s Defence Forces, or PDF, are armed groups in Myanmar that emerged in mid-2021 after the coup.
Loitongbam clarified that the woman in question was Mya Kyay Mon, a Norwegian citizen of Burmese Buddhist origin, and not a Chin (from Chin state in Myanmar) or Christian, as was being claimed on social media. Mon was referred to HRA as a “woman prisoner in distress”, he added. She is currently believed to be under detention in Imphal jail, having been charged with overstaying her visa.
“There is no other charge against her,” Loitongbam said.
“As empanelled lawyers under the Manipur Legal Services Authority, HRA offered legal aid, secured her bail and referred her to a women’s home in Imphal, pending her trial… To the best of our knowledge, she is still detained in Imphal jail,” he explained, denying claims that he had accompanied her to international forums for fundraising.
Loitongbam also addressed the right of individuals seeking asylum in another country when faced with persecution in their own homeland. He advocated for the rights of Myanmar nationals seeking refuge in Manipur, emphasising the need for appropriate institutions, like a functioning Regional Foreigner Registration Office and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees granting access to humanitarian services in the state.
He also highlighted the need for a “clear and transparent” refugee policy that would ensure basic rights to these people, including the right to return to their home country when the situation improves. Such a policy, however, also required to ensure that the land rights of the indigenous people would be preserved, and not the other way round, he said.
Loitongbam also dismissed rumours of his association with the Manipur Meitei Association in Bangalore, a civil society organisation representing the Meitei community. He denied involvement in the “upcoming Naga-Kuki-Meitei meeting”, allegedly aimed at framing the Meiteis for genocide. He labelled the allegation as “another figment of imagination”.