Guwahati: After camping outside an Assam Rifles company base and five other locations for the past two days, residents of Manipur’s border town of Moreh have started to disperse and return to their homes. More than 1,000 people including women, children and senior citizens had sought shelter there, seeking protection from the paramilitary unit and protesting against alleged harassment by Manipur police commandos.
However, a “fear psychosis” persists.
These residents had fled their homes after the Biren government passed strict orders to nab the culprits behind the Tuesday killing of Manipur police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar in Moreh, located along the Indo-Myanmar border in Tengnoupal district.
Kumar was ambushed and shot dead by suspected Kuki insurgents, which sparked fresh tensions in the state that has been in the throes of ethnic violence since May. Joint combing operations are being conducted by state and central security forces in Moreh and adjoining areas to catch the killers.
A Kuki resident on condition of anonymity told ThePrint that after the combing operations began, Manipur police commandos “ransacked homes, broken television sets, furniture and parked vehicles”, and resorted to “looting and harassing” women, even “physically assaulting” a few.
Feeling threatened, the Kuki-Zo community was forced to seek refuge in safer locations, said Kaikholal Haokip, spokesperson of Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal (KIT), the apex body of Kuki tribes.
The decision to return home was taken after members of the Kuki-Zo community had a meeting with senior Assam Rifles and Manipur Police personnel, and were assured that joint combing operations would be carried out in a fair manner, with the cooperation of local residents.
Besides the Assam Rifles camp, women had also huddled outside the Inspection Bungalow, in front of Moreh College, at gates 1 and 4 of the Indo-Myanmar border, and outside the integrated check post.
“Both Manipur police and Assam Rifles assured us that joint combing operations of state and central forces would continue without any hassle to local residents. The police commandos had not only destroyed properties, but they beat up women and children, took away phones and valuables. Some even ransacked locked houses. Out of fear, we had to seek shelter in front of the Assam Rifles gate,” Lhaimeiphem Esther Haokip, general secretary of the Kuki Women Union for Human Rights (KWUHR) told ThePrint.
But people are still living in fear, she added. “We told them not to panic and be aware. There were pregnant women and elderly too. We cannot go through this again. The Assam Rifles gave us food and took care of the children. We also collected food items among us and cooked meals because the unit cannot cater to such a large number of people suddenly.”
Regina Chinmeikham, a member of the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO), Moreh block, said: “Someone donated biscuits and tea this morning and the Assam Rifles provided khichdi to the children for breakfast.”
The situation in Moreh remains tense even as a blanket curfew has been clamped. According to KIT spokesperson Kaikholal Haokip, a “fear psychosis” has gripped the Kuki-Zo community in the town ever since the state government passed the orders to initiate combing operations.
“The police commandos did whatever they pleased…The central forces stood mute spectators,” alleged the Kuki resident quoted earlier, adding that the commandos also “physically abused a juvenile, her mother and aunt”.
He added: “The family lives in a surrounding village of Moreh. They were scared to go to the hospital for a check-up, but an application to register an FIR was initiated Thursday night and submitted to the Moreh police station.”
The Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday, urging “protection of human rights, the rule of law and the safety of affected communities”.
The memorandum, signed by Kimneihoi Lhungdim, general secretary of KWOHR stated, “The forced occupation of Moreh by Meitei police commandos despite repeated appeals by the Kuki Inpi Manipur, Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal and other Kuki-Zo groups has resulted in various cases of human rights violations by Meitei police commandos against the tribal community…”
Asked to comment on the allegations, a senior Tengnoupal police officer told ThePrint that complaints have been received and are being investigated.
Terming the leadership of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh “tyrannical”, the KWOHR urged the Prime Minister “to immediately recall all the state forces from Moreh, and thereby deploy competent and high-ranking Kuki-Zo police officers to be assisted by the central security forces in maintaining law and order in the border town.”
Also Read: Manipur police convoy headed to Moreh after cop’s murder ambushed by suspected Kuki insurgents
Residents refused to move to permanent facility. ‘Unsafe’
The Assam Rifles provided assistance to those who fled their homes. Though the paramilitary unit at Moreh tried to evacuate the residents from their gates to a permanent camp in the vicinity, referred to as Key Location Point or ‘KLP’, they refused.
The KLP complex at Moreh, around 4-5 km from the Moreh market, is equipped with better facilities and can house more than 2,000 people at a time. In August, 212 Meitei residents of Moreh — who had sought safety across the Myanmar border post after the 3 May unrest — returned to find shelter at the complex.
Asked why the stranded residents do not want to move to a larger and better facility provided by the Assam Rifles, KSO member Regina Chinmeikham said the KLP complex is “far away, and unsafe for lodging”.
The importance of Moreh
Explaining the significance of Moreh and why it is important for the government, KIT spokesperson Haokip, quoted earlier, said the Centre needs to prioritise the development of tribals and protect the indigenous tribal rights.
“Moreh is important for the government because it’s the gateway to the East, and the epicentre of India’s Act East policy. We welcome all kinds of development in this border town, and all communities to come and live here, but they should not threaten the rights and existence of the indigenous tribals. They can engage in trade and commerce activities, but not attempt to grab or demand something that does not belong to them,” he added.
“When you call indigenous people refugees, narco-terrorists and foreigners, it is completely unacceptable,” Haokip continued.
The KIT spokesperson claimed that the commandos sent from Imphal as reinforcements amid tension after the killing of police officer Chingtham Anand Kumar “went on a rampage” in Moreh.
“(Ever) since the Meitei police officer was shot dead by a sniper, the security forces, mainly the police commandos, have blamed the Kukis. The commandos sent from Imphal…made villagers escape into the jungle, looted valuables, money. In the name of combing operations, they damaged vehicles along the way,” he alleged.
Myanmar refugees fleeing Moreh for safety
Meanwhile, official sources in Myanmar’s town of Tamu, located along the border the country shares with Manipur, told ThePrint that a lot of Myanmar refugees have fled from Moreh to safer areas near the border, about 10 miles away from Tamu.
“The refugees at Yangoubung and Lhylian villages on the Indian side close to the Indo-Myanmar border have fled from those areas,” a resident of Tamu in Myanmar told ThePrint over phone.
The Manipur Police announced Saturday that security forces arrested seven persons, including one Myanmar national, from Chavangphai, Yangoubung, Seijang, Zion Veng under Moreh police station.
On 04.11.2023 security forces arrested 07(seven) persons including 01(one) Myanmar National from Chavangphai, Yangoubung, Seijang, Zion Veng under Moreh PS, Tengnoupal district and recovered 10(ten) grams of Gun powder, 01(one) Chinese Hand Grenade, 60(sixty) grams of suspected… pic.twitter.com/a9KOQdTmr1
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) November 4, 2023
On Wednesday, the Manipur Police announced that 44 people had been detained by security forces in Moreh, of whom 32 were found to be from Myanmar. Furthermore, 10 Myanmar nationals from Moreh were taken to the Foreigners’ Detention Centre at Sajiwa in Imphal.
On 01.11.2023, during the search operations by security forces at Moreh, Tengnoupal district, 44 persons were detained by the security forces at Moreh, Tengnoupal district out of which 32(thirty-two) persons were found to be Myanmarese/Burmese. Further, 10(ten) Myanmarese…
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) November 2, 2023
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: Delays, security challenges — how turmoil in Myanmar is holding back India’s ‘Act East Policy’