New Delhi: Meitei Alliance strongly condemned the blatant distortion of facts and deceitful narrative surrounding the ongoing mayhem in Manipur, India’s northeastern state. The misrepresentation of the situation as “persecution of religious (Christian) minorities” is categorically false and must be rectified by institutions like USCIRF, the Alliance said.
It further argued that they must exercise utmost diligence and refrain from endorsing false propaganda perpetuated by fringe Kuki groups such as NAMTA that falsely project itself as representing the entire scheduled tribes of Manipur.
Glaring distortions:
The Alliance said the attempt to paint Christians as minorities in Manipur is baseless. In reality, the Christian population constituted 41.29% of Manipur’s total population in 2011, nearly equivalent to the Hindu population (41.39%). True minorities in Manipur include those practicing Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Sanamahism, Tingkao Ragwang Chakpriak, etc. The Christian population has seen significant growth from 19% to 41% between 1961 and 2011, indicating it may soon surpass other religious groups.
The portrayal of the ongoing mayhem as a violent religious clash between Hindus (Meitei) and Christians (tribes) is unfounded. Not all Meiteis are Hindus, nor all Hindus are Meiteis. Similarly, neither all Christians are Kuki.
The immediate stakeholders of the mayhem are Meitei and Kuki. While there have been incidental damages to religious structures of both communities, including churches and temples of Meiteis destroyed by Kukis, the mayhem is devoid of religious motivations. There is no violent religious clash between Christians and Hindus in Manipur.
Uncovering the truth:
The ongoing mayhem is orchestrated and perpetuated by cross-border Kuki armed groups, funded through various illicit means of drug cartels and Western aid authorized by the US Congress Burma ACT of 2023.
The objective is to establish a Kuki expansionist territory called Zale’n-gam, by balkanising the established territories of India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh, with Manipur as the epicentre. This is evidenced by their formal calls for an expansionist Kuki Lebensraum and the launch of direct acts of terror, such as simultaneous attacks on the government and ethnic cleansing of Meitei, initiated on May 3, 2023.
Peace advisory:
False propaganda only exacerbates the situation and obstructs peace efforts. Therefore, we urge:
1. UN resources to investigate satellite imagery revealing extensive poppy fields controlled by Kukis and the repercussions of Western aid in supplying cheap arms to Kuki armed groups.
2. US Congressman Adriano Espaillat and former UN Special Rapporteur Fernand De Varennes to scrutinize the financial sources of Kuki groups, including funds raised within the USA by Christian institutions and scrutinize the use of US congress authorized aids.
3. Western entities to authenticate information rigorously to avoid unintentionally spreading false propaganda from NAMTA, which has a history of distorting truth for personal gain.
Failure to take the above actions would render them complicit in the death and suffering endured by innocent civilians, the Alliance warned.