Burmese leaders in the border town of Tamu opposite Manipur’s border town of Moreh have strongly pitched for throwing out undergrounds from Manipur hiding in the town.
This became evident during the first ever ‘peace talks’ held in the town on Saturday (July 6).
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The panel discussion was held in the Mon Hall in the town in the evening organised in the background of a bomb explosion in the house of a Meitei resident last month.
Lower house MP Naing Naing Win from Tamu constituency delivered opening address and then Sagaing Region legislative assembly legislator Myint Naing Oo delivered his speech.
After that Upper House MP Maung Maung Latt, Nga Ngai representing Kuku Youth Organization, chairperson of the Reducing Orphanage Children Organization Ei Thone and Thang Say from an ethnic organization joined the panel discussions.
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Local people who attended the peace talks raised questions that were answered by the panelists.
Tamu Youth Network leader Ei Thone said, “Previously, we could not hold such local peace talks in our town. We held it for the first time. The local people are scared with the presence of illegal armed organizations. So we hold this talk to let the government know about the problem.”
All the speakers strongly asserted that the illegal armed organization should not be allowed to stay in the town.
Some of the speakers said the government could consider allowing these rebels stay outside the town or in some designated area but certainly not in Tamu town. And that if these rebels were in peace more talking to Indian government.
“The adults and children are frightened and scared with their presence in the town. We held this talk for that reason,” said Thone.
This peace talk was jointly organised by CSOs in Tamu town and it was attended by over 50 local people.
A bomb exploded on June 18 this year in Tamu at the premises of a Meitei resident.
It is open secret that Meitei rebel groups openly operate out of Tamu town. Only once in 2001 a large number of them were arrested only to be let off reportedly huge bribes to local Burmese military commanders.