Imphal: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has demanded that the Government of India immediately stop attacks on local residents by militants based in Myanmar.
The committee accused the Centre of protecting foreign insurgents under the pretext of counterinsurgency operations and warned that continued inaction could lead to public anger.
In its statement, COCOMI alleged that India’s counterinsurgency policy uses Myanmar-based armed groups to suppress Manipur’s indigenous population.
It claimed that these groups were seeking to displace local communities and take over their land, with the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement providing them immunity.
The committee also accused New Delhi of providing logistical and military support to the groups and portraying what it described as a coordinated attack as communal violence.
COCOMI cited statements by local leaders and police action as evidence of cross-border incursions. It said MLA Leishiyo Keishing had earlier identified the Myanmar-based Kuki National Army (Burma), or KNA(B), as responsible for attacks on Namlee, Wanglee, Choro and Pilong villages.
The committee also referred to a recent case registered by the state police over an assault in Ningchou, which it said was classified as an armed invasion by the KNA(B).
According to COCOMI, the incident resulted in casualties among the foreign cadres.
The committee also criticised the Centre and the state government over their handling of the border situation. It questioned the Assam Rifles’ role, alleging that their failure to secure the international border had eroded public trust.
COCOMI further claimed that witnesses had seen central security forces protecting foreign militants while border villages were being destroyed.
The committee accused the state government of ignoring the incursions while taking action against local volunteers defending their homes.
It warned that the “double-engine” government would be responsible if public anger over the situation led to a breakdown of law and order.