IMPHAL: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) has stated that it will boycott the peace committee, which the central government constituted with the aim of restoring normalcy in Manipur.
In fact, the ITLF, which is backed by the Kuki community in Manipur, condemned the inclusion of chief minister N Biren Singh in the peace committee.
The ITLF called Manipur chief minister Biren Singh as “the perpetrator of the current violence” in the state.
It may be mentioned here that tribal organisations in Manipur have been accusing the Manipur chief minister, state’s police and a couple of Meitei groups of spearheading the violence in the state.
“His (N Biren Singh) constant rhetoric and hate speech against the Kuki-Zo community, the wholesale tagging of Kuki-Zo community as drug peddlers, terrorists, and illegal immigrants directly shadow the open declaration of genocide by the Meitei Leepun’s chief Pramot Singh on National Media and the declaration of proxy war of ‘Chin-Kuki Narco-terrorism’ by fringe Meitei groups,” it said.
“No such normalcy can be maintained as long as the state police and Meitei militant groups are given free rein to terrorize Kuki-Zo tribal villages in the foothills,” it said.
The 51-member peace committee, formed by the central government, is headed by Manipur governor Anusuiya Uikey.
The committee also comprise few state ministers, MPs, MLAs, leaders of different political parties and representatives of civil society organisations.