Guwahati: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a conglomerate of major civil society organisations, while appreciating the resolution adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, regretted that the core issue of narco-terrorism, which is fuelling the ethnic conflict in the state, has been omitted from the resolution.
In a letter of appreciation to European Parliament president Roberta Metsola on Sunday, COCOMI coordinator Jeetendra Ningomba drew the attention of the European Parliament to the issue raised during a debate concerning the ongoing situation in strife-torn Manipur.
“Your proactive approach in demanding action from the Government of India to address the crisis is highly appreciated. However, it is regrettable to note that the core issue of narco-terrorism, which is fuelling the conflict, seems to have been omitted from the resolution you have adopted,” Ningomba stated.
“The resolutions were guided by a wrong and misleading perspective, which made you arrive at a flawed understanding of the issue in Manipur as a conflict between the Christian minority and majority Meitei Hindu community,” he stated.
The COCOMI coordinator further clarified in the letter that the violence that erupted in Manipur was not on religious lines but was between immigrant Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist groups and indigenous Meitei communities.
“We would like to draw your attention to give more focus on the issue of the Chin-Kuki narco-terrorism, which has a direct relation to the ongoing violence in Manipur. The prevalence of narco-terrorism and its financial capital to usurp political power and democratic institutions has had a significant impact on the polity and harmony in Manipur,” he wrote.
“We feel that the acknowledgement of the involvement of the narco-terrorists in the present situation in Manipur in your resolution would have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges we face in the India-Myanmar borderlands,” he stated.
“Moreover, it is crucial to consider the broader context and the pressing issues that have shaped the present violence in Manipur. The emerging narco-terrorist activities and establishment of a narco-economy (Indian Intelligence Bureau Director reports estimated the total amount to Rs 50,000 crore or 500 billion INR to 65000 crore or 650 billion INR annually) inside the territory of Manipur primarily operated and managed by the armed (illegal) immigrants and their drug cartel syndicates in India from Myanmar belonging to Chin-Kuki tribes who are Christian is the main cause of the ongoing violence in Manipur,” Ningomba said.
A thick, dense, and lush green forest area of about 125,000 acres (90 percent in Kuki-dominated areas) is being completely deforested for opium poppy cultivation, and its estimated production of opium is about 500 metric tonnes to 625 metric tonnes annually.
“Important points to note are that the Chin-Kuki tribes in Manipur are Christian, and they are the main community indulging in poppy cultivation, opium production and drug trafficking from across the border from Myanmar to India. The Chin-Kuki are using their dominated or inhibited areas as a warehouse and transit for all sorts of illegal drug and (small) arms trafficking,” the COCOMI coordinator stated.
“All necessary infrastructure and network for institutionalising the narco-economy is being set up in Manipur-like armed militants, poppy farms, illegal immigrant settlements, and massive deforestation, and establishment of illegal villages are a threatening reality in Manipur. This alarming development creates a highly volatile socio-political environment where a small spark can quickly escalate into an inferno,” he claimed.
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“Last but not the least, there is a need to recognise the geo-political factors at play, including the political instability in Myanmar, the clandestine narco-economy, and the ethnonationalist mobilisation of the ‘Chin-Kuki-Mizo’ ethnic armed groups that has the potential to destabilise the ethnic harmony and co-existence in the borderlands of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh,” Ningomba said.
He further stated that Chin-Kuki ethnonationalism has not only affected harmony in the Chin state of Myanmar, Mizoram, and Manipur in India but also the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
The COCOMI coordinator further said that the support and influence of the European Parliament were vital and that the people of Manipur anticipate that the European Union would live up to its responsibility and play a non-partisan active role in resolving the ongoing crisis.
“I humbly request that you consider the pertinent concerns and continue to champion the cause of peace, stability, and justice in Manipur. Your unwavering support and influence are vital and the people of Manipur anticipate that the European Union shall live up to its responsibility and play a non-partisan active role in resolving the ongoing crisis, and not let a New Golden Triangle emerge in the region, particularly in Manipur,” he wrote in the letter to the European Parliament president.
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