Aizawl: Officials of the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), Mizoram’s apex student body, held a meeting with All Mizoram Manipuri Association (AMMA) on Thursday where they requested the association to initiate peace talks at a higher level.
In the meeting, MZP President Lalnunmawia Pautu asked the AMMA leaders to take up the “cause of the affliction faced by Kuki-Zo people in Manipur” with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh.
The MZP urged the Meitei organisation to play its part to de-escalate the situation and ensure the safety of the ethnic Zo people in Manipur like the Meiteis, who live peacefully in Mizoram.
The MZP president took a threatening stand against the association’s members in the meeting, saying, “While you are living peacefully in Mizoram, we find it hard to turn a blind eye to our brethren who are afflicted in Manipur. If you do not take initiatives to improve the situation, the worst may also happen to you.”
He added, “If you do not want to face what the Zo people in Manipur are facing, take quick action to resolve the issue.”
The Kuki-Hmar-Zomi-Mizo communities collectively known as Kukis share ethnic ties with the Mizos. According to Mizoram home department, a total of 11,328 displaced people from Manipur have entered Mizoram till Thursday.
The meeting was attended by AMMA president Wahengbam Gopeshore and six other members.
Speaking to EastMojo, MZP president Lalnunmawia Pautu said, “We are hurt and we have been patient for very long. So this is a request to them to take action if they want to continue living in Mizoram. They should reach out to the prime minister and Union home minister to initiate a peace process and to call out to chief minister Biren Singh to stop these acts.”
“It is not a threat alone, it is a call to action. We will meet them again and discuss the developments. They even met the governor and we want them to make sure that the initiatives they are taking are fruitful,” he said.
Ranbir Aramban, vice president of AMMA shared the outcome of the meeting with EastMojo, saying, “We were asked to take some action. We have already done that beforehand but AMMA is not a big association there are around 700 to 800 members who are staying in various districts of Mizoram and most of us are government servants so we have limitations. As government employees, we cannot condemn the government.”
He said the association is mostly concerned with felicitation of members who have achievements and lending aid to the ill in times of emergency and that AMMA has met the Home commissioner and the Superintendent of Police.
“What people see on social media, Instagram and Whatsapp is not from Manipur. My simple request to the people of Mizoram is not to go one-sided. Because the internet is banned in Manipur the news is coming from outside the state,” he said.
“The Meitei and the Mizo have been living together peacefully in Mizoram for centuries and there is no problem till date. Seeing this, some people from outside Mizoram are trying to break this bond by persuading the Mizo people and trying to convince them with wrong posts and status which hurt their sentiments,” he added.
Arambam told EastMojo that the Meitei community was in panic after coming across the statement issued by the MZP.
“From the statement, everyone can understand there is no need to comment. If we don’t take any action, that can be taken as a threat. It shows clearly what the intention is but the thing is that we are not a big association; we are all servants of government. We will be doing whatever we can; we had a meeting last night also and have made some plans. We drafted a memorandum for the CM of Manipur.”
“Some people have been living in panic since the last 20-30 days after the first statement from MZP about not going outside. There were many who fled to Imphal but they came back again. Everyone is in panic now, some have their tickets ready because of that statement,” he said.
Aramban has lived in Mizoram for over 25 years and is well versed with the local language and the community.
The AMMA vice president also commented on the threats made by the All Assam Manipuri Youth Association (AAMYA), saying, “One thing I want to make clear is that it is a one-man type association and it is not big. AAMYA people don’t think twice before making a statement about what the people of Mizoram will think and what the effect will be. We had requested them beforehand to not take any steps, saying it will hurt sentiments of both the communities. They even burnt the effigy of the chief minister but they are just trying to raise a communal feeling, so we requested them but they don’t listen to reason.”
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Earlier on Wednesday, a Meitei organisation in Assam had urged the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) to backtrack from its support to the demand for separate administration by the Zo or Kuki communities in Manipur.
The All Assam Manipuri Youth Association issued a statement warning the MNF-led state government, saying, “AAMYA appeals to the ruling Mizo National Front to withdraw within three days w.e.f. 14/06/2023, their support for the separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur or else AAMYA will be bound to launch some serious moves very soon that will make the whole of Mizoram to study its topography seriously like never before.”
In their memorandum addressed to the President of India, AMMA wrote, “There are more than 34 ethnic communities in Manipur. They were living peacefully together for centuries. In the recent past, however, the Manipuri society experienced ethnic riots and other things that hamper the peaceful environment of coexistence. So, it is necessary to take various policy initiatives by the government to restore pence and harmony to coexist together as brother and sister like before. No community should be allowed to engage in any action that may hurt the sentiment of other communities.”
Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh had also on Thursday appeal to the Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by chief minister Zoramthanga not to interfere in the internal affairs of Manipur.
MNF is an ally of the BJP, which is currently in power in Manipur.
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