Centre to Hold Another Round of Talks with Meitei and Kuki Groups to Resolve Manipur Crisis

The Centre was represented by interlocutor AK Mishra and the Manipur Government was represented by the state chief secretary.

The Centre is preparing to hold another meeting of Meitei and Kuki civil society groups in New Delhi to try and resolve the two-year-long ethnic violence in the frontier state that killed more than 250 people and rendered an estimated 60,000 homeless.

Sources said that the Ministry of Home Affairs is bent on taking the process of dialogue to a broader level to try and restore lasting peace in Manipur and the next meeting of the Kuki and Meitei civil society groups will be crucial in achieving this goal.

The first such formal meeting was held in New Delhi on April 5 where representatives from the All Manipur United Clubs Association and Federation of Civil Society Organisations attended from the Meitei side and Kuki-Zo Council and the Zomi Council represented the Kuki side.

The Centre was represented by interlocutor AK Mishra and the Manipur Government was represented by the state chief secretary.

The meeting was inconclusive and it was decided then that more meetings would follow.

After the meeting, speaking to the media during a press conference, All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation (AMUCO) President Nando Luwang said that concerns of the people were presented to the MHA team in the meeting. The MHA laid out a 6-point resolution as the beginning of a roadmap towards restoring peace and normalcy in the state.

What are the 6 points resolutions?

According to Nando, the 6 points included an appeal to all communities to refrain from violence, appreciation for the steps taken by the Governor to collect arms and ensure public safety, and a call to remove blockades and restore free movement along national and state highways. The resolution also welcomed any government initiative to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) with proper logistical and security arrangements, urged the government to prioritise development activities in conflict-affected areas, and agreed that all long-term and contentious issues would be resolved through dialogue and consultation with the communities and the Government of India.

AMUCO President Nando stated that valley-based CSOs accepted the 6-point resolution within 20 minutes of its presentation, reflecting their strong commitment to peace. However, Kuki CSOs did not sign the resolution immediately, stating that they needed to consult their respective communities first. They requested another round of talks to further deliberate on the points.

Members of the Kuki Zo Council along with other Kuki Zo leaders said that they refrained from making any commitment or signing any agreement or resolution due to 2 reasons – One, they want MHA to meet separately with the Kuki-Zos and with the Meiteis and two, they said the Meitei side lacked genuine representation.

The Kuki Zo Council also said that it had strong reservations in accepting the 6-point proposal of the MHA as part of the initiatives by the Centre to bring peace in Manipur. Kuki Zo Council Chairperson Henlianthang Thanglet informed that the terms were unacceptable under the current circumstances.

Besides, the KZC Chairperson said that lack of genuine representation from the Meitei side also acted as an impediment to the talks.

The Meitei civil society organisations, AMUCO and FOCS, involved in the talks do not hold a mandate from their community and cannot be considered legitimate representatives, Thanglet said adding that this was the second key reason for declining to sign any agreement.

“We cannot accept the 6-point resolution as the roadmap to peace in Manipur. We also questioned whether the Meitei civil society groups involved were truly mandated to represent their community. We believe they were not, and that made it difficult for us to move forward. If the Meitei society is not represented by mandated groups, we cannot sign any agreement or cessation of hostilities under such circumstances.”

The KZC chairman also made a strong appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs to engage with both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities separately, but strictly through mandated representatives to ensure any future talks is meaningful and legitimate.

“The main problem is that when we sit together in the first instance, there’s always commotion. Emotions run high on both sides. That is why, for meaningful dialogue, there must first be separate consultations one between the Kuki Zo Council and the MHA without the Meitei groups, and another between the MHA and Meitei groups without us. Only then can we find a common meeting point. So I would request the MHA to consider holding separate talks with the Kuki Zo and Meitei societies, through their respective mandated representatives.”

The Chairman also expressed concern over the alleged lack of clarity regarding the next round of talks.

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