Meitei-Kuki-Zo leaders peace talk fails to break deadlock

Guwahati: Representatives of the warring Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities met in New Delhi on Saturday, marking the first instance of face-to-face discussions between the two communities, but the talks remained ‘inconclusive', Union ministry of home affairs sources said.

The dialogue was part of Centre's endeavour to establish a lasting resolution to the Manipur crisis and establish peace and forge an amicable solution through mutual trust building since violence erupted in May 2023.

Nevertheless, both groups demonstrated willingness to continue dialogue for peace without compromising their previous stances. While Kuki-Zo groups have been insisting on their demand for separate administration within Manipur, the Meitei leaders steadfastly oppose the state's division.

Sources said that participants agreed to prioritise community trust building and seek solutions for rehabilitating internally displaced persons affected by the violence, many of whom remain in relief camps. According to sources, another round of meetings on similar lines is likely soon.

A six-member Meitei delegation, represented by the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO) and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS), attended the meeting, alongside MHA advisor and interlocutor, AK Mishra, and several senior officials of MHA. Manipur chief secretary Prashant Kumar Singh attended the meeting. The Kuki delegation, comprising approximately seven members, included representatives from the Kuki-Zo Council and various tribal organisations of Manipur.

While Kuki-Zo groups maintained silence, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), led by Meitei leaders, criticised the MHA-facilitated meeting, labelling it a "stage-managed exercise". "COCOMI consciously declined to participate in the recent orchestrated meeting between the so-called representatives of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi-Hmar groups and the Meetei, facilitated by officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi. COCOMI considers this stage-managed spectacle is nothing but a strategic ploy to validate the misleading narrative advanced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament, that the Manipur crisis is merely an ‘ethnic conflict' between Meetei and Kuki communities, allegedly triggered by the High Court's direction on Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for Meiteis," Laikhuram Jayenta, convenor of the information and public relations sub-committee of COCOMI, stated on Saturday.

COCOMI said this narrative is a "gross distortion of facts" and added, "it ignores the far more dangerous and deep-rooted realities that COCOMI has consistently highlighted since the beginning of this crisis, the ongoing proxy war, enabled and perpetuated by the Government of India through the patronage of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist mercenary forces or groups which the govt has been nurturing since 2005 under the guise of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement."

Manipur has been under President's Rule since February 13 after former CM N Biren Singh resigned on February 9. The state assembly remains under suspended animation. More than 250 people perished and over 50,000 were internally displaced in the ethnic conflict in Manipur since May 2023.