The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) is an influential pressure group of the Meitei community that was behind the fresh wave of protests in the state since the Jiribam incident. On Wednesday, the outfit suspended its protest for seven days to allow the state and Central government to implement the promise to scale up security operations against Kuki armed groups and outlaw them.

COCOMI leader and spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba tells The Indian Express that the hands of Chief Minister N Biren Singh are tied and that there is discontent about the Centre appearing to “go soft” on Kuki armed groups.

Excerpts:

COCOMI rejected the resolutions from the NDA MLAs’ meeting on Tuesday but it seems you have halted your protest now. What happened in between?

On Tuesday, we reviewed the resolutions of the legislators’ meeting. After reviewing them, we agreed to wait for the specified time for their implementation, which they say is seven days. So, we have suspended our protest and all forms of agitation for seven days. We will wait and see if they convert it into action. If that happens, it is well and good. If they fail, our agitation will resume.

Which promises in the resolutions made you rethink your position?

They have resolved to carry out counter-military operations against all Kuki militant groups. They have agreed to withdraw the reimposition of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act

(AFSPA). They have also agreed to declare all the armed groups involved in violence as outlawed organisations.

Is there a sense in Manipur that the Central and state governments have been lax in controlling the violence that has been continuing for a year and a half now?

That is the biggest discontent of the people. We have been appealing to the government both in the state and at the Centre to do everything in their might to disarm both sides of the warring groups. They have failed to do so and persistent attacks are being carried out by Kuki armed militants. They are freely operating across the (Kuki-dominated) hills and keep on attacking people. Farmers have been killed and innocent women and children have been killed. Villages have been attacked down to the (Meitei-dominated) Valley areas.

This aggression needs to be controlled and contained by using hard and fast military action. That never happens from the government’s side and they have been maintaining maximum restraint. It seems that the Government of India is allowing armed groups to prolong this situation. What is more important than saving the lives and property of citizens?

Is the discontent more against the state government or the Centre?

The discontent is more against the Government of India. The state government has taken so many decisions and passed Cabinet resolutions but the Government of India has held them back and they have never been allowed to act. So, the Centre is responsible. They are turning a blind eye to illegal actions.

Do you also hold Chief Minister N Biren Singh responsible for the violence not ending? There has been severe criticism of his performance, even in Delhi.

As for the CM, he has already expressed himself that his hands and legs are being tied by the Centre. So he can’t do anything. That is a very critical statement. So, the Centre has to either act or sack the CM for saying that. One of them is speaking the truth, either the CM or the Centre. There is a conflict of interest between the state and the Centre despite belonging to the same party. We can sense that.

The other day, houses of MLAs were attacked by your protesters. Is there anger against BJP and NDA MLAs among the Meiteis after the Jiribam incident?

The responsibility goes to all the legislators. It is beyond their party politics, either the BJP or the Congress. Whoever is elected from one constituency or another is responsible to the people. There was a sudden reaction to the incident at Jiribam by the people. They just resorted to all kinds of agitation that they thought were justified. It wasn’t organised violence. We had no role in it. We always appeal for democratic protest. But people come out and certain elements resort to violence.

There have also been demands from your side for a National Register of Citizens (NRC). Can you explain why that demand finds currency among Meiteis and has there been a problem of undocumented immigration?

It’s not just about illegal immigration but more about the uncontrolled immigration process, the way those immigrants are being converted into citizens and Indigenous people, and taking over land rights and resource rights as per Scheduled Tribes (ST) provisions.

Since about 1962, Manipur has been receiving waves of refugees. We even had the Burma Refugees Association of Manipur in 1973-74, I have the documents. We don’t know how those people got assimilated into the state and we don’t have any records of those people who arrived as refugees and how they were converted into citizens of India and became Scheduled Tribes. Now they are claiming that Manipur is their ancestral land.

The NRC is the only tool that we can use to detect them; like they did in Assam. If we delay it, it will become an overwhelming problem like in Assam. The sooner the better. Otherwise, we will be overwhelmed by refugees and immigrant populations.

The High Court’s suggestion of ST status for Meiteis last year was the trigger for the violence. It has continued almost unabated since then despite the court modifying its order to delete the suggestion early this year. What is your take on the question of ST status for Meiteis?

I am one of the persons who does not endorse the ST status demand for Meiteis. The High Court order being the main reason for the violence is just an excuse. If the protest was against what the High Court said, why did they attack and burn down forest offices? It was because of the state government’s eviction notice to people who were encroaching into the reserved forest areas. The state government has already identified 996 illegal villages belonging to immigrant communities. This is dangerous. They cannot go to court for relief. So they resorted to violence to turn it into a communal confrontation and demand a separate administration, which they did. That was the only convenient way and became the excuse.