“1993, AFSPA…”: Manipur Naga MLA’s Reminder Swipe At Rahul Gandhi’s “Photo Ops”

A Minister and MLA of the Naga People’s Front in Manipur tore into what he called Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s “deceit” in visiting Manipur to play politics amid the ethnic tensions.

Water Resources Minister Awangbow Newmai pointed to the conflict between the Naga and the Kuki tribes that began in 1993 and lasted seven years, and questioned the Congress what steps it took then to bring peace.

The Naga People’s Front (NPF) MLA from Tamei constituency, while addressing people at an event to mark the distribution of government scheme benefits in the state capital Imphal, said it is unfortunate that some leaders have been politicising the Manipur issue without looking at the root cause of the ethnic tensions.

“We have to live together because as much as you want peace, I also want peace. Instead of politicising it, let us find the root cause together, diagnose the rare disease and try to treat it,” Mr Newmai said. The NPF is an ally of the ruling BJP in Manipur. “Those who blame others saying ‘you don’t know anything’ are really not for peace.”

Mr Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, earlier this week went to Manipur’s Jiribam, Churachandpur, Moirang and Imphal and met people in relief camps. He told reporters he does not want to politicise the issue, though in his meeting with Governor Anusuiya Uikey he expressed disappointment the Congress “was not happy with the progress that had taken place”.

It was the Congress MP’s third visit to Manipur since ethnic violence began in May 2023 between the valley-dominant Meitei community and nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administrative carved out of Manipur.

“One after another Congress leaders have been coming to Manipur and talking about peace. Holding the hand of an aggrieved person in a relief camp, taking a photo and flashing it in the media will not bring peace – unless we work together to find where it has really gone wrong,” Mr Newmai, the Naga MLA, said.

“I don’t know if I missed hearing it, but all these Congress leaders who have come to Manipur have not said one word on the core issue – how it happened, why it happened, how it can be treated? They only blame the leaders; they only blame the Prime Minister. They don’t bring any suggestions. If they dare to bring suggestions, tell us what they did in the past.

“What have they done in 1993? Did the Prime Minister visit that time? Have they expressed regret? If they want to talk about peace, tell us what they have done in the past? Say in parliament, for the record, what you have done that you accuse us of falling short?” Mr Newmai said, referring to the Kuki-Naga ethnic conflict that began in 1993 and which claimed hundreds of lives.

Alluding to Mr Gandhi’s visit to relief camps, the Naga MLA said Mr Gandhi did not say a single word about the “core problems” and instead chose to indulge in photoshoots.

“Just playing politics, clicking photos with a mother in a relief camp and saying ‘I see this, but you’re not seeing it’, that is such a big lie. We are here; we are doing all we can from Day 1, day and night. Compared to the 1993 (ethnic violence), this conflict has gone down drastically after a few months. I didn’t expect that because I fear whenever an ethnic clash happens, it doesn’t end soon. We saw this in 1993.

“What started in 1993 lasted for seven years. We couldn’t get out. We were scared. Kukis were also scared. At that time, was there any effort to give safe passage to us? Forget about prefabricated houses, forget about relief. Did they even utter one word in parliament to give solidarity to the people, recognise their pain?

“When they have not done anything then, why are they shouting in parliament today? Those are the same leaders, the inheritance, the legacy of the Congress. I for one can’t forget or forgive. A law made in 1958, what they call AFSPA, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act – perhaps there are no such laws in the world now… If they really want to preach peace, if they really want to talk about humanity, in the upcoming parliament session, we dare the Congress to say ‘We regret bringing in that law’… Is there any other such law in the world? Who brought this law?” Mr Newmai said.

“Yet, they come here and pretend to show they love the people. Are they not the same leaders from the same party, as if we are deaf and blind?” he added.

The controversial law AFSPA gives sweeping powers to security forces to operate freely anywhere that has been declared a “disturbed area”; no military personnel in an area where AFSPA is in force can be prosecuted without the Centre’s sanction. Manipur’s hill areas are under the AFSPA due to insurgent activity, while the law was removed from the valley areas after the situation improved in the last eight years since the BJP came to power.

Several petitions had been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to investigate over 1,500 extrajudicial killings in Manipur from the year 2000 to 2012.

“If they really want peace, give us constructive suggestions, let’s work together to bring peace and understanding. The main, core issue of what happened in Manipur continuously from time to time is illegal immigration. This is a problem known the world over. Only the Congress doesn’t know about it. They have never mentioned it. Rahul Gandhi visited two-three times. He never mentioned illegal immigrants and the way to stop them. He never said anything about it. Manipur has been a hotspot of drug trafficking and poppy plantation. That has become the core issue. Did he say anything about this? No,” Mr Newmai said.

The Manipur government has been carrying out its ‘war on drugs’ campaign, razing over 20,000 acres of poppy cultivation in the hills in recent years. The Centre has also decided to fence the porous border with Myanmar, starting with the Manipur section. The scrapping of the free-movement regime (FMR) that allows citizens from either nation to enter each other’s territory up to a certain distance without papers is another contentious issue.

“So, either they are ignorant about the Manipur situation, or they are the people who are engineering all these issues… In parliament, if they really want peace, they should express regret for what they have not done in the past,” he added.

During his visit, Mr Gandhi had told reporters in Imphal that there has not been much improvement in the situation in the state. “It’s the third time I have come here since the problem started and it has been a tremendous tragedy. I expected some improvement in the situation but was disappointed to see no marked improvement,” he had said.

The ethnic violence has killed over 220 people and left nearly 50,000 internally displaced.

The Kuki tribes want a separate administration or “Kukiland” carved out of Manipur, a demand towards which the Kukis have been working to achieve for decades, citing the need for a homeland for the scattered tribes who share ethnic ties with tribes in neighbouring Mizoram and Myanmar’s Chin State.

Kuki groups such as the Churachandpur-based Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and the Kangpokpi-based Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), and their 10 MLAs have joined the call for a separate administration – a demand also made by 25-odd Kuki-Zo insurgent groups that have signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement. This single demand has brought the Kuki insurgent groups, the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, and the civil society groups on the same page.

Meitei organisations say the Kukis’ claim for a separate administration as a result of the violence that began in May 2023 is a big lie since the SoO groups have been working with Kuki politicians and civil society groups to break up the state for many years before May 2023.