Group of bishops who completed a two-day visit to Manipur decry ‘silence & apathy’

The four-member team, led by CBCI president and Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, visited places affected by ethnic clashes that have claimed 150 lives and displaced around 60,000 people since May 3

The CBCI team distributed relief items at a camp in Kakching and inaugurated a medical camp at Pukhou in Sugnu that used to be inhabited by over 1,000 families, the statement said.

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Pheroze L. Vincent, TT, New Delhi, 25.07.23 :  A team of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, which completed its two-day visit to strife-torn Manipur on Monday, has expressed concern about the “prolonged silence and apathy of the law enforcement agencies in containing the violence” in the state.

In a statement, the country’s apex body of Catholics said: “We are deeply saddened about the prolonged situation of violence in Manipur. We condemn all forms of violence, atrocities and attacks, especially on our institutions, places of worship and vulnerable sections of the society like women and children. We are equally worried about the prolonged silence and apathy of the law enforcement agencies in containing the violence.

“It is our earnest appeal that the governance system should uphold the secular fabric of our country, reinforce constitutional values and cultivate an environment of peaceful co-existence of various communities. We call upon all concerned persons to enter into the process of dialogue and concentrate on the development of all sections of the people in order to bring about peace and harmony in India and in particular in the state of Manipur.”

The four-member team, led by CBCI president and Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, visited places affected by ethnic clashes that have claimed 150 lives and displaced around 60,000 people since May 3.

Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his 78-day silence on Manipur after a video of two tribal women being paraded naked went viral. Parliament is currently stalled over the Opposition’s demand for a statement on the floor of the House by the Prime Minister.

The CBCI team distributed relief items at a camp in Kakching and inaugurated a medical camp at Pukhou in Sugnu that used to be inhabited by over 1,000 families, the statement said.

“They had their houses and properties totally destroyed and vandalised. St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School and Parish which rendered educational, social and developmental service to all communities including Kuki-Zo, Naga, Meitei and others had been reduced to cinders. Holy Redeemer Church in the campus of Catholic School at Canchipur and the Regional Pastoral Training Centre and St. Paul’s Parish at Sangaiprou had also been destroyed completely,” it said.

The CBCI team said these places looked deserted and seemed like they would not be inhabited in the near future given the mutual mistrust and fear that continued to prevail.

“We are equally worried as to what is the actual situation and the future of those who have fled from these places and the future of their children, in the midst of all these vulnerabilities. We had the opportunity to visit some of the schools and hostels wherein we could see the anxieties and distress of the children, clearly leaving us with no answers at this point of time as to how we can build better the communities and the institutions,” the statement added.

Multiple fact-finding teams have found that most relief camps in the state are run by social organisations rather than the state. Catholic relief agency Caritas India has so far provided aid worth Rs 3 crore.

The Opposition parties and civil society have called for President’s rule in Manipur. Kuki tribal groups have demanded a separate administration while the Meiteis want the disarming and expulsion of alleged illegal Kuki immigrants from Myanmar whom they blame for the violence.

A petition to President Droupadi Murmu by more than 3,200 eminent persons on Sunday said: “While the majoritarian mobs and police are directly culpable, the inaction and complicity of those higher-up in the echelons of power needs questioning too. Even institutions like the NCW (National Commission for Women), which have been in receipt of complaints of sexual violence and rape for more than a month refused to act for so long! The intervention of the Hon’ble Supreme Court has also sadly been a case of too little, too late.”