Manipur clash 'political problem'; 4,000 looted arms still in open: Lt Gen R P Kalita

 The Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen R P Kalita also said India is giving shelter to anyone from Myanmar seeking refuge, including common villagers, army or police, in Mizoram and Manipur, but not armed cadres of militant groups or drug traffickers.

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SALAM ABUSHARAR, PTI, 22 NOV 2023 : Terming the ethnic clashes in Manipur as a "political problem", Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita said incidents of violence will continue unless around 4,000 weapons, which were looted from security forces, are recovered from common people.

The Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief also said India is giving shelter to anyone from Myanmar seeking refuge, including common villagers, army or police, in Mizoram and Manipur, but not armed cadres of militant groups or drug traffickers.

What did Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalit say?

"Our efforts have been to contain the violence and motivate both sides of the conflict to come for a peaceful resolution of the political problem. Because ultimately, there has to be a political resolution to the problem," Kalita told reporters at an interaction organised by the Gauhati Press Club on Tuesday.

As far as the ground situation was concerned, the Indian Army's aim initially was to carry out rescue and relief operations for the people who were displaced from their houses, he added.

"Thereafter, we are trying to contain the violence, which we have been largely successful. But because of the polarisation between the two communities, Meiteis and Kukis, some sporadic incidents keep taking place here and there," Kalita said.

Asked why normalcy has not returned to Manipur even after more than six-and-half months of beginning of the clashes, he said there has been some legacy issues between the three communities that live in the state -- Meitei, Kuki and Naga.

The Lieutenant General pointed out that earlier also there had been conflicts between the Kukis and Nagas in the 1990s when almost 1,000 people were killed.

"What has happened now is that both the communities have completely got polarised. Though the level of violence has come down, more than 5,000 weapons were taken away from various police stations and other places.

"Out of that, only about 1,500 weapons have been recovered. So, around 4,000 weapons are still out. Till the time these weapons are out in society, this sort of sporadic violent activities will continue," he added.

Kalita, however, said weapon smuggling along with drugs through the Indo-Myanmar border has been checked, although some isolated incidents may be there.

"But since 4,000 weapons are already out in the open, I think there is no requirement of weapons to come from outside," he stressed.

Ethnic clashes in Manipur

More than 180 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

More than 31,000 people from Myanmar have been living in Mizoram. These foreigners, mostly from Chin state, fled following a military coup in Myanmar in February 2021. Many also took shelter in neighbouring Manipur.

In the last few weeks, dozens of Myanmar soldiers stationed near the international border with India fled to Mizoram following intense gunfights with militia group People's Defence Force (PDF). They were later escorted back to their country through Moreh in Manipur.