IMPHAL, Dec 30 UNA: A series of bomb blast incidents, a minister assaulting a youth during a government organized festival and sexual abuse of a female film actor, killing of a journalist in police firing brought infamy to Manipur in 2012, overshadowing the glory its sports persons achieved at the London Olympics.
Okram Ibobi government remained busy warding off people’s protests on many issues including blockade and counter blockade on national highways, matters arising out of Union home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde’s invitation to him to Delhi to seek his opinions on the ongoing talks between NSCN-IM and Centre, violent protest in the wake of alleged molestation of a Manipuri film actress by a functionary of NSCN(IM) during a musical concert at Chandel on December 18 last.
Union home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde has invited chief minister Okram Ibobi to Delhi to seek his opinions on the ongoing talks between NSCN-IM and Centre with the hope that the discussion will provide some lead to an agreeable solution on the vexed issue.
Even though Centre insisted Ibobi to help in settling the Naga political issue during the meeting with the Unon home minister, he (Ibobi) clarified that exact points of agreement reached between the Centre and the NSCN (IM) were not disclosed to him during the meeting and as such he was not in a position to help in it in response to demands of the various section of the society to disclose what the points which Centre asked him to help.
One hot issue of the year was the demand for a separate Kuki state to be formed by curving out Kuki inhabited areas of the state. On the demand, the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) had imposed blockade on the state and national highways which evoked sharp reaction from Naga and Meetei based civil organizations when the KSDC came out with a map of the proposed Kuki state.
Another incident which nearly marred the Christmas celebration in the state was the alleged molestation of a film actor by Lt Col Rt Livingstone of NSCN (IM) during a musical concert on December 18 last. Decrying the act of the cadre of an outfit maintaining ceasefire trust with government India and demanding booking of the culprit, an indefinite bandh was imposed in the state before the Christmas festival.
The first three days of the indefinite bandh was marked by rampant violence and there were sharp criticism from various civil organizations, alleging that the bandh supporters indulged in activities which hurt the sentiment of a particular community. Authority of Manipur government even imposed curfew in valley districts.
Despite such crucial issues that had faced in Manipur during the current year, at least 105 bomb blasts were reported in the state, claiming life of nine people. Eighty-nine people were injured in the blasts. The blasts include hurling hand grenades at the house of individuals in connection with monetary demand and targeting security forces.
Constituents of Coordination Committee (CorCom) of seven underground outfits had engineered a series of explosions including on January 26, 2012, Republic Day and Independence Day celebration in the state.
A powerful explosion took place in Imphal during Republic Day celebrations at Thumbuthong in Imphal East District; and at Moirangkhom in Imphal West District. No causalities were reported. Further, unidentified persons lobbed a hand grenade at a market shed at Waheng Khuman in Bishnupur District, injuring five persons. CorCom claimed responsibility for all three attacks.
CorCom was formed in July 2011, when top leaders of seven underground groups operating from the Imphal Valley of Manipur met for two days (July 8 and 9) to discuss ‘revolutionary movements’ in Manipur and elsewhere in the South East Asian region, and agreed to form a Coordination Committee.
CorCom has since engaged in numerous acts of violence, with a particular intensity during the Assembly elections of January 2012. CorCom had declared a ‘ban’ on the ruling Indian National Congress (INC) and, accordingly, issued death threats and carried out numerous bomb blasts across the State, while openly claiming responsibility for its activities.
In a statement on January 4, 2012, CorCom declared that contesting on INC tickets, campaigning and organizing rallies for the INC were prohibited, and anyone defying this diktat would be ‘punished’. The ban, however, failed, and Okram Ibobi Singh was sworn in as chief minister for the third consecutive term, on March 14, 2012, with the Congress winning 42 out of 60 seats in the Assembly.
Manipur saw a sharp escalation of violence in the beginning of 2012. On March 21, 2012, the Union minister of state for home Jitendra Singh stated that Manipur had become the State worst affected by militancy in the country, overtaking Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and other northeastern States, with 246 militancy-related incidents recorded in the first three months of the year. 34 such incidents occurred in J&K during the same period.
A compilation to militancy related incident from various sources indicates that 70 fatalities have been reported in the State, including 16 civilians, 9 Security Forces (SF) personnel and 45 militants, already exceeding total figure of 2011, at 65 fatalities.
CorCom was responsible for the maximum number of bomb attacks carried out across the State, and was also involved in a number of encounters with the SFs. Some significant incidents involving CorCom in 2012 included:
January 26, 2012: Two days before elections, at least four SF personnel and three militants were killed in two separate clashes in Manipur, at Aishi village in Ukhrul District and at Taretlok, bordering Thoubal and Ukhrul District.CorCom elements have also intensified their propaganda and drive against ‘outsiders’. The United Revolutionary Front (URF, set up on January 7, 2012, which collaborates with CorCom in their attacks against non-locals, but is not a member of CorCom), a conglomerate of five splintered factions of the KCP, in a statement issued by its secretary information and publicity’ A.K. Pibarel, on April 9, 2012.
The statement declared that it was not right to let outsiders claim ownership of all professional works in the state and that the indigenous people should be the right owners of Manipur and its markets, including all kinds of occupations or professions. Thereafter, on April 14, 2012, URF announced an ‘ordinance’ against all non-locals living in Manipur as part of its economic policy for indigenous people.
The 15- point ordinance, among other provisions, imposes a monthly ‘tax’ on all non-indigenous people, without considering the period of their settlement in Manipur.
Significantly, in a pre-dawn operation launched on August 30, 2012, by Manipur Police teams in Lilong and Hatta Golapati, two Muslim-dominated areas of Thoubal and Imphal East Districts, as a precaution to prevent an outbreak of Assam-like violence in the State, a total of 43 foreign nationals, including 24 Bangladeshis and 19 Myanmarese, were detained.
The crackdown on illegal migrants came close on the heels of a fresh campaign by civil society groups for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system in Manipur. The ILP is an official travel document required for Indian citizens to travel into restricted areas.
The Manipur Assembly passed a resolution in July 2012 to urge the Centre to introduce ILP in the State, to regulate the influx of migrants and foreigners. The Centre, however, is said to have no plans to extend the system, which exists only in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, to include Manipur.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/manipur-the-worst-affected-by-militancy/
