- Yumnam Khemchand Singh met Kuki and Zomi tribes in Guwahati for peace talks
- The meeting aimed to build confidence amid ongoing Meitei-Kuki and Kuki-Naga ethnic tensions
- Kuki Zo Council raised key issues, urging suspension of operations until political settlement
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and members of a Kuki and Zomi tribes' organisation held a "confidence-building" meeting in Assam's Guwahati on Saturday, an official said.
Khemchand Singh, who became chief minister after the end of the President's Rule last month, has been working on many fronts to bring peace in the state where Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, the official said.
"Representatives of a Kuki group had a discussion with the chief minister. This was a confidence-building measure. The meeting was held in a hotel in Guwahati. The chief minister asked the Kuki community to take all steps to bring peace in Manipur," the official said.
Tension has also been rising between the Tangkhul Naga and Kuki tribes in Manipur in recent weeks, after the two communities clashed over land and access.
"Manipur had to bear the brunt of the Meitei-Kuki violence that began in May 2023. Hundreds were killed, thousands were left homeless. Now, the Kuki-Naga tension is harming the chances of peace in Manipur. The government is concerned and is taking steps to defuse tension," another official said.
The Kuki-Naga conflict in Manipur, primarily occurring in the 1990s, was a severe ethnic clash over land, identity and political dominance, resulting in over 1,000 deaths and widespread displacement.
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Dispute between the two tribes arose from conflicting homeland demands, specifically overlapping claims by the Naga armed group NSCN to include Kuki-inhabited areas in 'Greater Nagalim'.
Yesterday's Guwahati meeting began at 7 pm and lasted nearly two hours. It was the first meeting after almost three years of the Meitei-Kuki conflict. The Kuki Zo Council (KZC) delegation raised some key issues, all of which the chief minister heard and acknowledged, an official said.
There's a need to defuse tension between the Kuki and Tangkhul Naga tribes, and ensure justice for victims of the Manipur ethnic violence as a fundamental prerequisite for any meaningful peace and reconciliation process, the KZC said in a statement.
The chief minister was informed that access to the sensitive areas where villages dominated by either communities meet should not be allowed until reaching a political settlement. The KZC called for a faster mechanism to drive the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement talks for lasting peace in the region.
The chief minister shared his concerns, commitments, and steps undertaken by his government to restore peace and normalcy in Manipur, the KZC said. He expressed appreciation for the KZC's initiative in engaging with him during this challenging period, it said.
The meeting ended without any decision or formal agreement.
