Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum Team Meets Home Minister in Delhi Regarding Manipur Violence; Details Here

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) delegation met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday. The gathering was organised in response to the Government of India’s August 3 request for a peaceful resolution to the dispute over the interment of the mortal remains of the victims of the violence in Manipur.

Sources claim that Shah made the decision to use the government’s sericulture farm for the burial of the remains in response to a request by ITLF officials.

The government requested, they said, that the delegation not insist on performing the funeral ceremonies at the same spot—which is located inside a war zone—but rather choose a different location in agreement with the deputy commissioner of the Churachandpur district and carry out the funerals as soon as possible. The delegation promised that they would choose a different venue after consulting with the public in light of the minister’s suggestion.

According to further sources, Shah reassured the ITLF delegates that, in light of the concerns of the Hills inhabitants, the presence of central troops in Manipur would be expanded even more and reoriented to safeguard sensitive regions. The state forces would function in the Hill regions in coordination with the central troops and under the guidance of the state security advisor, they said.

Shah also reportedly said that the required preparations will be taken to make it easier to identify and transfer the corpses of the violence victims who were found in Imphal to their respective hometowns.

They continued by saying that the government had also promised to make it possible for inhabitants of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, and Moreh to use helicopters to go to their desired locations as soon as possible.

They declared that the necessary efforts will be made to build Manipur student facilitation centers and to let students to enroll in colleges in hilly regions, transfer to institutions outside the state, and do both.

According to the sources, assurances have also been offered on the establishment of an office in Churachandpur and the monitoring of the detainees’ conditions by the three-member Justice Lamba Commission, which is looking into the unrest in Manipur.

According to ITLF spokeswoman Ginza Vualzong, who talked to News 18, “Solution to our political demand seems to be far away as the home minister insists on peace to prevail before the process starts.”