'MHA has a list of Manipur terrorists'

'There is a list with the Ministry of Home Affairs that has the details and names of the terrorist organisations that attack the Indian Army.'

As violence continues in Manipur between the Meiteis and Kukis, a Kuki MLA, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com, "Meiteis kill Kukis, Kukis kill Meiteis. The hatred and fear that the two communities have for each other has reached the maximum height."

Who is responsible for this new round of violence in Manipur?

You see it's a continuation of the riot. It's a continuation (of the violence that started on May 3, 2023).

Did the violence not subside for some time? Did the violence resume after the photographs of the two Meitei youth who were allegedly killed by the Kukis surfaced?

No, this is a narration (that the Kukis killed the two youth) set by the Meiteis.

(If they were killed), then where are their bodies? Where are their bodies?

I am told that they (the Meitei youth) eloped somewhere near the periphery (of areas that demarcate Kuki territories from those dominated by the Meiteis) and that they are hiding.

They say their phones were snapped by someone else. That is why they (the CBI officers investigating the murders) have tracked their mobiles and caught them (those who snatched their phones).

But the CBI couldn't find their bodies.

Are you saying that till their bodies are not found they cannot be considered as dead?

Yes.

But the Meiteis are already blaming Kukis. They are also blaming outsiders, the insurgents from Myanmar.

No, let me give you one tip. Who are these terrorists? Who are these militants? Check the list from the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is a list.

There is a list with the Ministry of Home Affairs that has the details and names of the terrorist organisations that attack the Indian Army. Everything will be clear. Just check that list and see.

This is their (Meiteis') made up story (that Kuki militants from across the border in Myanmar enter India and launch attacks on the Indian Army).

The CM (Chief Minister N Biren Singh) saying that these (Kuki) militants are coming from elsewhere is not true.

Do you have that list? The list that you are talking about...

No. The best is you (the media) get that list yourself from the MHA and then you will believe me.

If I give you that list you may say that I have made up that list. Let someone from the MHA give you that list.

But you believe that the Ministry of Home Affairs has a list of those who attack the Indian Army?

Yes.

Would these terrorists have something to do with the Kukis as the Meiteis allege?

I don't know. Now everybody is fighting. Don't know who is right, who is wrong.

But UNLF (United National Liberation Front), PLA (People's Liberation Army of Manipur), KYKL (Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup) (all militant organisations founded and led by the Meiteis)... everybody were inside Burma and waging war against India for the past 30 years. MHA has a list.

Why are the Meiteis blaming Kukis as the terrorists?

It's a war type situation. Everybody has that narration. But the truth will reveal itself someday. You can't blame one community against other. They are fighting a war with each other. That is why they have their own narration to make Indians think that Kukis are militants and coming from somewhere else (Myanmar). It's not true; if you guys (the media) can go there, you can check for yourself.

During Burma unrest, hundreds of refugees (from Myanmar) would cross over to our side, but when they stopped fighting, these migrants would go back. It's not fair to say Kukis are Burmese.

What's the situation in Manipur right now?

The situation is not too good; they have buffer zones between the hills and the valley (territories dominated by the Kukis and Meiteis respectively) but at some places there is no proper separation.

Today, in Manipur supporters of both the groups defend their territories from attacks by the other group. Sometimes, this works, sometimes it doesn't.

Do you stick to your demand that the hills should have a separate administration, which is unacceptable to the Meiteis, or do you think there is a way out? Can a new formula be worked out for peace to prevail in the state?

I don't know. The hatred between the two communities has reached its maximum height. Both the communities are reluctant to go areas dominated by each other's communities.

Meiteis don't want to go to hills and tribals don't want to go to the valley.

The ball is in the court of the Government of India.

Do you see any chance of peace returning to the valley as well as hills?

They fight each other. Meiteis kill Kukis, Kukis kill Meiteis.

The hatred and fear that the two communities have for each other has reached the maximum height. So it will take time.

I don't know what the central government is doing, but they will think of the way ahead.