High security in Manipur on anniversary of ethnic clashes

Guwahati: Security forces were on heightened alert in the troubled northeastern state of Manipur on Friday, the first anniversary of the start of clashes between the majority Meitei community and tribal Kukis that have killed at least 220 people.

The remote state bordering Myanmar has been hit by violence since May 3 last year after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the Kukis to the majority Meiteis as well.

Although much of the violence was put down within days, sporadic clashes, gun battles and bomb attacks have continued in the state of 3.2 million (32 lakh) people.

The region has become divided into a valley controlled by Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills, separated by a stretch of no-man's land monitored by federal paramilitary forces, with some 60,000 displaced people living in relief camps.

"Elaborate preventive measures are in place," a top state police officer said, without giving details about security measures in a state where thousands of extra troops and federal police have been sent in the last year.

The Kuki Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Kukis, said it will observe May 3 as "Kuki-Zo Awakening Day", or a day for "introspection" and "self-realisation".

The Kuki-dominated hill districts will hold mass prayers in the morning at churches followed by meetings to commemorate those who lost their lives during the past year.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), another body representing Kuki interests, has called for a shutdown through the day in the Kuki-dominated district of Churachandpur to "honour the sacrifices and struggles of our warriors".

In the Meitei-controlled valley, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a civil society organisation, will launch a booklet highlighting key issues of the conflict.

"It has been one year of this long crisis. We will be condemning the kind of injustice that has been meted out to the indigenous people (Meiteis) of Manipur," COCOMI spokesperson Kh. Athouba said.

The violence in Manipur has been sporadic and security officials have described the quiet periods as "apparent peace".

"Both communities don't trust each other because they have not had any formal talks yet about the root cause, or the way forward," said a senior police officer, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Many residents say there is widespread disappointment over the inability of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to end what critics have called a mixture of anarchy and civil war in the state, governed by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.