Hundreds Of People Took To The Streets In Support Of Slain Militants In Manipur
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Imphal
- Nov 19, 2024
- 215
The violence that started between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur one and a half years ago is still going on.
A part of the country is burning in the fire of violence continuously, the violence stops for some time and then starts again. The central government has re-implemented AFSPA law in 5 districts to stop the violence, but the situation is not under control yet.
Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters took to the streets with empty coffins on Tuesday in Churachandpur district demanding justice for those killed in an encounter with security forces in Jiribam, Manipur.
Through the empty coffin, the protesters are demanding justice for the dead. According to Manipur Police, ten suspected militants were killed in an encounter with security forces last week, when the militants, dressed in uniforms like security forces and armed with sophisticated weapons, opened indiscriminate fire on the Borobakera police station and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam.
The rally, organised by the Joint Philanthropic Organisation (JPO), began around 11 am. Participants carried placards demanding justice for those killed and a separate administration in the hill areas.
The march culminated at the 'Wall of Remembrance', a memorial built in memory of the Kuki people killed in ethnic violence in the state since May last year. Later, a memorandum addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah was submitted to the district administration.
Kuki-Zo groups are claiming that those killed in Jiribam were village volunteers. However, the state police cited the recovery of a large number of arms and ammunition at the spot after the firing ended to refute this claim.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between the Meitei in the Imphal valley and the Kuki-Zo groups living in the surrounding hill areas since May last year.
Violence broke out in ethnically diverse Jiribam after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year. Jiribam had remained largely untouched by clashes until then