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North East: Manipur : Fresh ethnic violence in Moreh

	June 11, 2007

Curfew was reimposed and shoot-at-sight orders issued in Manipur’s trouble-torn border town of Moreh after 11 people were killed on Saturday, June 9.



The town, an important trade link with Myanmar, has turned into a powder keg of ethnic tension following the fresh killings and arson. Suspected militants shot dead five youth, believed to be Kukis, in the morning at two separate places in the border town. Later, rival factions torched a house in protest against the murders.



In another incident, the bodies of six persons, believed to be Meiteis, were recovered from a spot near Gate No. 1 on the international border with Myanmar. Another person with serious injuries was found lying unconscious alongside the bodies. He was admitted to a local hospital.



Though the police have not been able to identify the kill¬ers, they suspect militants to be behind the crime. The identi¬ties of the slain youth, too, are yet to be established. The bodies have been kept at Moreh police station.



The latest outburst of violence has sparked fresh tension between the two communities in the area. A mob surrounded the local police station in protest against the killings. Police lobbed teargas shells and fired in the air to disperse the irate protesters. The police also fired in the air to disperse another mob that torched a nearby house, which belonged to members of a particular community. No one was injured in the police crackdown.



Apprehending more trouble between communities and ethnic groups, the Chandel district administration reimposed continuous curfew, which had been relaxed during the daytime since Friday. Police reinforcements, led by Manipur director-general of police Y. Joykumar Singh,have been rushed to Moreh.



Moreh has been under curfew since June 3, after 24-year-old Roshan, a local youth, was shot dead by militants of the Kuki National Army (KNA). The outfit accused Roshan of fanning commu¬nal tension in the area.



India enjoys a flourishing border trade with Myanmar through Moreh. The Myanmarese government sealed the border a few days ago.



Assam Rifles spokesman Col L.M. Pant said troops have inten¬sified patrolling. India Reserve Battalion personnel have also stepped up patrolling and search operations to flush out mili¬tants.





Ibobi plan to arm citizens backfires



Meanwhile, Government’s plan to arm citizens with guns to fight militancy has led to a wave of protests by Manipuris.



“Criminals could take advantage of the government policy and create more law and order problems in the state. More than 20 militant groups are operating in Manipur, not to mention armed criminals. This will mean more gun culture and violence,” said a senior government official.



“Guns were used freely during the February Assembly elec¬tions. Firing and throwing of grenades at the residence of candi¬dates and political workers became so common in the run-up to the elections that the government ordered all those who have licensed guns to deposit the arms with the district authorities till the election process was over”, he added.



“Who knows, militants could only benefit out of this. They would not even hesitate to attack more people to snatch licensed guns,” an Imphal resident warned.



A senior government employee said the ultimate solution to the growing lawlessness in the state was not guns. “The effort should be to find a lasting solution to the problem of militancy and ensuring effective policing to bring the criminals to book,” he said.



According to a professor, if guns were the solution to violence, there would not be any crime in the US. “It is very easy to own a licensed gun in that country. But there has never been an end to gun violence in America,” he said.



The Ibobi Singh government’s decision to ease the process of acquiring a gun licence has come in the wake of the rising mili¬tant activities in both the hills and valleys of the state, particularly the abduction and extortion of government employees and businessmen. Though the Army has been deployed throughout the state, except in the Imphal municipal area, the situation has not changed much in this part of the Northeast.