'Manipur caste violence 'political problem', people have 4,000 looted weapons': Lieutenant General Kalita

Terming the ethnic conflict in Manipur as a 'political problem', Army's Eastern Command Commander Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita on Tuesday said incidents of violence will not stop until about 4,000 weapons looted by security forces are recovered from the common people. Will continue.

The 'General Officer Commanding-in-Chief' of the Eastern Command also said that India is granting asylum to anyone seeking refuge from Myanmar, including ordinary villagers, army, or police in Mizoram and Manipur, but not militants and drug smugglers. Not the armed cadres of the groups.

Speaking to reporters at the Guwahati Press Club, Kalita said, “Our effort is to stop the violence and motivate both sides of the conflict for a peaceful solution to the political problem. Because ultimately there has to be a political solution to the problem.”

He said that as far as the ground situation was concerned, the objective of the Indian Army was initially to conduct rescue and relief operations for the people displaced from their homes. Kalita said, 'After this, we are trying to stop the violence, in which we have been successful to a large extent. However, due to polarization between the two communities – Meitei and Kuki, sporadic incidents keep happening here and there.

Asked why normalcy has not returned to Manipur even after more than six-and-a-half months since the clashes began, he said there are some heritage issues between the three communities living in the state - Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas. The Lieutenant General said there was an earlier conflict between the Kukis and the Nagas in the 1990s, in which about 1,000 people were killed.

He said, 'What has happened now is that the two communities have become completely polarized. However, the level of violence has reduced. More than 5,000 weapons were looted from various police stations and other places. 'Out of these, only 1,500 weapons have been recovered,' the officer said. Therefore, about 4,000 weapons are still out there. As long as people have these weapons, such sporadic violent activities will continue.

Kalita said the smuggling of narcotics, as well as weapons through the India-Myanmar border, has stopped, although some isolated incidents may occur. “But since 4,000 weapons are already in the open, I feel there is no need to bring weapons from outside,” he stressed.

More than 180 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur on May 3 after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organized in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Meitei people constitute about 53 percent of the state's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. At the same time, the population of Naga and Kuki tribal communities is slightly more than 40 percent, who live in the hilly districts.

On Myanmar's refugee crisis, Lieutenant General Kalita said, 'Any instability in our neighborhood is not in our interest. It definitely impacts us, because we have a common border. Due to difficult geographical conditions and lack of development, the problem related to the India-Myanmar border increases.

He said there are people of the same ethnic origin on both sides of the border, with considerable free movement, and it becomes difficult for the forces managing the borders to identify who are people from India and who are from Myanmar.

Kalita said, 'We are giving shelter to anyone seeking asylum, whether it is a common villager or Myanmar Army or Myanmar Police. A proper procedure is followed. “Whenever they want to come in, the weapons are clearly put away.”

“After this, a proper identification is done so that unwanted elements can be separated,” he said. We contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the (Myanmar) Embassy. All these Myanmar Army personnel will be taken to Moreh (in Manipur) and then handed over to the (Myanmar) force.”

Kalita said the instructions to the border forces are very clear that ordinary villagers seeking refuge to escape the conflict in Myanmar should not be stopped and should be sent back as and when they are ready.