Manipur chief minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Sunday described Saturday’s talks with the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in Guwahati as the “first step” towards removing the “trust deficit” between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei communities involved in the ongoing conflict in the strife-hit state.
Khemchand, who took over as the chief minister on February 4, made the above observation while inspecting the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) at Khuman Lampak in Imphal, adding that the move was “also a step to bridge the gap between the two communities in an effort to bring peace”.
The KZC, a conglomerate of leading organisations representing the Kuki-Zos, has also responded positively to the “first engagement” with the state government, after nearly three years of conflict that erupted on May 3, 2023. “The interaction was largely an ice-breaking session,” the KZC said in a statement on Sunday.
The Guwahati meeting was the outcome of a letter written by the chief minister’s office (CMO) to KZC chairman H. Thanglet on March 17, inviting KZC members for a meeting in Guwahati on March 21 “to discuss matters related to bringing peace and normalcy in Manipur”.
Singh said on Sunday that it was a “good beginning” due to the KZC’s willingness to hold talks after almost three years.
Khemchand said there was “no buffer zone” in the state, but the state government has “identified certain sensitive areas” and that he “does not need to speak” on the Kuki-Zos’ demand for a separate administration because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “already announced that Manipur’s territorial integrity will not be compromised”.
The KZC said the meeting started at 7pm and continued till 8.45pm wherein its delegation raised several key issues, all of which were “attentively heard by the chief minister”.
“Prominent among these were the urgent need to de-escalate the ongoing tensions between the Kuki and Tangkhul communities, and the imperative of ensuring justice for the victims of the conflict as a fundamental prerequisite for any meaningful peace and reconciliation process,” the KZC said.
The KZC also emphasised on maintaining “the sanctity of the buffer zone until a political settlement is reached” while stressing the need to “expedite a resolution” to the ongoing suspension of operations (SoO) talks “to ensure durable and lasting peace in the region”.