The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (Cocomi), a prominent Meitei-based civil society organisation, on Friday extended its support to the call by internally displaced persons (IDPs) to boycott the upcoming Sangai Festival.

The festival, one of Manipur’s flagship annual tourism events, is organised by the state government to showcase its cultural diversity and tourism potential. It has not been held for the past two years due to the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo communities. The festival is usually held across multiple venues in late November.

Manipur has been under President’s rule since February this year.

Cocomi convenor L. Jayenta said the decision to hold the festival amid continuing unrest was “inappropriate and insensitive”, as thousands of displaced people were still languishing in relief camps while the conflict remained unresolved. “The government’s attempt to project a picture of normalcy through the Sangai Festival is misplaced when so many people are yet to be rehabilitated,” he said.

The committee said any plan to host the festival should be deferred until peace and normalcy were restored and the displaced resettled.

The ethnic violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, has left at least 260 people dead and over 60,000 displaced. Despite multiple peace efforts, Meiteis still cannot enter Kuki-Zo areas, and vice versa, underscoring the continuing division within the state.

Several IDP groups on Thursday had called for the boycott, urging the government to prioritise phase-wise resettlement over tourism promotion. “Holding festivals while people suffer in camps sends the wrong message,” one of the groups said in a statement.

Cococmi’s endorsement of the boycott has added fresh pressure on the state government, which faces criticism for attempting to project normalcy amid continuing displacement and mistrust between the two communities.