GUWAHATI
The commanding officer of the Army’s Eastern Command on Tuesday said ethnic violence in Manipur will stop after 4,000 firearms looted from security forces in the State are recovered.
Speaking to journalists at a programme organised by the Gauhati Press Club, Lt Gen Rana Pratap Kalita said the Manipur conflict was a “political problem” and the armed forces have been focused on containing the violence and motivating the warring communities to take the route of peaceful resolution.
“The Indian Army’s aim initially was to carry out rescue and relief operations for people displaced from their homes,” he said.
“Thereafter, we have been trying to contain the violence and motivate people to accept a peaceful resolution. But because of the polarisation between the two communities, Meiteis and Kukis, sporadic incidents are continuing,” Lt Gen Kalita said, insisting that Manipur’s problem can be resolved politically.
He said legacy issues among the three communities – Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas – have been a factor behind several conflicts in Manipur over four decades.
“What has happened now is that the two communities have become completely polarised. Although the level of violence has come down, more than 5,000 weapons taken from various police stations and other places are still in people’s hands,” he said.
“Only about 1,500 of these weapons have been recovered. Till the time the remaining 4,000 weapons are out in society, this sporadic violence will continue,” he added.
Lt Gen Kalita said India is providing shelter on humanitarian grounds to villagers, officials, and security personnel from Myanmar in Mizoram and Manipur but not to armed cadres of extremist groups or drug traffickers.
There are allegations that drug traffickers and poppy growers are behind the unrest in Manipur. Lt Gen Kalita said the smuggling of weapons along with drugs across the Myanmar border has been largely checked.
