President of the Indian bishops in Manipur: Aid for the reconstruction of all communities

Archbishop Andrews Thazhath visited the areas that have been the scene of sectarian clashes since the beginning of May. Caritas has pledged to donate aid for the reconstruction of churches and schools (razed to the ground by the violence) and for the displaced, around 60,000. According to commentators, the situation was favored by state policies against minorities. Seven men have been arrested so far for the rapes and harassment of women shown in a video circulated in recent days.

Imphal (AsiaNews) - Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), visited the areas of Manipur which have been the scene of violent sectarian clashes since the beginning of May, mainly between the Kuki ethnic groups - also known as Zo and predominantly Christian - and Meitei, mostly Hindus.

At least 150 dead and over 60,000 displaced have been confirmed, while in recent days a video dating back to May 4 has been released showing sexual violence against two women, mother and daughter.

“It was heart-wrenching to see that these places looked deserted and seemed like they will not be inhabited in the near future given the mutual mistrust and fear that continues to prevail. We are equally worried as to what is the actual situation and the future of those who have fled from these places and the future of their children, in the midst of all these vulnerabilities. We had the opportunity to visit some of the schools and hostels wherein we could see the anxieties and distress of the children clearly leaving us with no answers at this point of time as to how we can build better the communities and the institutions", said the prelate, who was accompanied by Dominic Lumon, archbishop of the diocese of Imphal, the capital of the northeastern state, by Fr. Jervis D'Souza, deputy secretary general of the CBCI and by Fr. Paul Moonjely, executive director of Caritas India.

The charity body of the Bishops' Conference has so far invested 30 million rupees in aid, the archbishop underlined after distributing aid to displaced persons and inaugurating a medical camp in Pukhou.

Several churches, schools and parish sports fields "that provided educational, social and development services to all communities, including Kuki-zo, Naga, Meitei and others, were reduced to ashes", continues the statement by Msgr. Thazhath.

“Aid is being delivered equally in all affected areas. Caritas India is committed to continuing to provide assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of communities. We condemn all forms of violence, atrocities and attacks especially on our institutions, places of worship and vulnerable sections of society such as women and children. We are equally concerned about the prolonged silence and apathy of law enforcement agencies to contain the violence. Our appeal is that the government system support the secular fabric of our country, strengthen constitutional values and cultivate an environment of peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic groups".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the violence only after the video on sexual assaults circulated. Even before this conflict broke out in Manipur, there had been episodes of tension: on 11 April in Imphal three churches had been demolished and just over two weeks later a leader of the extremist organization Meitei Leepun had spread the message on Facebook to "annihilate our traditional rival in the hills".

In fact, the violence exploded after a court proposal to assign the Meitei the status of recognized tribe enjoyed by the Kuki who have always occupied the raised lands. Worried that Hindus could take over their ancestral lands in this way, they organized a peaceful protest march that escalated into sectarian clashes.

Several commentators agree that it was the local government of Manipur, led by Prime Minister Biren Singh, who created "an ecosystem conducive to riots". Since 2017, the chief minister, who comes from the same right-wing ultranationalist party as Prime Minister Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has created places of worship and used historical figures in an attempt to move the Meitei community from the valley to the mountainous areas.

Meanwhile, the Kukis have been accused of being "illegal immigrants", because they are ethnically close to refugees fleeing neighboring Myanmar where a civil conflict has been raging for over two years, and of being "opium farmers" or even "narco-terrorists", an accusation which according to many experts is unfounded because all ethnic groups are involved in drug trafficking at the border.

The local government has also attempted to create a national register of citizens to identify "illegal immigrants" using biometric data, a model already applied in the state of Assam and which was later declared illegal by the Indian Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, however, despite the crowd around the raped and abused Kuki women numbering - according to witnesses - some 900-1,000 people, only seven men have been arrested by police so far. The women said that the police had handed them over to the crowd and that the crimes against them had been reported months ago, long before the video surfaced.

(Nirmala Carvalho collaborated)

• Manipur violence