Kuki-Zo members held massive rallies on Saturday in strife-hit Manipur and New Delhi to press their demand for a separate administration and protest against the purported audio clips of Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh where he allegedly indicated his “partisan complicity” in the ongoing violence.
Kuki-Zo organisations also submitted several memoranda to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has not visited the state since the ethnic conflict began on May 3, 2023, on the “implication” of the leaked audio tapes and reminding the Prime Minister’s Office of the “severity of the situation” in the state over the targeting of the Kuki-Zo community in the conflict.
Protests and rallies were held in Churachandpur, Pherzawl, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, Jiribam and at Jantar Mantar in Delhi with the focus primarily on the leaked audio tapes and the demand for a political solution in the form of a separate administration.
The BJP-led Manipur government has dismissed the audio tapes by calling them “doctored” and claiming that the recordings are being circulated to derail ongoing efforts at restoring peace in the state.
Shops and business establishments kept their shutters down in areas where the rallies were taken out despite an appeal by the government on Friday to keep offices and shops open.
Protesters carried banners and placards that flagged the leaked tapes and separate administration such as “Leaked Tapes: ethnic cleansing Exposed, Save us from Manipur”; “Separate administration the only solution” and “The audio proved GoM declared war on us”. The slogans were also along the same lines.
The memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister by the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO) in Kangpokpi demanded action against the chief minister over the “audio tape proof”, strengthening of buffer zones with Assam Rifles to man the red zones and immediate political solution under Article 239A.
The memorandum in Churchandpur submitted by seven students’ organisations, including the KSO, also flagged the issue of the leaked audio tapes, claiming the “recent disclosure of confidential audio recordings pertaining to Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh with regards to the Kuki-Zo tribes” has evoked concerns and “incited considerable unrest and prompted urgent calls for remedial action within our state.”
The memorandum said the leaked recordings “as published by Thewire.in purportedly encompass controversial and incendiary remarks attributed to Manipur Chief Minister... particularly concerning is an alleged statement regarding women who have suffered sexual assault... Furthermore, references to the deployment of explosive devices during his conversation with the Hon’ble Union Home Minister, in the context of the prevailing unrest” triggering apprehension about potential escalation of violence and the subsequent “jeopardisation of public safety”.
The memorandum reiterated “in light of the protracted crisis and the ramifications of the leaked tapes, the Kuki-Zo community’s call “for the imposition of President’s Rule and the establishment of an autonomous administration” and a “decisive and sensitive approach” in restoring public trust and peace.
The audio clips have been in the news following the publication of a three-part report by The Wire earlier in August wherein the “purported maker/s of the 48-minute recording (said) that it was done in person at a meeting where the chief minister unmistakably indicated his partisan complicity in the
ongoing violence”.
The Wire report also said “this material (audio file) has also been submitted” to the Ajai Lamba-headed Commission of Inquiry probing the ethnic violence in the state. Part of the audio clips purportedly featuring Singh were also leaked on social media platforms before August 7.