Manipur human rights defender, Babloo Loitongbam, has claimed his family was threatened by “some fifty young men” on Monday, a day after a radical cultural group, Meitei Leepun, warned him for working “against” the interest of the Meitei community.
Loitongbam issued a statement on Tuesday and said that on September 23 “some fifty young men came to my house and threatened my family that if I come out in any public domain then my family will face consequences. This is following a press conference by Meitei Leepun (ML) the previous day levelling false charges on me as well as warning people against working with me.”
The identity of the youths or the organisation they belonged to was not mentioned.
Responding to the charges levelled against him by the Meitei Leepun, Loitongbam said: “I have been working as a human rights defender for the last three decades. I believe in the peaceful co-existence and co-development of all communities in Manipur. I have no financial transaction with any Kuki militant outfit or individuals. Therefore, the allegation that I have received money from the Kukis is unfounded.”
Urging the public not to engage with Loitongbam, Meitei Leepun had in a press meet on Sunday accused him of collaborating with the Kuki-Zo communities, even after he was asked to stay away from issues related to the conflict last year; of pushing for the protection of illegal immigrants; of having financial dealings with the Kuki-Zo community and of blaming the Meiteis for the conflict.
The organisation has claimed that Loitongbam provided refuge to the Women Wing Commander of the PDF (People’s Defence Force) from Myanmar in Imphal before the conflict started on May 3, 2023.
Loitongbam, the executive director of the organisation named Human Rights Alert, said that he “stands up for the right of every person to seek asylum in another country when they are facing persecution in their own country”, including asylum-seekers in India from Myanmar through the medium of appropriate institutions like a functioning Regional Foreigner Registration Office or by giving access to UN High Commissioner for Refugee to offer its humanitarian services in Manipur.
On the issue of “PDF Women Wing Commander”, Loitongbam said the woman’s name is Mya Kyay Mon, a citizen of Norway, who was referred to Human Rights Alert as a “woman prisoner in distress”.
“As empanelled lawyers under the Manipur Legal Services Authority, HRA offered legal aid, secured her bail and referred her to a women’s home in Imphal pending her trial. She is a citizen of Norway and is of Burma-Buddhist origin. She is not a Chin nor a Christian as widely circulated online.”
Loitongbam said: “The only charge levelled (against her) was that of overstaying her visa,” Loitongbam said, adding she is still detained in Imphal jail to the best of his knowledge. He also refuted the allegation of accompanying her to the UN and the US to raise funds “as she is still placed under judicial custody by the State authority”.
