Amid allegations of burning down of churches and temples by the two warring communities in strife-torn Manipur, a Meitei Christian and a social activist has appealed to the Kukis to come for talks for lasting peace in the state.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, activist and cyclist Philem Rohan Singh said the time has come to restore peace in the northeastern state and appealed to the churches of both communities to begin talks to "get things moving in the direction of peace." Reacting to the appeal, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum said both the communities cannot live together but agreed that "a talk on a ceasefire can be a starter." "When the separation is completed, when there is no more Kuki-Zo in Imphal and no Meitei in the hills, we should talk about political solutions. It is proven that the two cannot live together. We can talk about how to lead our separate lives. Yes, a talk on a ceasefire can be a starter," an ITLF leader said. Rohan Singh said, "The violence in Manipur is not a clash of two religions. Meitei and Kuki churches should come forward and play an active role in fostering peace in the state." He said political parties should stop the blame game and get involved to bring both communities to the dialogue table and end the violence which has taken hundreds of lives so far.

"In a war, both parties are affected. I request the Kukis to come forward and begin talks for the sake of peace," he added.

He claimed that in the last four months, 250 Meitei churches and over 70 Kuki churches have been vandalised and it was time to put a stop to all this.

"It is completely wrong to say that only churches have been vandalised. Nearly 400 temples have also been razed in addition to hundreds of houses of both communities. Such scale of violence should worry both sides as there is nothing more important than peace," the 24-year-old youth hailing from the small town of Moirang said.

He asserted that the claim that only Kuki churches were burnt is not correct as those of Meiteis were also destroyed.

"If the violence does not end, the burning of churches will continue... We should not destroy the house of God to pursue our goals. That's why I request the church elders of both communities to start the process of dialogue without further delay," he added.

"I also think that church leaders from across the country should intervene as the violence has been simmering for far too long," he added.

Rohan claimed he has Kuki friends who requested him to start the process of dialogue by involving the churches, politicians and both the state and the central governments.

Roshan Khumukcham, vice-president of Manipuris in Kolkata (MIK), said the large-scale use of weapons in the trouble-torn state is a cause of serious concern.

"Most of the weapons are reaching the state from outside and that needs to stop," he said, without mentioning from which countries the guns are reaching.

Rohan said like Mizoram, Manipur should also start keeping records of all Myanmarese who have taken shelter in the state.

"Only if we have a data on illegal immigrants, we can solve the trouble," he said.

More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

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