Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh’s apology for the ongoing conflict in the state and his appeal for peace have failed to cut ice with the Kuki-Zos, two leading organisations representing the community have said in no uncertain terms.

The Committee on Tribal Unity (Cotu), a conglomerate of civil society organisations in the Kuki-Zo-majority Kangpokpi district, saw Singh’s apology “as a means to absolve himself of the political mess he has created”.

In a statement Ng Lun Kipgen, the spokesperson for Cotu, said: “Biren Singh’s apology remains short of taking responsibility for the mass genocide against a particular minority community in the state he espoused to be the chief minister of.”

The majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Zos have been engaged in a conflict since May 3, 2023, resulting in the death of at least 260 people and displacement of over 60,000.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), another conglomerate of Kuki-Zo organisations operating from Churachandpur, is also unconvinced by Singh’s apology.

“It’s about time Biren Singh apologised to the people of Manipur for all the violence and killings. He is unable to ensure law and order in the state. He should take full responsibility for all the violence. And for this, he should step down from the CM’s chair,” ITLF spokesperson Ginza Vualzong said.

“He should stop discriminating against the Kuki-Zo people if he really wants to bring about peace in Manipur. But again, that peace ship has sailed. So much blood has been shed and the divide is too deep now for reconciliation. A political solution is the only solution, a separate administration is the only way out,” he added.

Blame on Cong

In a post on X on Tuesday, Singh attributed the turmoil in the state to the “past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO Agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state, spearheaded by @PChidambaram_IN during his tenure as the Home Minister of India.”

The suspension of operation (SoO) was signed between the Centre, Manipur government and Kuki rebel groups in 2008.

Singh was reacting to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s query on why Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t go to Manipur and say the same thing that the chief minister said on Tuesday.

“The apology I extended today was a sincere act of expressing my grief for the people who have been left displaced and become homeless. As a chief minister, it was an appeal to forgive and forget what had happened. However, you brought politics into it,” Singh said.

He reminded Ramesh of the Naga-Kuki clashes between 1992 and 1997 that left at least 1,300 dead and the Kuki-Paite clashes between 1997 and 1988 that claimed 350 lives.