Manipur: CoTU says buffer zones “only shield” for tribals, refuses to guarantee valley entry into hill areas amid tensions

The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) has asserted that the sanctity of buffer zones between the valley and hill areas is “paramount,” warning that it cannot guarantee safe passage for members of the Imphal Valley community into Kuki-Zo-dominated hill districts, including Sadar Hills Kangpokpi.

In a strongly worded communiqué, CoTU described buffer zones as the only effective mechanism to prevent further violence and protect constitutional safeguards meant for tribal communities in the hill areas. The organisation maintained that these zones serve as a critical barrier against what it termed “physical atrocities” and the systematic erosion of tribal rights.

The Committee alleged that the Kuki-Zo community has faced sustained hostility and violence since May 3, 2023, which it claimed culminated in mass displacement from the Imphal Valley. 

Criticising the reinstallation of a popular government in the state under the BJP-led central dispensation headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CoTU termed the move a “short-sighted political discourse” allegedly driven by electoral considerations. It argued that such steps overlooked the political, economic and security concerns of the minority Kuki-Zo community.

According to CoTU, Kuki-Zo MLAs extended support to their valley-based counterparts in facilitating the reinstallation of the government out of “political decency,” despite widespread distrust among their constituents. The communiqué further alleged that certain valley-based MLAs had sworn allegiance in early 2024 to Arambai Tenggol, an armed militia group active during the conflict — a claim that has been strongly contested in the state’s political circles.

Issuing a pointed reminder to Kuki-Zo elected representatives, the Committee said they had placed both their credibility and political future in the hands of the present Union leadership, in expectation of a meaningful and durable political settlement.

Reiterating its core demand, CoTU insisted that lasting peace would remain elusive unless the Government of India grants a long-term political solution in the form of a Union Territory with Legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution for the Kuki-Zo community. Any attempt at what it termed “forced political reconciliation” between the Kuki-Zo in the hills and the Meitei in the valley, it argued, cannot be equated with genuine normalcy.

The Committee made it clear that neither it nor any civil society body could be held responsible for ensuring safe passage for members of the Imphal Valley community irrespective of their political or social stature within Kuki-Zo-majority areas. It maintained that the violence and displacement suffered by the Kuki-Zo population from the valley remain unresolved.