Manipur: COCOMI rejects independent tribunal report, calls it politically motivated

The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has vehemently rejected the recently released Independent People's Tribunal (IPT) report by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), claiming that the report is biased, misleading, and politically engineered. The committee also stated that the report attempts to vilify the Meitei community while legitimising the separatist aspirations of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist groups.

Addressing the media during a press conference held today at its office, COCOMI convenor Khuraijam Athouba stated that after reviewing the IPT report, the committee observed that it does not serve the cause of peace, justice, or reconciliation. Instead, it emboldens narco-terrorist groups and undermines national security.

He further stated that the report is deliberately misleading, engineered, and structured to advance separatist agendas. Its contents reflect bias, selective omission, and fabrication, demonising an entire community while shielding the role of narco-terrorist groups. COCOMI categorically rejects the report and demands accountability.

Presenting their justification for rejecting the report, Athouba said that the report falsely claims that the Manipur High Court directed the State Government to recommend ST status for the Meiteis to the Centre. “This is patently false. The former Chief Justice has repeatedly clarified that the High Court has no authority to direct the State in this matter. The Tribunal’s framing is clearly designed to misinform,” he said.

He also criticised the report’s account of the outbreak of violence. On page 20, the report states: “Mobs rampaged through Kuki settlements in Imphal… retaliatory violence emerged against Meitei homes and properties in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi.” Athouba called this the opposite of verified facts, citing photo and video evidence showing that the first incidents of arson occurred in Torbung-Kangvai, Churachandpur, where Meitei homes were attacked in broad daylight. Retaliation in Imphal occurred only later that evening.

Athouba condemned the one-sided depiction of victimhood on page 22, where the report claims: “Kuki-Zo communities were driven out of the valley. Meitei communities left the hill areas.” According to him, this framing intentionally portrays Kukis as the sole victims, while Meiteis were the first to be attacked in Kangvai.

He further stated that the report deliberately endorses the separatist agenda of Chin-Kuki narco-terrorist groups. The section titled “The Outcome was de facto ethnic partition” echoes separatist narratives and seeks to legitimize demands for a separate administration. “This is not fact-finding but political endorsement disguised as a report,” Athouba said.

The report also attempts to justify the legality of poppy cultivation by portraying it as poverty-driven, while deliberately overlooking the major players in narco-terrorism. It ignores Kuki-Chin armed groups involved in violence, despite admissions by their own spokespersons, and repeatedly mentions only Arambai Tengol and Meitei Leepun while omitting ITLF, COTU, Kuki Inpi, Kuki Students’ Organization, Kuki Women’s Association, and Kuk Zo Council, who control militant activities in the hills, Athouba noted.

The report falsely declares the differences between communities as “unbridgeable.” In reality, Imphal remains open, and many civilians from Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Paite-Hmar-Thadou communities are already returning, except those threatened by separatist groups.

Athouba criticized the report for attempting to portray Meiteis as anti-Indian through false historical claims, citing the statement: “The relationship between Meitei and the Indian State has always been contentious, very different from that of the Kuki-Zo… The latter were active in the independence movement, being members of the INA and Congress.” He called this fabricated and misleading, noting that Meiteis have consistently produced a high number of Indian Army officers, martyrs, and achievers in sports, arts, culture, science, and technology.

“The PUCL and its members cannot justify such falsehoods under the pretext of human rights. They must be held legally accountable for every baseless statement,” Athouba said.

He added that COCOMI will determine its future course of action regarding the report and will organize a public review meeting. The committee will continue mobilizing civil society, intellectuals, and legal experts to ensure that Manipur’s integrity and unity are not undermined by fabricated reports designed for international audiences and separatist propaganda.