COCOMI condemns assault on representatives during protest, says stand on Manipur crisis unchanged

The peaceful statewide protest rally organised by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) turned ugly and violent as one of the organisers was assaulted by agitators.

Today, a massive protest rally was organised by COCOMI with the intention of marching to the Chief Minister’s bungalow and submitting a memorandum containing seven questions with respect to the present crisis, implementation of the NRC, and the Tronglaobi incident. During the protest, a leader of the COCOMI student wing was assaulted at Khwairamband Ima Market after unrest broke out among groups of agitators due to dissatisfaction over the handling of the protest and misunderstandings.

Addressing the media in connection with the assault incident, COCOMI convenor Y.K. Dhiren on Saturday clarified that representatives of the organisation met Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh and submitted a memorandum following the mass rally in Imphal. Upon returning after the meeting, the COCOMI representatives informed the public that their agitation would continue as the government had not given any concrete response. However, some people among the agitators made various allegations against COCOMI representatives, which later led to violence and the assault of a COCOMI volunteer.

“After properly explaining to the public about the submission of the memorandum to the Chief Minister, some people made false allegations that COCOMI takes money from the government and receives benefits from the government. Such false allegations prompted some agitators to assault our member. COCOMI considers this as propaganda being spread to sabotage our movement,” he said, while clarifying that there had been no change in the organisation’s stand. He added that people should not spread statements driven by emotion and sentiment that could malign the image of COCOMI.

COCOMI denounced the act, terming it unacceptable, and urged all participants to maintain discipline and uphold peaceful means of protest.

He reiterated that no concrete resolution has been achieved in the Manipur crisis since May 3, 2023, alleging that a lack of decisive political will and conflicting narratives have hindered peace efforts, which the organisation termed a “proxy war” affecting indigenous communities. Dhiren also referred to the April 7 Tronglaobi incident, where an explosion killed two siblings and critically injured their mother, and alleged that subsequent protests saw security forces open fire, leading to civilian casualties.