Imphal: Meitei organisation, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), on Sunday urged the central government to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur to identify illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
The group also called for the immediate completion of fencing along the India-Myanmar border to curb illegal immigration and the trafficking of arms and drugs.
Somendro Thokchom, the Coordinator of COCOMI, criticized the government’s inaction, particularly after recent bombings in Kadangband earlier this month, suggesting that it reflected the disregard for the state’s residents as citizens of India.
On January 14, suspected militants carried out a bomb attack in Kadangband, located in Imphal West district.
Thokchom emphasised that the ongoing conflict would only end if the Centre took firm action, including a military crackdown on Kuki militants.
He added that COCOMI, along with several other Imphal valley-based civil society organisations, also demanded government action against Kuki Zo militants to resolve the conflict, which has resulted in over 250 deaths and left thousands displaced.
The organisation further proposed the implementation of the NRC to identify illegal immigrants and suggested that refugee detention camps for Myanmarese nationals should not be restricted to Manipur alone, as the state has limited land resources.
The camps should be set up in other states as well, Thokchom said.
He also reiterated the need for the government to expedite the completion of the border fencing along the Myanmar border to prevent illegal immigration, as well as the flow of arms and drugs.
Thokchom stressed that illegal immigration, along with arms and drug smuggling from Myanmar, remains a central issue fuelling the conflict in the state.
ALSO READ: Manipur NPP MLA N Kayisii dies at 58
Despite these concerns, he noted that the situation in Manipur had not improved, and many cases remained unresolved.
Among them were the killings of three women and three children by Kuki and Hmar militants in Jiribam district in November of the previous year, as well as the disappearance of a man from an army camp in Leimakhong, Kangpokpi district, which have yet to be addressed.
