Abp Thomas Menamparampil

Why do riots continue in Manipur without break in spite of the police and the army?
The army is at the service of national security. They do not go into action unless they are given instruction. Videos have shown destruction of houses taking places in the presence of the army. Evidently they have been told merely to stand by.
The police follow the orders that the state authorities issue: preferential treatment of the dominant community, harsher deals with the weaker community, or neutral treatment. It is clear that Biren Singh, the CM, took on the Kukis on the hills as “terrorists” from the beginning. A large number were killed. The Kukis hit back.
Meiteis put the Kukis to flight from the Imphal Valley and razed all their houses to the ground. Kukis did the same to the Meiteis in Churachandpur. A couple of places of worship of the Meiteis were destroyed. Churches were attacked almost simultaneously and nearly 500 churches were destroyed almost in a single day…as though pre-planned. No one doubts it was at the RSS-inspiration. Meitei mobs began taking law in their hands and attacking institutions. The police that had begun with an imbalanced approach lost control after a while. Emotions of the communities in conflict took over.

The marauding troops have looted weapons from police establishments. Is it believable without the political knowledge in the state?
One thing we should remember is that both groups have armed teams of various measures of strength. Arms are available from Myanmar and from the world’s arms smuggling markets. When supply goes dry from time to time, there is an effort to grab a few weapons from some unguarded police quarters or incompetent police in action. The recent report of repeated looting of police stations could never have taken place without the connivance of the police and the state authorities. Things have gone beyond limits.

Nearly 200 churches and 10,000 houses have been destroyed and tens of thousands of people have become homeless, is there an agenda of elimination?
The real figures are higher than reported. Some 50,000 have been displaced. Many Kukis have moved to Mizoram since their communities are related. Significant numbers of both communities have sought shelter in other parts of the Northeast or India.
The basic quarrel is over land spaces and social privileges. The Meiteis complain that they occupy only 10% of the area of Manipur. The Naga and Kuki tribals on the hills explain that much of their land are barren hills and unusable slopes. They allege that the dominant Meiteis have disproportionate share of political power and financial advantages. Tensions had been mounting.
The immediate cause was the demand of the Meitei community for tribal status, which would have taken away from the tribal communities the only advantage they had. Non-Christian tribals had been asking for removal of Christian tribals from the tribal list. The political discontent that had been growing on either side, suddenly burst out into an armed conflagration.

Dean Kuriakose, a Member of Parliament from Kerala, said in an interview after his visit to Manipur that the violence was directed against the Christian community, as the large scale destruction of churches shows.
We are grateful to Mr. Dean Kuriakose and others who visited Manipur and showed great sympathy for the suffering people in the state. The responsibility for the destruction of churches must be passed on to the Sangh Parivar and their agents who struck fast and hard. There is no doubt that the blow was cleverly planned over a long period of time. The Christian community in India needs to come forward and help in the rebuilding of churches and Catholic institutions and rehabilitation of communities. But a climate has to be created. Hostilities must end first. A conversation must be initiated. Social stability must return. It is a long way ahead.

Any other reactions?
When the anger is high, the first thing to be done is to bring down the temper. Peace initiatives must concentrate on bringing together senior members of the two communities who are respected in society, including intellectuals and religiously inspired people, to appeal to their own community to cease violence, think soberly and look to the future. This is the hardest thing to do today. Individual initiatives have begun. On June 5th there was a little gathering 18 elders, representing diverse religions, who made an appeal for peace. Archbishop Dominic Lumon was present. I too was with them.
Unfortunately, it has made no impact. But it has not passed unnoticed. There is no way of bypassing an interreligious and inter-ethnic effort for bringing peace to the land of Manipur.
I know from experience that a longing for peace is present in the depth of the heart of the sternest fighter. The peace-maker’s skill consists in touching that little corner of the heart. It is the hardest thing to do when the anger is high. But nothing is impossible. We must keep trying. We must be ready to accept many failures. God is present in every situation. He makes Justice and Peace embrace (Ps 85:10). Peace comes in the way we least expect it.