“Why was my house torched and what is my fault?” questioned a clash hit victim of Moreh towards Chief Minister N Biren Singh and PM Narendra Modi. Devastated by the three-month long prevailing clash, an inmate taking shelter in Lamding Higher Secondary school, Thoubal district strongly condemned the government.
Speaking to the Imphal Free Press, Soibam Bijen, 44, son of late Ibocha of Moreh ward number 7 Heinou Makhong said that Kukis started setting ablaze the Meitei houses in Moreh on the evening of May 3.
Meiteis fled for their lives and took shelter in Assam Rifles camp and Moreh police station for seven days, he added.
“We even had our food on leaves during our stay in AR camps before being shifted to safer places by AR personnel,” Bijen said. We want to return back to our hometown, he added.
He strongly condemned the unfortunate incident of burning the remaining empty Meitei houses by the Kukis, allegeding that it was carried out just before the eyes of numerous Assam Rifles, BSF and central para military forces on July 27. He questioned if Moreh will remain “dominated by the Chin Kuki narco-terrorists” and will the state and central government fail to save the state lands from the hands of Kuki militants.
He alleged the politicians for being untrustworthy during the clash and as a result of their political conspiracies the state is in turmoil. He condemned the government for failing to resolve the prevailing ethnic clash which has claimed more than 200 innocent lives, leaving more than 50,000 people displaced and houses burned.
He questioned if the government is trying to exterminate the Meitei community and how long they will be kept in the relief camps.
Bijen alleged the state government for destroying the lives of innocent civilians by the ethnic clash. “We are daily wage earners, our hard earned life savings, properties have turned into ashes and children’s right to education have been snatched away by the clash,” he added. The government should take all the responsibility for the losses faced by the innocent civilians, he mentioned.
He also condemned the state and central government for allegedly not lodging a single FIR against the Kukis for the heinous crimes committed by them by killing numerous Meiteis and setting ablazed many houses.
He drew the attention of both the state and central government to take out the 120 Meiteis who crossed the border and entered Myanmar to save themselves from the attacks carried out by the Kukis.
He also urged the state government to use every bit of their power to save the Meitei community. Bijen lastly demanded to deploy additional state forces in Moreh and Churachandpur to save the ancestral lands from being dominated by the Kukis.
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