The Mizoram government on Friday increased security in areas with Metei populations in Aizawl after a group of former militants urged members of the community to leave the state “for their own safety”.
“The way our tribe Kuki-Zo has been tortured and mistreated in Manipur state is now known to the whole world,” the Peace Accord MNF Returnees’ Association said in a statement on Friday. “It is not unsafe for the Meitei people in Mizoram to continue to stay. PAMRA requests them to leave. If they fail to leave and anything befalls them it will be their own responsibility.”
Several people from the Meitei community left Aizawl and other parts of Mizoram by flights, buses and taxis on Saturday after the warning. According to the Manipur government, there are about 2,000 Meiteis in Mizoram, reported The Hindu.
The group’s warning came two days after a video showing two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob in the Kangpokpi district was widely shared on social media. Five persons have been arrested in connection with the case.
Three women, including the two who were seen in the video, were sexually assaulted in B Phainom village of Kangpokpi district on May 4, a day after clashes erupted between Meitei and Kuki communities. One of the women was “brutally gang-raped”, according to a police complaint.
The first information report was registered on May 18. However, it was only after the video was shared on social media that the first arrest in the case took place.
The video had sparked criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the Centre and in Manipur by the Opposition. Protests were also held in Manipur seeking stringent punishment for the accused persons.
On Saturday, after a meeting with Mizoram government officials, the Peace Accord MNF Returnees’ Association said that their statement regarding the Meiteis was misconstrued.
“In the meeting, PAMRA representatives clarified that the press release that was issued by them was an advisory requesting Meiteis living in Mizoram to exercise caution in the light of public sentiments regarding the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur and was not a diktat or a quit notice to Meiteis,” a release by the Mizoram’s Home Department said.
It also added that the group has decided not to issue any further statements to maintain peace and tranquillity in the state.
The Mizoram government also said that a meeting was also held with representatives of the All Mizoram Manipuri Association during which they were assured of safety.
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