Sugnu Peace Committee Condemns CM Biren’s Remark at Assembly Over Serou Violence

Sugnu Peace Committee strongly condemned Chief Minister Biren Singh’s assertion in the state assembly that the committee was responsible for the destruction of Serou.

Toijam Bimol, a worker who was rescued by the Peace Committee, speaking to the media today at Manipur Press Club refuted Biren’s baseless assertion and stated that “the committee played a significant role in numerous rescue efforts during the peak of violence in May”. Bimol highlighted that on May 9, the committee successfully rescued 99 Meitei workers, including 9 women and 1 child, who were stranded at Khongkhai, Churachandpur District. He added: “without the Peace Committee’s intervention, these 99 individuals would have faced the risk of losing their lives”.

Contrary to the baseless claims of Biren, it is important to note that the Peace Committee, constituted by the Kukis and the Meiteis, was the reason for zero violence in Sugnu and Serou in May 2023, even when the whole of Imphal Valley was set ablaze by the Meitei miscreants, watched by the bystander Manipur Police. The Peace Committee of Sugnu channeled its energy on the rescue efforts and on ensuring the safety of the local population during the heightened violence.

Views of TLM:

This latest attempt by Biren to sow seeds of discord is not his first, and it will not be his last. It is ingrained in his DNA to create fissures as long as it is politically beneficial for him. Further, the Peace Committee of Sugnu was the sole reason why the Meiteis in Sugnu were able to buy time to plan, to strategise and to allow the infamous Manipur Police Commandos and the Arambai Tenggol to suddenly attack the Kuki villages in Sugnu and to finally drive out the Kukis from Sugnu. Some commentators even argued that the Peace Committee itself was formed at the behest of Ranjit and Biren just to buy enough time to transport arms and ammunition to Sugnu for the Sugnu Meiteis.