NESO delegation on three-day visit to Manipur, will meet community leaders

A delegation of the North East Students' Organisation (NESO) reached Manipur for a three-day tour, during which it will visit relief camps to meet the victims of the ethnic clashes.

The 19-member delegation to Manipur is led by NESO president Samuel B Jyrwa, secretary general Mutsikhyo Yhobo and chief adviser Samujjal Kumar Bhattacharjya.

The group is likely to meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey and Chief Minister N Biren Singh during its stay in the state.

''We are here with a message of peace and goodwill. In our visit, we want to appeal to all people to bring peace to Manipur and restore normalcy,'' said Utpal Sarma, the president of All Assam Students' Union (AASU), one of the member unions of NESO, on Tuesday.

NESO's constituents All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU) and Naga Students' Federation (NSF) have already been in touch with Meitei and Kuki communities, respectively, he added.

After arriving in Imphal from Guwahati, the delegation visited three relief camps at Bishnupur and Imphal East districts, and met the Meitei people taking shelter there.

''We will go to Churachandpur and visit the relief camps there and meet the Kuki sufferers. We will also have discussions with various civil society groups from both the warring communities and discuss the way forward for a peaceful solution to the ethnic clashes,'' Sarma said.

He further said that the delegation has sought appointments to meet the governor and chief minister on Wednesday evening.

Bhattacharjya said, ''In these ethnic clashes, the wounds are very deep for both sides. It will require special healing touch and confidence-building measures to remove the mistrust between the two communities.'' More than 160 people lost their lives and several hundreds were injured since the ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur on May 3, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals -- Nagas and Kukis -- constitute little over 40 per cent and reside in the hill districts.

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