COCOMI slams Manipur government over unfair disarmament

Imphal: COCOMI is calling out the government for its handling of the Manipur crisis. The committee wants to know why local youths who grabbed weapons to protect their villages during the May 2023 violence are now being treated as criminals. Phijam Shyamchand, a COCOMI sub-committee convenor, says the state failed to protect citizens when chaos broke out. This forced civilians to take up arms for their own survival.

Many of these volunteers returned to civilian life as things quieted down. The government promised no legal trouble for those who surrendered their weapons. But COCOMI claims the process is rigged. Valley residents handed over their gear, but armed Kuki groups kept theirs past the deadline. This double standard has gutted public trust.

The group also pointed to recent violence against the Naga community, including assaults and recovered bodies. They argue that Kuki-Zo Council members admitted to these crimes, yet the government remains silent. COCOMI believes the entire mess should be treated as a proxy war instead of a simple law-and-order issue. They claim that "security personnel refrained from taking decisive action" early in the conflict because they lacked clear orders. The group warned that peace is impossible if the government ignores these deep-seated inequalities.