In a comprehensive and detailed interview, conducted immediately after the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) finished their talks with Union home minister Amit Shah, the umbrella body’s spokesperson has revealed what was discussed, the positions taken by either side and the areas where there is agreement as well as, as he put it, one area where there is a 50:50 chance of an agreement.
In a 34-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Ginza Vualzong said the home minister has asked ITLF to find a different site for the mass burials they plan because the original site they have chosen is in the conflict zone. As a sweetener, Vualzong said Shah has offered to hand over the original site to the Kuki-Zo community to use for public utility purposes or as a memorial park. He believes there’s a “50:50 chance” the Kuki community will agree. ITLF will now consult them. He says they will communicate their answer to the Home Minister in a week.
Vualzong said that in response to the ITLF demand that “Meitei state forces” should not be deployed in the hill district, the home minister agreed that they would only enter accompanied by either the paramilitary or the Assam Rifles. Vualzong said this was not what they wanted but they are prepared to accept it.
Regarding the ITLF demand that tribal jail inmates in Imphal should be moved to other states for safety, Shah said that as of now there has been no trouble or violence of any sort in jails – something Vualzong agreed with – but if anything were to happen, the government would shift tribal jail inmates out of Imphal jails.
On the key issue of separate administration, Vualzong said the issue was raised with Shah, who said that it should be talked about after peace has prevailed and an appropriate political environment is created. In other words, the home minister is envisaging a two-stage process.
Vualzong said he got the impression that the director of the Intelligence Bureau and A.K. Mishra, the interlocutor for militant groups which have entered into a suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the government, are sympathetic and understanding of the ITLF position that they cannot any longer live with the Meiteis. However, neither gentleman spoke specifically about a separate administration.
The spokesperson made clear that the ITLF will no longer accept an autonomous territorial council. That door is firmly shut. However, they are open to either separate statehood or union territory status. This is where the ITLF sharply differs from the Kuki Inpi, who in July said only separate statehood is acceptable.
Finally, there’s also a discussion about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the crisis. Vualzong said the Kuki-Zo community felt let down by him. He said the prime minister had only spoken about the viral video that showed the sexual assault on two Kuki women out of “embarrassment”.
Watch the video for full details about the interview.
