Amid the Meitei community’s significant migration from Mizoram due to a warning from the surrendered militant group PAMRA (Peace Accord MNF Returnees’ Association), the All Assam Manipur Student’s Union (AAMSU) Central Committee is facing a dispute over a misinterpreted advisory issued to Mizos residing in the Meitei areas of Barak Valley,.
The situation escalated on July 24 when the AAMSU allegedly directed Mizos residing in the Meitei areas of Assam’s Barak Valley to vacate immediately.
However, reports suggest the student body later issued a clarification, asserting that the advisory had been “misinterpreted.”
The AAMSU expressed deep regret over the involvement of Mizoram, including its government and elite groups, in fueling the violence from the very beginning. It referred to an earlier threatening notice issued by MZP to Meiteis in Mizoram on April 30, 2023, even before the Kuki narco-terrorists declared war on native Meiteis in Manipur on May 3, 2023.
The AAMSU also condemned the Kuki militants for creating havoc in Manipur and alleged that security forces in Mizoram recovered arms and war materials meant for these militants. AAMSU, in their press note, urged the Mizos living in Barak Valley to evacuate the area immediately for their own safety.
The AAMSU stated, “As most of the Meiteis living in Mizoram happen to be from Assam, the unruly behavior of Mizoram has already escalated anger among the Meiteis of Assam. Therefore, for their own safety, we advise Mizos living in the Meitei areas of Barak Valley to vacate the area at the earliest time possible. At this crucial juncture of the Manipur turmoil, we stand in solidarity with our Meitei kin in Manipur, who are being attacked by the war-mongering Kuki Zo.”
The Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh took to Twitter to share the clarification issued by the Manipuri Student’s body and urged the media to approach the situation with caution, advocating for collective efforts to maintain peace.
In the clarification, the AAMSU stressed that its statement should not be misconstrued as a “quit notice” to Mizos from Barak Valley. Rather, it was an advisory to Mizo missionaries in Meitei villages to take precautions for their safety, considering the anger prevailing among Manipuris in Assam. The AAMSU expressed its commitment to peaceful coexistence between the two communities and withdrew the earlier advisory in the interest of fostering harmony.
