Ukhrul, August 27: The Kuki Students’ Organisation – General Headquarters (KSO-GHQ) on Wednesday refuted the statement made by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) rejecting the recently released Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) report of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur in 2025.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the KSO-GHQ stated that COCOMI’s rejection of the PUCL’s report does not reflect the collective voice of the people of Manipur and asserted that COCOMI may speak on behalf of the Meitei community, but it does not possess the legitimacy to speak on behalf of the entire population of Manipur.
“COCOMI is irrefutably a Meitei civil society organisation, working solely in the interest of the Meitei community, and does not represent the views or interests of other communities in Manipur… COCOMI’s rejection of the PUCL’s report does not reflect the collective voice of the people of Manipur, and any attempts to denounce PUCL’s reports by COCOMI are misleading and unacceptable,” the KSO-GHQ stated.
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It may be mentioned that COCOMI had on August 26 strongly rejected the recently released Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) report of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), alleging that it is “biased, misleading and politically engineered” one to vilify the Meitei community while legitimising separatist agendas of Chin-Kuki armed groups.
The KSO-GHQ, in its statement, maintained that it was not surprised to witness yet another wave of counter-statements, legal threats, and FIRs being lodged against credible independent organisations and individuals in connection with the ongoing Manipur crisis.
“It has become a concerning pattern that any report or findings—whether from a reputed independent organisation, a prominent social activist, or a human rights advocate—that does not align with the Meitei narrative and agenda is quickly dismissed as false, labelled “anti-Meitei” and “pro-Kuki-Zo,” and is met with severe repercussions, including legal actions,” the KSO-GHQ alleged.
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It further stated that this was not the first instance of such a reaction.
“During the early phase of the ongoing ethnic conflict, the Editors Guild of India (EGI) deputed a three-member fact-finding team to assess the role of media houses based in the Meitei-majority Imphal valley in reporting on the strife. This was in response to multiple representations alleging partisan coverage by local media outlets. The EGI’s report, released on September 2, 2023, was met with strong dissent from the Meitei community.
Consequently, the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and the Editors’ Guild Manipur (EGM) denounced the report and threatened legal action against the EGI. The then Government of Manipur, led by former Chief Minister N Biren Singh, subsequently filed an FIR against the EGI,” the KSO-GHQ added.