Indian forces armed Kuki groups to wage war against Meiteis in Myanmar: NSCN (I-M)

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMay 20, 2024

In a startling revelation, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim ((Isak-Muivah) on Monday alleged the Indian security forces, including Assam Rifles and para forces are helping the Kuki militant groups to wage war against the Meitei revolutionary groups in Myanmar.

In a statement here on Monday NSCN (I-M)’s director for Publicity and Information Bureau (PIB), Maj Gen Hanleishang-MC said: “The sinister hands of the Indian Intelligence (RAW) become obvious when at their instigation, troops of para forces and Assam Rifles were pumped in across the border who armed the Kuki militants with drones, artilleries and other sophisticated weapons. This again exposes the double standard characteristics of the Indian foreign policy, when in the earlier instances, the Indian army helped the Tatamadaw (Myanmarese Army) to destroy our base camps in the border areas but they are now at loggerheads.”

“One may wonder what India has to gain by waging this proxy war. It is left to the wisdom of her advisors to discern for themselves what India might lose out of this misadventure,” the NSCN (I-M) said.

Describing the situation in Myanmar and Manipur the outfit said the geo-political impact of the ongoing turmoil in Myanmar can’t be overlooked for which they have been monitoring the situation affecting their people under these aggravating circumstances. 

“It is to be noted that the political upheaval in Myanmar and the burgeoning ethnic violence in Manipur are absolutely two different things and therefore they can’t be observed through the same lens. The present violence in Manipur is between two communities and for the record, it is hereby reiterated that we are not party to one or the other. On the other hand, the conflict in Myanmar is primarily a pro-democratic revolution against the Military Junta that has been in place since 2021,” the NSCN (I-M) also said. 

“It is now an open secret that the US and Indian governments have been aiding the militia called PDF (People’s Defence Force) to overthrow the Junta government in Myanmar. As far as the conflict in Myanmar is concerned, we are not indifferent to the ethnic communities and movements in particular. We have no issue against PDF of Chin state and other areas,” it said.

“We are also aware of the fact that the KNA (B) has been collaborating with the PDF in Chin state, to which we have no objection. However, it is very unfortunate that the KNA (B) have taken an inimical stance against the NSCN deliberately targeting the Naga Army operating in the area,” the NSCN (I-M) alleged.

The NSCN (I-M) also alleged that the KNA (B) abducted and tortured to death some of the cadres of the NSCN (I-M). 

 This allegation of the Naga outfit came just four days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) submitted a chargesheet stating that “China-Myanmar module” NSCN (I-M) supported the cadres of two banned Meitei outfits to infiltrate India to exploit the current ethnic unrest in Manipur.

In its chargesheet filed by the CJM court in Guwahati on March 27, the NIA said the Centre had received intelligence input about a transnational conspiracy hatched by the Myanmar-based leadership of the “terror outfits” to destabilise the security situation in Manipur, and “wage a war against the government of India.

The banned Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are Meitei insurgent groups. The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah), or NSCN(IM), is a Naga insurgent group that signed a framework agreement with the government which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described as a “historic” step to bring peace.

The KYKL and PLA leadership in Myanmar decided to infiltrate their insurgents into Indian territory to carry out terror attacks, the NIA said. To this end, the NSCN(IM) leadership promised safe passage, arms, ammunition, explosives, and other terrorist hardware to them, the NIA said in the background note which is a part of the chargesheet.

The ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023, between Meitei and Kuki-Zo, who are dominant in the hill districts of southern Manipur and a few other hill areas, presented a “fertile ground” for the Myanmar-based leaders of these terror outfits to exploit, the NIA added in the chargesheet.