Manipur’s deputy chief ministers, Lucy Dikko and Nimsha Kipgen, who represent the Naga and Kuki Zo communities respectively, have emerged as key negotiators in the ongoing hostage crisis stemming from the escalating Naga-Kuki clashes in the northeastern state, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
Working alongside church leaders, civil society organisations, Indian Army, police and central intelligence agencies, the two leaders are collaborating with their communities to ensure the safe return of at least 20 abductees, the officials said.
Amid rising tensions and the killing of three Kuki-Zu church leaders on Wednesday, village defense volunteers from both communities kidnapped members of each other’s communities. While the 28 people kidnapped on Wednesday and Thursday, who also included people from neutral communities, were released through a hostage exchange over the past 48 hours, the remaining 20 – 14 from the Kuki-zo side and six from the Naga community – remain captive.
Talks initiated by deputy chief ministers, state home minister, police and church leaders at various levels are yet to yield any new positive results, according to people in Manipur.
On Saturday, security forces began combing operations across Kangbukpi district to search for the six kidnapped Naga people, officials said.
Deputy CM Dikko said: “Along with church leaders, we are trying to convince people on both sides that this is not the way to solve the crisis. Kidnapping people will not help anyone. The kidnapped people must be returned. I, being a Naga, also spoke to our community leaders. The response has been good. All the 14 people who were kidnapped are fine. No innocent lives should be lost.”
While 14 Kuki Zo people were kidnapped in Senapati (Naga-controlled area), the six Naga kidnappings occurred in Kangpokpi (Kuki Zo-controlled area).
Three church leaders from the Kuki-Zu community were killed on Wednesday in an ambush by armed groups as they returned to Kangbukpi from Churachandpur after a peace meeting. While the police have yet to identify the group behind the killing, the Kuki Zo groups have accused NSCN-IM, a Tangkul Naga group.
While Kipjin was not available for comment, people familiar with the matter said the Kuki-Zu leader was also working with church leaders and police to convince village defense volunteers from her community to return the kidnapped Nagas. “The conflict between the Naga and Kukis tribes was resolved in the early 1990s with the help of the church and IB staff,” said a Kuki-Zu student leader. “We hope the current crisis will end without further loss of life.”
Manipur Home Minister Govindas Kunthujam, who is also meeting church leaders from both communities to ensure the return of the 20 kidnapped people, said, “This is a sensitive issue, so we have involved church leaders from both communities. We urged people not to believe any rumors that could lead to a law and order situation. The situation is sensitive, so our administration is taking help from civil society organizations from both sides. We have been able to release 28 people with the help of different organizations. The teams are working to bring back the rest of the kidnapped people to “Their homes.”
The hostage crisis has become the first major test for the newly formed BJP-led government in Manipur, which was formed earlier this year after nearly a year of President’s rule. In an attempt to maintain ethnic balance, the Centre-backed arrangement brought together representatives from all three major communities – Prime Minister Yomnam Khemchand of the Meitei community, Diko of the Nagas, and Kipgen of the Kuki-Zos.
