Most of the victims had to walk for days to reach Manipur. They were compelled to leave Assam following escalation of violence in the troubled NC hills.
Phamhring Sengul, Convenor, Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (South), and Sai Prasad, Coordinator, Civil Society Initiatives, said in a joint statement that the Manipur government had failed to provide basic humanitarian support to the displaced people and they were being taken care of by the local communities.
The villagers have been coming in batches as violence gripped NC Hills over the last three months.
”Sporadic violence in the district of NC Hills, which resulted into a full blown ethnic conflict since February 2009, has claimed the lives of more than 30 people, many villages were burnt down and hundreds of villagers displaced,” the two organisations said.
They further alleged that the government machinery had failed to control the law and order, despite the presence of large number of armed personnel at its disposal. The government had earlier indicated that the situation was under control, but the growing intensity of conflict shows that this is not the case.
”The creation of village defence committee of both communities in conflict, abetted and patronised by the government, is a dangerous trend which should be immediately stopped,” it was demanded.
”The responsibility of the government is to protect its people and not hand over guns to the people themselves for their protection,” the representatives of the two organisations, who also visited the villages of the displaced people, said.