Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 3 Oct: Manipuri social activist Bemlai Maibam on Saturday appealed to civil society organisations, student bodies, women's groups and political leaders across the Northeast to support efforts to restore peace in violence-hit Manipur and facilitate the return of displaced people to their homes.
Maibam, who is undertaking a 20-day outreach programme across the Northeast, said the initiative was aimed at meeting organisations and leaders in different states and seeking their support for peace and rehabilitation in Manipur.
The outreach covered Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland and Assam, she said.
"We want peace in Manipur. We want to return to our homes, our villages and our normal lives," Maibam said, addressing the media at the APC here.
She said the safe return and rehabilitation of displaced people should be prioritised before undertaking exercises such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the census.
"First, allow the displaced people to settle. Let them go back to their homes and villages. After that, the NRC and census can be carried out," she said.
Maibam claimed that more than 60,000 internally displaced people were living in relief camps and facing difficulties related to housing, livelihood, education, food and other basic needs.
She also raised concerns over access to agricultural land, claiming that security restrictions and buffer zones had prevented some indigenous residents from reaching their fields.
"We are indigenous people, but we cannot go to our own agricultural areas. We are stopped in the name of buffer zones," she said.
She further claimed that people could not freely travel on some National Highway routes without security protection.
Maibam also highlighted the issue of missing persons, claiming that 49 people remained untraced, and called for efforts to locate them and provide answers to their families.
She said the Manipur crisis should not be viewed merely as a conflict between two communities or as a religious issue, but required a peaceful approach addressing its ethnic, social, political and security dimensions.
Maibam said organisations and people she met during the outreach had responded positively and expressed willingness to support peace efforts.
"They have told us that they will help in bringing peace. Everyone has given a positive response," she said.
She appealed to people across the Northeast to support dialogue, rehabilitation and the safe return of displaced families, stressing that her campaign was not against any community.
"Our demand is simple - we want peace. We want our people to return home," Maibam added.
