Manipur: Delhi Meetei group rejects PUCL Tribunal report, demands withdrawal, apology

Imphal: The Delhi Meetei Co-ordinating Committee (DMCC) on Friday rejected the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Tribunal report on the Manipur violence, demanding its immediate withdrawal and a public apology.

Speaking at the Press Club of India in New Delhi, DMCC convenor Seram Rojesh told the media, “We strongly oppose the report of the Independent People’s Tribunal on the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, released by the PUCL on August 20, 2025.”

Seram alleged that the report was biased, politically motivated, and one-sided, portraying the Meetei community as perpetrators and the Kuki-Chin community as victims.

He clarified that the violence began in Torbung and Kangvai in Churachandpur district, where armed Kuki groups allegedly attacked Meetei homes, contrary to the report’s claim that it originated in the Imphal Valley. “The sequence of events has been distorted, with crucial facts overlooked or misrepresented,” he added.

Seram further accused the tribunal of ignoring what he described as the longstanding separatist agenda of Kuki armed groups, who have allegedly carried out repeated attacks on Meetei villages and religious sites since 2015.

He cited the burning of Umang Lai temples and shrines, and the desecration of sacred sites such as Koubru and Thangjing, claiming these acts are part of a systematic attempt to erase Meetei faith and identity.

According to the DMCC, the tribunal overlooked testimonies of Meetei victims and downplayed early attacks on Meetei villages at the onset of the conflict on May 3, 2023.