Efforts are on by the state and and the central governments to find a way by which a sense of normalcy returns and there is adequate law-and-order enforcement, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday.
“…I think one part of the problem in Manipur has been the destabilising impact of migrants who have come,” he said on Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations in response to a question on the situation in the northeastern state.
“But there are also tensions which obviously have a long history which precede that. And today, I think the effort is on the part of the state government and the Union government to find a way by which a sense of normalcy returns, that arms which were seized during that period are recovered, that there is an adequate law-and-order enforcement out there so that incidents of violence don’t happen,” the minister added.
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Earlier this month, a team of United Nations specialists expressed deep dismay upon viewing reports and images depicting acts of violence against women and girls in Manipur. They urgently called upon the Indian government to undertake a thorough investigation into these incidents and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
These experts sounded the alarm regarding disturbing reports of severe human rights violations and misconduct in Manipur, which encompass alleged instances of sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, the destruction of homes, forced displacements, as well as instances of torture and ill-treatment.
India had strongly rebuffed these remarks, characterizing them as “unwarranted, presumptuous, and misleading,” and had maintained that the state’s situation remained peaceful.
When asked about his dismissal of these comments as “presumptuous,” Jaishankar clarified, “The statement wasn’t issued by me personally but by the spokesperson. Was the statement accurate? My response to you would be affirmative.”
The minister was also questioned about critiques of India’s freedom and democracy by Sweden’s V-Dem Institute and the US government-funded NGO Freedom House.
Jaishankar had criticized these two organizations for their “hypocrisy” and labeled them as “self-appointed global overseers who struggle to accept that someone in India doesn’t seek their endorsement.”
