Protests in New Delhi against ethnic violence in Manipur (ANSA)
By Lisa Zengarini
Jul 26 2023
A delegation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India that has just visited Manipur criticizes the prolonged silence and apathy of the law enforcement agencies in containing the ongoing communal violence in the State.
A top team of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) concluded on Monday a two-day visit to the riot-hit areas of Manipur, where it has distributed relief items to the population.
The delegation included, among others, the President of the CBCI, Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, the Conference’s deputy secretary general, Father Jervis D’Souza,Father Paul Moonjely, executive director of Caritas India and Archbishop Dominic Lumon of Imphal.
First official CBCI visit to Manipur since the outbreak of the violence
It was the first CBCI official team to visit the north-eastern Indian State since the communal violence between Kuki tribal people and the majority Meitei people erupted on 3 May.
The violence is still ongoing and so far more than 160 people have been killed and tens of thousands left homeless, while as many as 349 churches and institutions have been destroyed or damaged.
A statement from the CBCI says the team visited several areas hit by the violence and “saw the large-scale destruction of private homes, churches/places of worship, schools and institutions in various places along the way.”
The team described as heart-wrenching” to see the places deserted and said it “is equally worried as to what is the actual situation and the future of those who have fled from these places and the future of their children, in the midst of all these vulnerabilities.”
