Christian leaders have urged the people of Manipur to maintain peace. The violence claimed over 71 lives and close to 1,700 houses, including places of worship, were burnt.
“In solidarity, we grieve with our brothers and sisters who have fallen victim to violence and have suffered immensely in consequence. We also convey our deepest condolences to all those who have lost their near and dear ones to this human carnage,” Archbishop Emeritus Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati and chairman of the Joint Peace Mission Team (JPMT) said in a statement.
The Joint Peace Mission Team comprising the Nagaland Joint Christian Forum and Concerned Citizens for Peace noted that the situation “in Manipur is very frightening and escalating to proportions of a huge humanitarian crisis.”
The statement, signed by Archbishop Menamparampil and JPMT spokesperson, Allen Brooks, called on people in Manipur “to explore constructive ways of easing the circumstances and moving forward.”
A mass rally was organized by the All-Tribal Students’ Union Manipur which turned violent in many districts. The government imposed a curfew in 16 districts and suspended mobile internet services.
The riot between ethnic Kuki Christians and Meitei Hindus claimed at least 71 lives, displaced more than 45,000 people, and hurt 230 others. Close to 1,700 houses, including places of worship, were damaged in the violence, which was later attributed to religious sentiments.
“We hope that they will be able to find ways of settling the differences and hold on to the values of the distant past where models of collaborative conduct and inter-community engagement prevailed with the knowledge that the destinies of all our human communities are intertwined with each other,” the archbishop said in the statement.
The ecumenical prayer, led by Archbishop Anil Joseph Couto of Delhi, was attended by over 200 Christians.
Monsignor Juan Pablo Cerrillos Hernandez, charge d’ affairs at the nunciature in New Delhi, said the prayer meeting should be turned into a channel of peace to bring peace in Manipur.