The row over World Evangelical Alliance’s Geneva event on Manipur violence explained

A panel discussion organised by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) in Geneva on the Manipur crisis has sparked a row in India. The side event titled ‘The Crisis in Manipur and Implications for Human Rights in India’ was held on Tuesday (19 September) during the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. Manipur has been on the boil since 3 May when violence broke out between the majority Meiteis and the tribal Kuki-Zo community. What is the WEA? What is the controversy about? Let’s understand better. What is the World Evangelical Alliance? As per Britannica, the WEA is a global fellowship of organisations that have “biblically conservative interpretations of the Christian faith.” It is a “network of churches in 143 nations that have joined to give a worldwide identity, voice and platform to more than 600 million evangelical Christians,” according to the WEA website. Established in 1846, the WEA found some support in Europe and North America until 1951, when 21 countries became a part of it and rebranded it as the World Evangelical Fellowship, noted Britannica. This “church-based movement” was later renamed to WEA in 2001. “With its six commissions established in 1974, the WEA serves to defend religious liberty and evangelical theology while coordinating evangelical missions and Christian humanitarian actions, especially those involving women and children,” says Britannica. WEA’s discussion on Manipur Wissam al-Saliby, director of the WEA’s Geneva office, who moderated the discussion, said: “Since May 2023, the state of Manipur in India has witnessed large-scale violence primarily against the tribal Christian Zo people (Kuki, Zomi, Hmar tribes) that has led to at least 180 deaths, rampant sexual violence, and hundreds of churches and thousands of homes being demolished or burned down. An estimated 70,000 people remain internally displaced.” The members speaking at the Geneva event on Manipur violence included Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Florence N Lowe, founding president of the North American Manipur Tribal Association (NAMTA); and Hena Zuberi, director of advocacy for Justice for All and co-chair of the India Working Group at the International Religious Freedom Roundtable. Moreover, the pre-recorded video message of Nury Turkel, commissioner at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, was played at the event. Khuraijam Athouba, the spokesperson of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) – a conglomerate of Meitei civil society organisations – also attended the event and spoke during the last three minutes of the discussion. “This is a forum of the United Nations, so everyone has a right to know the facts and truth to address what is happening in Manipur… When we talk about the Hindu majority, we Meiteis in Manipur are not the majority… We represent around 8.5 lakh of the (state’s) population. And the Christians in Manipur are around 12 lakh. They comprise more than 53-54 per cent,” Athouba said. As the moderator pointed out the time crunch, Athouba retorted: “But we need to clarify the facts”. [caption id=“attachment_13152412” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Meira Paibis, a loosely formed Meitei women group, near a checkpoint in Moirang town in the Bishnupur district in July. Reuters File Photo[/caption] “If you are narrating it in the wrong context, we need to check it out. Or shall we go with the wrong facts and continue this debate and discussion? … The religion card was never an issue in the Manipur violence because the Meiteis never targeted Christians. There is also a huge population of Meitei Christians… They (panellists) missed informing that Meitei churches have been completely vandalised and razed in Kuki-dominated areas in Churachandpur right on the first day (of the violence) before violence broke out in Imphal,” he said at the event, as per NDTV. Raising the issue of narco-terrorism in Manipur, he claimed that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has reported Churachandpur district, mainly inhabited by tribes from the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi group, has “become the hub of the new Golden Triangle”. Row over remarks on India In his closing remarks, al-Saliby said that he hoped India would “grow into a more democratic, inclusive society and community”, where the government is “supportive of all religious and ethnic minorities”. The event did not go down well in India. Lieutenant General (retired) L Nishikanta Singh took to X, formerly Twitter, to slam the discussion in Geneva, calling it “interference” in India’s internal matters. “Break India gang is at it again. Exploiting Manipur’s communal fault line, taken it to so-called UN expert panel to help migrants, who also approached Germany, besides the US, Israel, UN, EU, etc for a separate country. All Indians must condemn interference in our internal affairs,” he wrote.

'Break-India Gang' is at it again. Exploiting Manipur communal fault line, taken it up to so called 'UN Expert' panel, to help migrants, who approached Germany, besides US, Isreal, UN, EU etc for a separate country. All Indians must condemn interference in our internal affairs.

— Lt Gen L Nishikanta Singh (R) (@VeteranLNSingh) September 20, 2023

Speaking to NDTV on the phone, Singh, who served for 40 years in the military, said: “See the composition of the so-called expert panel. The unfortunate ethnic violence in Manipur is being politicised on the global stage to defame India”. Manipur violence As many as 175 people have died, 1,118 injured and 32 people are missing since the violence broke out in the Northeastern state in early May, according to data from the Manipur Police. Of the total 5,132 cases of arson, 4,786 included the burning of houses. Around 386 religious structures were vandalised through arson, of which 254 were churches and 132 were temples, Indian Express reported citing Inspector General of Police (Operation) IK Muivah. [caption id=“attachment_13152422” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A prayer service for peace in Manipur organised on 3 September in Nagaland’s Dimapur. PTI[/caption] Thousands have been displaced due to the ethnic clashes in the state. Several shocking incidents of sexual assault on women have also come to light amid the ongoing conflict. Meanwhile, a political blame game over the situation in Manipur continues. While the Opposition has demanded the resignation of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh over his alleged failure to tackle the situation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put the onus on the Congress. ALSO READ: Explained: What's behind the violence in Manipur? Global reaction to Manipur violence After the video of two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob had gone viral in July, it prompted a series of reactions in India and across the world. In his first public comments on the ethnic violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured, “The guilty will not be spared. What has happened to the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven”. A senior Joe Biden administration official said at the time the United States was “shocked and horrified” by the visuals of the assault. As per Mint, Vedant Patel, deputy spokesperson of the US state department, said: “We were shocked and horrified by the video of this extreme attack on two women in Manipur. We convey our profound sympathies to the survivors of this act of gender-based violence and support the Indian Government’s efforts to seek justice for them.” According to a report in The Wire, the European Parliament July adopted a resolution on the violence in Manipur, urging the Indian government to “protect religious minorities”. Earlier this week, a British MP described the violence in Manipur as a “silent attack on Christians in India”. During a backbench business debate in the House of Commons on freedom of religion and belief, Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon said: “The events in Manipur might be classed as originating in tribal or ethnic tensions, but the Manipur violence has silently been an attack on Christians in India. It is striking that local police and state government sat by as arson destroyed the properties, homes and lives of minority and religious groups,” reported Times of India (TOI). He claimed that the situation in Manipur has “escalated even further, with 60,000 people now displaced and 360 churches damaged”. With inputs from agencies