The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has strongly rejected the recently released Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) report of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on the ongoing Manipur crisis. In a press statement issued on behalf of the people of Manipur, COCOMI described the report as “biased, misleading, and politically engineered,” accusing it of vilifying the Meitei community while legitimizing the separatist aspirations of armed Kuki-Zo groups.
Grounds for Rejection
COCOMI outlined multiple reasons for dismissing the PUCL report, pointing to what it called misrepresentation, selective omission, and distortion of facts. The committee highlighted several examples, including:
| Page Reference | COCOMI’s Objection |
|---|---|
| Page 19 | Misrepresentation of Meitei ST status issue |
| Page 22 | One-sided victimhood depiction of Kuki-Zo, omission of Meitei suffering |
| Page 22 | Endorsement of separatist agenda with “de facto ethnic partition” framing |
| Page 56 | Wrongful conclusion of “unbridgeable differences” |
| Page 287 | Distortion of tribal histories and deceptive inclusion of Nagas under “tribals” |
COCOMI also criticized the report for failing to mention the role of armed Kuki-Chin groups in violence, despite public admissions of responsibility by their own leaders.
Allegations of Bias
According to COCOMI, the report attempted to portray poppy cultivation as poverty-driven while ignoring its links to narco-terrorism. It further accused the tribunal of painting the Meitei community as “anti-State,” despite its long record of contributions to India in the fields of defense, sports, culture, and national service.
“The PUCL report has no legitimacy and no credibility. It is rejected in its entirety by the people of Manipur,” the statement read, signed by Laikhuram Jayenta, Convenor of COCOMI’s IPR Sub-Committee.
Future Course of Action
COCOMI announced three major steps in response to the tribunal report:
Public Review of the PUCL Report – Exposing misrepresentations and omissions systematically before the people of Manipur and the wider Indian public.
Legal Accountability – Taking necessary legal action against PUCL and tribunal members for defamatory or misleading claims.
Safeguarding National Integrity – Mobilizing civil society, intellectuals, and legal experts to ensure that “fabricated reports designed for international consumption” do not undermine Manipur’s unity and integrity.
Call for Fairness and Truth
Concluding its statement, COCOMI said what Manipur needs most at this time is fairness, integrity, and collective resolve, not “propaganda disguised as human rights.” It accused PUCL of siding with separatist forces under the guise of impartial reporting.
“Manipur does not need propaganda masquerading as human rights. What it needs is truth, fairness, and collective resolve to restore peace, integrity, and unity,” COCOMI asserted.
