The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has extended full support to the call of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to boycott the upcoming Sangai Festival, terming it inappropriate for the government to hold such an event while the state continues to face an unresolved crisis for over two and a half years.

Addressing the media at the COCOMI office in Lamphel, Laikhuram Jayenta, Convenor of the IPR Committee, said thousands remain displaced and livelihoods shattered, yet the government seems eager to project a “false image of normalcy” through the festival.

“It is not right to blur the harsh reality and show the world that peace has returned to Manipur when thousands are still in relief camps,” he said, adding that promises of IDP resettlement have seen no concrete progress.

Jayenta further noted that while the Sangai Festival is important for promoting Manipur’s culture and tourism, hosting it amid a humanitarian and security crisis would only deepen the pain of victims.

COCOMI urged the state government to focus on restoring peace, rehabilitating displaced persons, and rebuilding inter-community trust before holding such events.