While India's Parliament is yet to debate on the Manipur ethnic clashes, UK lawmakers denounced them in the House of Commons.
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00:00This is on the ongoing major violence in Manipur, India,
00:05which indicates that since early May alone,
00:07hundreds of churches there have been destroyed
00:10in what looks like systematic and premeditated attacks
00:14with religion, a key factor.
00:16Over 100 people have been killed,
00:30over 50,000 displaced, schools and seminaries also targeted.
00:46I'm pleased to tell my Honourable Friend,
00:55who serves with such distinction as the Prime Minister's
00:58Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief,
01:01that the United Nations Security Council
01:04has recently adopted a resolution
01:06to produce an annual report on freedom of religion and belief.
01:10This was sponsored by the United Kingdom and by the UAE,
01:13and this resolution was based on the Bishop of Truro's review
01:17and incorporates many of his original recommendations.
01:21Fiona Bruce.
01:22Thank you, and that is indeed a very positive development.
01:26My Honourable Friend has seen another report,
01:28a report produced by former BBC reporter David Campanale
01:32and other Forbes experts
01:34for the International Religious Freedom of Belief Alliance,
01:36which I chair,
01:37and this is on the ongoing major violence in Manipur, India,
01:42which indicates that since early May alone,
01:45hundreds of churches there have been destroyed,
01:47many burnt to the ground.
01:49Over 100 people have been killed,
01:51over 50,000 displaced, schools and seminaries also targeted
01:56in what looks like systematic and premeditated attacks
02:00with religion a key factor,
02:02yet there's been very little reporting about this.
02:05People there are calling out for help.
02:07What can the church do to draw more attention to their cries?
02:12Well, my Honourable Friend has done a great service
02:14by putting this matter on the record
02:16in this house this morning,
02:18and I'm sure, as she said, that she, like me,
02:20would like to see much greater reporting of these issues
02:23by the BBC and others,
02:25and what she's told us is truly shocking,
02:28and I know that the Archbishop of Canterbury,
02:30who visited India in 2019 to see these challenges firsthand,
02:35remains extremely concerned
02:37that these attacks have been worsening
02:39and spreading to other minority-faith communities as well,
02:43so I will bring her report on Manipur
02:45directly to the Archbishop's attention.