‘Ready to assist in any way if asked’: US Ambassador Eric Garcetti on Manipur violence

US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti while being asked about Manipur violence said that the northeast has seen so much progress in some past years and it is not possible without peace. He stated that the US is ready to help India, if asked to deal will it anyway. 

He said,” I don’t think it’s about strategic concerns, it’s about human concerns. You don’t have to be an Indian to care when children or individuals die in this sort of violence. We know peace as a precedent for so many good things. There has been so much progress in the Northeast and the East…We stand ready to assist in any ways if asked. We know it’s an Indian matter and we pray for that peace and that it may come quickly. Because we can bring more collaboration, more projects, more investment if that peace is in place.”

“I don’t think it’s about strategic concerns. I think it’s about human concerns. I think all of us, you don’t have to be Indian to care when children or individuals die in the sort of violence that we see. And we know that peace is the precedent for so many other good things,” Garcetti said in a press conference in Kolkata on Thursday while responding to a question on Manipur.

Notably, the violence between two groups, Meiteis and the tribal Kuki in Manipur erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3. The conflict led to many people shifting to relief camps while leaving more than 130 people dead.

We are seeing billions of dollars in investment in WB: Eric Garcetti

While addressing the conference, the US ambassador to India applauds the West Bengal government’s emphasis on making a major logistics hub in the state.

“I want to commend the West Bengal government’s emphasis on developing ports and land waterways, multimodal transportation infrastructure, to make West Bengal a major logistics hub for this country and region. So it’s no surprise that we are seeing those billions of dollars of investment from companies from the US…They’re taking advantage of the strategic location of a great workforce,” Garcetti said.

Will do everything to protect our people: Eric Garcetti

The US Ambassador to India on the recent attack in the Indian consulate in US and how the US administration prepares to handle it, says, “We take very seriously our obligations to protect our fellow diplomats under the Vienna Convention. The lives of Americans and Indians and those people that do this critical work cannot be attacked, or threatened, cannot see fire bombs or acts of arson in the places where they go and work. We will do everything we can under the law in the United States to protect them….We are very serious about the situation. International agencies are looking into it seriously and working with the Indian government as well. We had made a call to San Fransisco when the incident had happened. We will not let any stone unturned to prevent the violation and investigative agencies are working on it…”