IMPHAL, Jan 10: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) on Saturday said it has unanimously endorsed the decision of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) Governing Council that the Kuki-Zo people will neither join nor support the formation of the Manipur Government under the prevailing circumstances.
In a statement issued after a meeting held on Friday, the ITLF said the Kuki-Zo community has been subjected to what it described as inhuman treatment during the ongoing crisis. The forum alleged that members of the community were killed, brutally assaulted, paraded naked and forcibly driven out of the Imphal Valley. It further claimed that thousands of houses were burned, places of worship destroyed and desecrated, and that more than 40,000 people continue to remain internally displaced after losing their homes, land and livelihoods.
The forum said the violent separation and forced displacement of the Kuki-Zo population from Meitei-dominated areas have irreversibly damaged trust and coexistence between the communities. Under such circumstances, it asserted that continuing within the existing administrative framework of Manipur has become untenable.
Reiterating its political demand, the ITLF said the call for a Separate Administration has become a constitutional and political necessity. According to the forum, the Kuki-Zo people have formally placed before the Government of India their demand for the creation of a Union Territory with a legislature, and having sought this solution, there is no justification for joining the Manipur Government.
Recalling earlier developments, the ITLF said that on May 12, 2023, following what it described as the failure of the Manipur State to protect the Kuki-Zo people, elected representatives from the community sought Separate Administration from the Union of India, a position it said remains firm and unchanged.
The ITLF categorically stated that no Kuki-Zo Member of the Legislative Assembly will join the Manipur Government, warning that any deviation from this collective stand would be viewed as a betrayal of the will and sacrifices of the Kuki-Zo people.
