'Complicity of Manipur govt has...': Tribal body reiterates demand for separate administration in Manipur

Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson for the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum says the "complicity" of the Manipur government has "emboldened the Meiteis to take the law into their own hands".

New Delhi: The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) on Monday registered its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community of Manipur saying that coexistence with the Meiteis was an "untenable proposition".

"The selective application of justice further reinforces our demand for a separate administration. The ITLF reiterates its call for a separate administration, as it is increasingly apparent that coexistence with the Meiteis, who have driven us out of their valley, subjected us to violence, and attacked our villages, is an untenable proposition," said Ginza Vualzong, ITLF spokesperson to ETV Bharat.

He claimed that the "complicity" of the Manipur government has "emboldened the Meiteis to take the law into their own hands". "Acts such as the burning of the Anglo Kuki War Centenary gate, the destruction of over 20 houses in Kangvai and the killing of a pastor in Phoughakchao on May 3 ignited an ethnic war that lasted for more than five months. The free transfer of more than 6,000 sophisticated weapons and over 5 lakh rounds of ammunition into the hand of Arambai Tenggol and Meetei Leepun further fuelled the aggression against the Kuki-Zo community," Vualzong said.

The ITLF also vehemently condemned the incident where a person belonging to the Kuki-Zo community was burnt alive. A video surfaced on Sunday shows that a man dressed in a black T-shirt and camouflage pants was burnt alive while voices in the background converse in the Meitei language. "The video is a harrowing testament to the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kuki-Zo community by the majority Meiteis," Vualzong said.

He further said that the "Manipur government's failure to address these heinous crimes underscores its bias and exclusionary approach, which only serves the interests of the Meiteis".