Kuki Black Day observed, cries for early justice
Source: The Sangai Express

Kangpokpi, September 14 2018: In a significant observation of Sahnit Ni (Kuki Black Day) yesterday, people of Joupi and Gelnal with survivors of the alleged coordinated attacked of the NSCN-IM that led to the Kuki genocide bemoaned the death of all their kinsman, women and children killed in the alleged pogrom.

The 25th Sahnit Ni observation at Gelnal village which was jointly organized by survivors of the NSCN-IM pogrom and villagers of Joupi and Gelnal was historic in the sense that both the villages have their own sordid tales of horror and gory incidents to tell about the massacred of 88 villagers of Joupi and Janglenphai and 17 villagers of Gelnal 25 years ago on this particular day in 1993 pushing the day's head count to 115 including victims of Santing and Nungthut village.

September 13, 1993 incident of the alleged methodic savageries and the sheer magnitude of the well-planned massacred shocked the world turning the day as the blackest day in the history of the Kukis where the BBC reported it as 'ethnic cleansing by Naga separatists', the CNN called 'Kuki genocide' and the other world media called it as 'bloody ethnic cleansing'.

The saddest part is that most of the victims of Joupi could not be given proper burial ceremonies since their dead bodies could not be collected.

Therefore, the survivors of Joupi village erected a memorial stone in their new settlement between Gelnal and Chalwa where mourning and floral tribute ceremony was held amidst cries and lament in the morning.

Another floral tribute followed with the same heavy emotion at Gelnal where a memorial stone, with the names of all the victims inscribed upon it, was erected exactly in a place where the 17 victims were laid to rest.

Black flag were seen hoisting in every house of the Kukis while young and old, men and women, even children donned black cloth during the observation of Sahnit Ni (Black Day).

Dr Satkai Chongloi, Semang (General Secretary), Kuki Inpi attended the day as a resource person at Gelnal and said that the Kuki Inpi Manipur has been observing carefully the present turbulent situation in the North East and Manipur in particular and came to a conclusion that the root cause of all troubles is the NSCN-IM's claim of secessionists movement and its subsequent drive for the so-called ethnic cleansing.

"If the Government of India does not review its approach towards the Kukis, the Kukis will have to review their own standpoint vis-a-vis the India Government", Chongloi asserted while addressing the gathering.

Jangmang Haokip, Secretary Advisor, KSO General Headquarters also attended the observation as resource persons while various village chiefs, CSOs leaders and church leaders also attended the function.

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