Kuki chiefs oppose KNLF camp at Semol
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 20 2014 :
Chiefs of 135 villages located within Khengjoy block of Chandel district have resolved to see that no designated camp of KNLF is opened at Semol village.
Notably KNLF is presently under tripartite SoO pact with the State Government and Government of India.
Speaking to media persons at the office of Khengjoy Sub-Division Kuki Chiefs' Association yesterday, the village chiefs raised strong objection to the Government's initiative of opening a designated camp of KNLF at Semol.
The Kuki chiefs held a meeting and deliberated at length on the matter yesterday.
Pointing out that KNLF is affiliated to KNO/KNA, the chiefs said KNLF's designated camp should be opened within KNO/KNA area.
UG groups of any nomenclature under SoO pact should not have any designated camp in Khengjoy area regardless of whether they are composed of Kukis, Nagas or Meiteis, they asserted.
Semol is already home to a designated camp of UKLF, affiliated to UPF, the other umbrella body of Kuki UG groups.
Presence of both UKLF and KNLF in the sub-division may breed unwanted conflicts leading to serious law and order problem.
The Government should immediately abort all its initiatives to open a designated camp of KNLF at Semol.
There was no case of the Government either seeking consent of Semol village or the village chief giving his consent for opening the designated camp there.
The Government took up the initiative of opening the designated camp without giving prior information.
The village chiefs would intervene physically if the Government does not put on hold the same initiative immediately.
Semol village chief Tirgoulen Haokip said that he was not given any prior information before the Government took up steps to open a designated camp within his village jurisdiction.
He lambasted the Government initiative as a thoughtless step which would severely disturb tranquillity of the area.
A press release issued by Tirgoulen Haokip maintained that they would never agree to the Government's initiative of opening a designated camp of KNLF there under any circumstances.