UPF reacts to Shambhu's statement
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 14 2013 :
Reacting to the statement made by Sambhu Singh, Joint Secy.
(MHA), North East In-charge on the issue of Kuki political demand, saying that the NE states are already tiny states and it is hard to even entertain the idea of carving out new state from the existing one, the UPF, an umbrella organization of eight Kuki based revolutionary groups, has asserted that there are no hard and fast rules/conditions to create new state in regard to population, resources and others but the necessity of socio-political and economic environment of situation and people concern is to be counted which is more important than all other issues.
In a statement issued by its Information and Publicity Secretary C.Robinson Thadou, UPF said that in line with what Sambhu Singh had stated, "we, the UPF modified our political goal and the outcome was the present charter of demand submitted to the govt.under the name Autonomous Hills State (AHS) under Article 244(A) of the Indian constitution which is a state within a state not affecting the existing boundary of the state.
It is a legitimate one which is also in conformity with the SoO agreement.
However, if this legitimate demand is neglected for long the future course of action would be different" .
UPF further said, "We, the Kukis are nationalistic and patriotic like any other Indian.
We are neither secessionists nor sectionists and we are not rebelling for the sake of rebellion but we are demanding what is legitimate and due to us.
Our demand will affect neither the state nor the centre govt or anybody else.
We are very much Indian likes the rest and we love and want to serve this country and we have been serving it in the past too even before we became part of the Indian union.
The Anglo-Kuki war of 1917 -1919 and INA movement during the Second Global War were our standing testimony of serving this country.
History is the witness.
We have fought the British colonial power singularly for more than 2 years and then we joined hands with the Japanese in respond to the call of Netaji Subha Chandra Bose as part of Indian National Army (INA) to free our mother land from foreign control" .
It went on to day, "In this way we have suffered a lot in the freedom struggle but the worst came after India got independence.
Much against to our wishes and interest now we (Kukis) are scattered and divided into two sovereign states -India and Myanmar.
Today we become one people with two nationalities divided into two different countries.
This is the saddest part of our history.
Of late, the circumstances have compelled us to start a political movement but as a peace loving and obedience citizens of India, we have signed the tripartite SoO agreement with the centre and state govt in 2008 with the hope that our legitimate demand is being considered.
But the sign of open negligence on the part of the govt towards our political issue sent a very surprising signal to us.
If this is the real intention of the govt, we would be compelled to chalk out our own line of plan and action in near future.
If our patience is tested too much we may have no option left," UPF warned.
"Now, even after almost 6 years gone, no political dialogue is being initiated.
On the 3rd January of this year Sambhu Singh, as a representative of the centre govt, assured us that political interlocutor would be appointed very soon and the political dialogue will begin within the next couple of months.
But this promise vanished into thin air till date," UPF lamented.