COTU, ITLF manipulating public sentiment: COCOMI
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, February 11 2025: Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has strongly condemned recent statement issued by the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) and Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), contending that contents of the statement clearly reflect their strategy of adapting to shifting political circumstances in order to achieve their ultimate goal of separate administration.

In a release, COCOMI IPR sub-committee convenor Laikhuram Jayenta noted that COTU and ITLF have been consistently seeking new justifications to prolong the unrest situation, and making their own people suffer while capitalising on their discontent to push their vested political agenda.

"Even when the chief minister was assumed to be stepping down for the larger good, COTU found another pretext to continue their movement for separate administration.

It is now evident that whatever reasons or justifications COTU/ITLF and its allies put forth, their sole objective remains the same: to create circumstances that validate their long-standing demand for separate administration.

Their agenda has evolved and escalated over time, from seeking separate administration to create an exclusive Kukiland further advocating for a merger with Mizoram under the concept of greater Mizoram, then to a proposed Zoland or Zalengam, and ultimately aligning with the Chin state of Myanmar with aspirations for a larger Christian state under the Burma Act of the United States," elaborated the COCOMI.

On behalf of the conglomerate of civil society organisations, the convenor urged the Government of India to recognise the systematic agenda and take firm measures to hold accountable any individual, organisation, or group that justifies instability and violence as a means to pursue their political ambitions.

"The people of Manipur deserve peace, stability, and a resolution that upholds the integrity of the state," he stressed.

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