Imphal, June 08 2010: The United Naga Council (UNC) has given five days' time to the Government of Manipur to revoke the arrest warrant on its president and also withdraw the bounty announced in connection with the same.

If the government fails to revoke the arrest warrant within the given time, the UNC will have no option but to intensify its agitation on all possible fronts, Publicity Wing of UNC announced in a press release.

It said, the UNC and its constituent units, while holding a review of the ongoing economic blockade was shocked by the declaration of its President and the President of the All Naga Students' Association Manipur(ANSAM) as "wanted" and fixing of rewards on them by the Government of Manipur.

After outrightly rejecting the demands of the tribal people on the ADC election, the Government of Manipur is relentlessly trying to put into place district councils in the hill areas under the unwanted District Council(Hill Areas)Act, 2008 through a stage managed election process.

The press release stated that instead of addressing the material issue at hand, the Government of Manipur has chosen to issue arrest warrants to the Naga leaders.

This brazen action has followed an invitation for talks on the issue of ADC election and economic blockade from the Government of Manipur in the form of a letter from the Chief Secretary through the DC, Senapati addressed to the President UNC.

The information on the invitation was received at 2.30 PM of the 26th May, 2010 on the day of polling for the 1st phase of ADC elections, when any talk on the issue has become impertinent and this response came after a lapse of over 3 month when the demand for reviewing of the Act was submitted to the State Government.

It further said that while condemning the State Government's design to criminalise the UNC for demanding justice for the tribal people, the Presidential Council of the UNC is constrained to issue an ultimatum of 5 days from the date of this Press Statement to the Manipur State Government to revoke the arrest warrant on its President and also withdraw the bounty announced in connection with the same, failing which the UNC will have no option but to intensify its agitation on all possible fronts.