Kuki-Zo Council asserts origin, authenticity
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, December 20 2024: Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has reacted on certain quarters questioning its origin and authenticity, especially a press release issued by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) on Wednesday challenging existence of the council and denouncing its activities.

In a statement, the council said that it considered the DIPR's press release to be fake, as it lacked a signatory and designation of the responsible officer.

However, with the press release now being carried by mainstream media, including print and electronic outlets, Kuki-Zo Council can no longer ignore the matter and finds it necessary to set the record straight, it stated.

It informed that the Kuki-Zo Council was officially established after months of deliberations on October 11 this year in Churachandpur.

Its first general body meeting was held on December 8 at S Molnom village, Kangpokpi.

Comprising representatives from various Kuki-Zo cognate tribes and Inpis, the Council acts as a common political platform for addressing shared political concerns and advocating for the collective interests of the community.

It serves as a formal governing body, fostering dialogue, and highest decision-making bodies representing the Kuki-Zo kindred tribes.

The Council is dedicated to promoting unity, upholding traditional values, and ensuring the progress and well-being of the community, the statement said.

As the highest decision-making body for the Kuki-Zo kindred tribes, the Council includes all tribe presidents and three additional members as members of its governing council and three each district representatives from frontal organisations.

A cabinet is responsible for day to day management of the Council who are nominated by constituent members as per the council structure, which ensures that the Council remains an inclusive and sole authoritative body representing Kuki-Zo civil societies effectively.

It is not surprising that the, "Meetei-led Manipur government" conducted a flawed and biased investigation into the Council and hastily concluded that "no such organisation (KZC) exists in the state of Manipur", the statement continued.

"Furthermore, the headquarters of the KZC is located in "Lamka" and the question of whether Lamka is a district or not is irrelevant.

If the Meeteis can rename the valleys of Manipur as "Kangleipak", what objection can there be to the name (Churachandpur) Lamka," the Council asked.

The statement condemned the "dictatorial governance of N Biren Singh's Meetei-led Manipur government" for attempting to suppress the voice of the Kuki-Zo people.

This includes urging both local and national media houses to refrain from publicising KZC press releases by labelling them as unauthorised and appealing to the Central government and its agencies to disregard KZC claims as unverified.

Such actions are unbecoming of a democratically established state, as they suppress the voices of the people and attempt to control the media, which is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy, the statement added.

Comment