KIM reiterates call for justice to genocide' victims
Source: Chronicle News Service
Kangpokpi, September 13 2021:
On the occasion of the 28th Sahnit Ni (Kuki Black Day) on Monday, Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) has expressed resentment over the failure of successive central and state governments to deliver justice to the victims.
The apex body of the Kukis said that September 13 - Sahnit Ni (Kuki Black Day) is not just a symbolic date for the Kukis, it is a distinctly important day, and it is the darkest date in their history and it is also the day Kukis around the globe pause to remember and reflect on the horror of September 13, 1993 .
KIM also stated that the mass killing of Kukis by the NSCNIM and their collaborators in the infamous Kuki Genocide of 1992-1997 is arguably one of the bloodiest genocides in the history of modern India.
"While September 13, 2021 marked the 28th Anniversary of the deplorable massacre of our innocent people in Manipur at the hands of NSCN-IM and their proxy - the Naga Lim Guards, justice is still elusive to date, for all the victims of the ethnic cleansing campaign, whose only crime was that they were Kukis, due to the apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned - State and the Central Government," it said.
KIM also stated that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, adding that Sahnit Ni is strictly observed in accordance with Kukis' sacred customary practice of Sahnit.
Forty-eight years after the world said "Never Again" to the horrors of the genocide in response to the Holocaust, the Joupi massacre took place in.
Tamenglong district, KIM said, adding that "the Joupi massacre was truly scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of our history - 13 September 1993" .
KIM further said a perfect example of the state administration's helplessness and paralysis was the September 13 massacre of the Kukis, adding the Central and the State Governments then were equally culpable, for their utter failure to protect the lives and the security of the Kukis" .
"The failure on the part of successive governments hitherto, to deliver justice to the victims makes them equally responsible for the same," it added.
KIM stated that the NSCN-IM led Kuki genocide was in complete contravention of the preamble to the Constitution, the Article 21- Right to Life and personal liberty (a fundamental right) and Article 31 Right to property (a constitutional right), along with the Article 38, Article 39A, Article 142, enshrined in the Constitution of India.
The failure on the part of the Union Government to recognize the Kuki genocide is in complete violation of the UNO Convention on the prevention and punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which it had signed on the November 29, 1949.It also said that the injudicious approach and attitude of the Indian government towards the killings of thousands of Kukis in the infamy Kuki Genocide of 1992-1997 is clearly reflected in the fact that more than two decades have passed since, but no one has ever been charged or indicted for this sordid crime against humanity, adding that the Kuki genocide was not initiated andput an end to in one single day and it is very much alive as far as both the governments at the centre and the state refuse to acknowledge it and continues its policy of utter denial.
"We are convinced that the denial of a crime constituted the direct continuation of that very crime.
Only recognition and condemnation can prevent repetition of such crimes in the future.
The lackadaisical attitude adopted by the Central Government raises one very relevant question - Are the Kukis expendable?" KIM said.
"On September 13, every year since we honour the memories of precious lives lost, contemplate the incomprehensible wound to our community, mourn for the families broken and scattered, and embrace those who survived the nightmarish ordeal - some of whom are still with us today, continuing to embody extraordinary resilience after all these years.
It is indeed painful to remember.
It is human nature to want to leave the past behind.
But in order to prevent tragedy like the 13th September, 1993, we must share the truth of this dark and deplorable period with each generation," it added.
KIM continued, "Today, we stand on the threshold of the 28th anniversary of the Kuki Genocide.
This can afford the perpetrators - the NSCN (IM) a good chance to repent, and to set aside the historical stigma in case if they make efforts to set free their organisation from this heavy blood-stained burden".
KIM then said, "28 years is short or long depending on where you stand but thert is no justification for false moral equivalence.
The passage of time should not obscure the facts, lessen responsibility, or turn victims into villains" .
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