Solution lies in wisdom of Indian leadership: ZCSC
Source: Chronicle News Service / Kaimuanthang Mangte

CCpur, September 25 2023: With the ongoing ethnic conflict set to cross ISO days without any visible sign of settling down, Zomi Council Steering Committee (ZCSC) has said that the continuing violence in Manipur is purely an internal matter of India and solution for the same lies in the wisdom of the Indian leadership.

The unthinkable sufferings of the Zo (Zomi-Kuki-Hmar ethnic communities) people in the conflict have drawn the attention of both the national and international communities and resulted in several civil society organizations (CSOs) from India as well as abroad advocating plights of the Zo people on different platforms, said a statement of ZCSC.

While appreciating the CSOs for their selfless commitment and contribution towards highlighting the pitiable condition of the Zo people in Manipur, the ZCSC said that these CSOs are not always necessarily aligned with the policies and approaches of the ZCSC, or other similar Zo CSOs back home for that matter.

Sometimes, out of sheer desperation for a solution, some of them might have even resorted to taking an approach contradictory to the prevailing ones acceptable to CSOs like the ZCSC.

The Committee said that the Zo armed groups signed Suspension of Operation (SoO) with the Indian government in 2005 and 2008 to redress their long-standing political aspirations within the constitutional framework of India much before the current conflict started on May 3, 2023 .

The breakdown of law and order in Manipur has complicated the issue resulting in regional and international responses in various forms.

Nevertheless, the issue and its ultimate political solution lies within India and not outside.

The faith of the Zomi people in the Indian Constitution was demonstrated in the observance of the 77th Indian Independence Day organised by the ZCSC at Lamka Mawltual wherein thousands of Zo people gathered and took an oath reaffirming their 'true faith and allegiance to the Indian Nation, its Constitution, and Flag,' and swore to defend the nation.

There are several narratives doing the rounds, including a religious angle where the ethnic clash was labelled as a Hindu versus Christian violence.

However, with only the Zo ethnic tribes being targeted while the Naga tribals, who are also Christians, still left unscathed, it has become increasingly clear that the conflict is a systematic and pre-planned ethnic cleansing drive to grab the ancestral lands and resources of the Zo people, ZCSC said.

While reiterating that the only way forward for sustainable peace in the region is the creation of a Separate Administration (Union Territory with Legislature) for the Zo people, ZCSC further said a Separate Administration within the Indian Union is inevitable in view of the total separation - emotional, social, physical, and geographical - already starkly exhibited between the Zo ethnic tribes and the Meitei community.

Hastening the political talks with the UPF and KNO for a sustainable solution for the Zo people in the interest of sustainable peace, inclusive growth and peaceful co-existence has become the need of the hour, ZCSC said adding that Zo people have faith in the government and Constitution of India and its judicial system and a lasting solution can only come from the Indian government.

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