ITLF reiterates separate state demand
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, October 09 2023:
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a representative body of Kuki tribes, reiterated its longstanding demand for a separate administration equivalent to a separate state, stating that coexistence with the Meiteis has become unfeasible.
In a statement, senior ITLF leader and spokesman, Ginza Vualzong, underscored recent incidents of violence and claimed that the Meeteis have forcibly displaced their community, subjected them to violence, and assaulted their villages, making coexistence untenable.
Vualzong expressed strong condemnation for a distressing incident that recently came to light, wherein a video surfaced on October 8 allegedly showing the brutal burning of an unidentified man from the Kuki-Zo community.
He deemed this act a horrific testament of brutality and emphasised the ITLFs vehement denouncement of this grave injustice.
Drawing attention to the alleged complicity of the Manipur government, Vualzong noted that such involvement had emboldened the Meeteis to take the law into their own hands.
Furthermore, he cited specific acts of violence, including the burning of the Anglo-Kuki War Centenary gate, alleged destruction of over 20 houses in Kangvai, and the killing of a pastor in Phoughakchao on May 3, which, it claimed, ignited an ethnic war lasting over five months.
During this period, he highlighted relentless violence against Kuki-Zo individuals, exacerbated by the proliferation of weapons into certain organisations.
Vualzong emphasised that various incidents of inhumane killings against the Kuki-Zo people had gained significant attention.
He also outlined alleged attacks, including BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte and the murder of his driver, among others.
Concluding his statement, Vualzong stressed that the brutal acts against the Kuki-Zo community could not be disregarded, and he criticised the state government's failure to address these heinous crimes, highlighting what the ITLF perceives as a biased and exclusionary approach serving the interests of the Meeteis.