Height of Injustice : Kukis Decry 10 Months of State-Sponsored Ethnic Cleansing Pogrom; Total Shutdown to Follow in KPI

Exactly ten months ago, on May 3, 2023, pre-planned violence erupted in Manipur when the majority Meitei community started attacking the minority Kukis. The violence still continues and day by day it is becoming apparent that it is a state-sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom on the Kukis.

As per government figures, 213 lives have been taken, around 5000 houses have been burned down, around 70,000 people have been displaced from their homes. According to the data maintained by the various tribal bodies, 166 Kukis have been killed, more than 300 Churches and 4000 houses have been burnt down by the Meiteis armed groups and the Meitei Police/ Commandos.

The communal Meiteis perpetrated heinous crimes against the Kukis - women were tortured, raped and murdered. Some Kuki men were beheaded, and some even burnt alive.

Today marks the 10 months of ethnic cleansing of the Kuki community, and yet still no justice for Kukis or credible effort for restoration of peace is at sight. The Kukis endured the highest form of injustice and the Government of India is still oblivious to their woes and their legitimate demand for a separate administration. Even after 10 months of tragedy, relentless attacks on the Kukis in the buffer zones are still being carried out by the heavily armed Meitei radicals like Arambai Tenggol, Meitei Leepun, UNLF (P) and the other VBIGs.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) said, “The ongoing 10th month of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Meitei against the Kuki-Zo community is a grave injustice that demands immediate attention. Innocent lives have been tragically lost, with our women subjected to degrading public displays”. The Kuki-Zo body demanded that the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity must be held accountable for their crimes.

In Kangpokpi district, the Kuki body, under the aegis of Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), observed a program to decry the ten months of injustice arising out of the state-sponsored ethnic cleansing pogrom. Prayers for fulfilment of the separate administration demand were held in every church within the district.

In the evening, CoTU paid tribute to the Kuki-Zo Martyrs who had supreme sacrifices for the land and its people at Martyrs Cemetery, Phaijang village. 24-hour Total Shutdown will follow in the district tomorrow in protest against the biased Manipur Assembly’s Resolution for abrogation of Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact with the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups. SoO was signed in 2008 between the Government of India and the two umbrella Kuki groups of Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF). Tripartite political talks have been going on for Kukis’ political problems.