Guwahati/Imphal, Jan 13 A crucial meeting of Kuki-Zo community MLAs, leaders of the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC), and representatives of Kuki-Zo armed groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) was held on Tuesday. The meeting urged the Central government to resolve its political demands before the Manipur Assembly elections scheduled for 2027.
Since the outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur in May 2023, all Kuki-Zo tribal organisations, including their apex body KZC, the ten MLAs belonging to the community, and the militants under the SoO agreement, have been demanding a separate administration equivalent to a Union Territory with a legislative assembly.
A joint press statement issued after the meeting, held in Guwahati, said that participants of three groups reviewed the current political status of Manipur and the prevailing situation in the state.
“Taking cognisance of the unprecedented de facto demographic and administrative separation that has existed for the past 32 months, the meeting unanimously adopted five resolutions,” the statement said.
The resolutions include a demand that the Kuki-Zo communities’ political issues be resolved before the 2027 Assembly elections.
It also resolved that Kuki-Zo MLAs would not participate in the formation of any new state government and that any commitments made by the Central government must be implemented in a time-bound manner, specifically within the current Assembly's tenure.
Last week, the KZC and the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a leading body representing tribal communities in Manipur, reiterated that the ten MLAs from the Kuki-Zo tribal community would not, under any circumstances, take part in the formation of a new state government.
Of the ten Kuki-Zo legislators, seven belong to the BJP, while the remaining three represent other regional parties. However, the Central government, the BJP, and various Meitei community organisations have on several occasions rejected the demand for a separate administration or a Union Territory with a legislature.
Meanwhile, officials from the Union Home Ministry have held multiple rounds of separate meetings with SoO militants, the KZC, various Kuki-Zo civil society organisations, MLAs, and non-governmental organisations to discuss their demands.
--IANS
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