Kangpokpi: The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), Sadar Hills, Kangpokpi District, has vehemently condemned the killing of a civilian, Mr Paojangam Chongloi, who was serving as a 33 KV Lineman in the Twilang area, terming it as the latest targeted attack on Kuki civilians by Tangkhul-led NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson group. In a strong condemnation note issued on Tuesday from Kangpokpi DHQ, the committee stated that the insatiable appetite for blood of the two armed groups remains unchecked till date despite repeated appeals for peace and restraint in the region. The incident occurred on the morning of September 23 and has triggered widespread anger and outrage across Sadar Hills, with Kuki civil bodies demanding immediate action from the central and state authorities to stop the cycle of violence against unarmed Kuki civilians working in remote and buffer areas.
COTU, which is the apex body of Kuki civil society organisations in Sadar Hills, said this unfortunate incident of September 23 is nothing but a desperate attempt by Tangkhul-led supremacists whose ideology seems to have teetered towards oblivion within their own rank. The committee alleged that the NSCN-IM and its proxy armed group ZUF-Kamson have been systematically targeting innocent Kuki villagers, farmers, and daily wage workers, including women and people engaged in essential services like electricity maintenance. It said that the killing of a lineman who was performing his official duty to restore power supply in the Twilang area shows the extent of lawlessness and impunity with which these groups are operating in Kuki inhabited areas along the inter-district buffer zones and interior Naga-majority districts. The committee termed the act as barbaric, inhumane and an attempt to terrorize the Kuki population.
In its official condemnation letter signed by its Information and Publicity Wing, COTU also beseeched the current dispensation in the state to clamp down on what it described as secessionist armed Tangkhul-led NSCN-IM and its proxy ZUF-Kamson, who had been coercing their own non-participant community within the Naga to adopt the supremacist ideology of the Tangkhuls in the region. The committee said that while the state government continues to remain a silent spectator, Kuki villages in peripheral areas are left vulnerable to repeated attacks, ambushes and killings. It said that since March 11 this year, at least 27 Kuki civilians, including eight women and two unborn children, have been allegedly killed in separate incidents attributed to NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson, including the much-condemned killing of pregnant woman Tinmary Haokip at Loibol Khollen and other killings in paddy fields and forest areas where civilians had gone for livelihood activities.
COTU further linked the September 23 killing with the larger pattern of violence that has emerged in recent months, where Kuki civilians in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Chandel districts have faced coordinated attacks. The committee said that the Tangkhul-led groups are trying to divert attention from their internal crisis and ideological failure by targeting soft targets like Kuki farmers and utility workers. It said that such acts not only violate human rights but also breach the ceasefire ground rules under which NSCN-IM is supposed to be confined to designated camps and refrain from any offensive against civilians. The committee questioned why central agencies have not yet acted decisively against the groups despite multiple memorandums submitted to Union Home Minister Amit Shah through deputy commissioners by Kuki women organisations and other Kuki bodies demanding NIA and CBI probe into the killings.
In a significant and emotional decision, COTU declared that the mortal remains of Late Paojangam Chongloi would not be claimed by the Kuki community until and unless the perpetrators, the NSCN-IM and ZUF-Kamson group involved in this heinous crime, are brought to justice along with the other seven bodies of Kuki who wait for justice. The committee said that eight bodies, including that of Chongloi, are currently lying unclaimed as a mark of protest against the state’s failure to deliver justice. This non-claiming of bodies has been adopted as a form of peaceful resistance to draw the attention of the central government to the continued atrocities and to demand a time-bound investigation by central agencies. The committee said that the sacrifice of the victims should not go in vain and that accountability must be fixed at the earliest.
The committee also extended its solidarity to the family of Late Paojangam Chongloi and assured that the Kuki community stands with them in this hour of grief. It said that Chongloi was not just a lineman but a breadwinner for his family and a service provider for the entire Twilang area, which has been facing erratic power supply due to difficult terrain and security challenges. The killing, according to COTU, has deprived the region of a dedicated worker and has created fear among other essential service providers who are now reluctant to enter remote villages for maintenance work. COTU said that if such killings continue without any protection from central forces in buffer villages along IT Road and other vulnerable stretches, essential services and farming activities in Kuki villages will come to a complete halt, leading to a humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, the condemnation from COTU comes on the same day when Kuki women under the banner of Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) and Kuki Women Union Manipur staged coordinated protests in Kangpokpi, Churachandpur and Chandel demanding Amit Shah’s intervention and central probe into the killing of 27 Kuki people. The women protesters had also submitted memorandums demanding deployment of central forces in buffer villages, compensation for victims and protection of Kuki villages. COTU said it fully endorses the demands raised by the Kuki women and will continue to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Home Affairs until justice is delivered. The committee urged all Kuki civil bodies, village chiefs and youth organisations to remain united and to refrain from retaliation while continuing democratic and peaceful protests for justice.
