Manipur: Kuki-Zo tribals to hold rallies in five states to demand separate administration
Imphal: Seeking support for their demand for "separate administrations" (equivalent to a separate state) for tribals in Manipur, ten tribal MLAs, including ministers, met Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga in Aizawl and sought his intervention to resolve the ethnic crisis in Manipur.
In a bid to intensify the demand for separate administrations for tribals, the Kuki-Zo tribals will, for the first time, hold rallies in at least five other states besides Manipur on November 29.
Ginza Vualzong, a senior leader of Manipur tribals' apex body, Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), said on Saturday that the November 29 mega rally of the Kuki-Zo tribals would be held in Mizoram, Tripura, Delhi, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, in addition to different districts in Manipur.
Zoramthanga, who is the President of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), revealed that the Manipur tribal MLAs, including ministers, met him in Aizawl on Thursday and requested him to hold talks with the Naga leaders in Manipur and Nagaland regarding the current ethnic turmoil in the neighboring state.
He emphasized that the Manipur legislators, belonging to Kuki-Zo tribals, were committed to maintaining a good relationship with the Naga tribal community during this time of ethnic strife in Manipur.
"I have requested the Manipur tribal MLAs and Ministers to maintain close contact with the Union government and keep him informed of what is actually happening in Manipur," he said.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the MNF stands in solidarity with the ethnic kindred brothers and sisters in Manipur and other neighboring states as well as Myanmar, Bangladesh, and other countries.
"Mizoram is for all the ethnic Mizos around the globe," he stated while addressing party workers in Aizawl.
Zoramthanga, along with his Cabinet colleagues and MNF MLAs, had participated in the 'Solidarity March' organized by the NGOs Coordination Committee in Mizoram on July 25 to express solidarity with the Kuki-Zo tribals affected by the violence in Manipur.
Ten Manipur MLAs, including seven belonging to the ruling BJP, have been demanding separate administrations for the tribals in the state since the ethnic riots began in the state. The Central and state governments and BJP leaders have repeatedly rejected this demand and pledged to maintain a united Manipur.
The ITLF has been demanding the removal of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh since the beginning of the ethnic strife.
