UKHRUL: The Kuki Human Rights Council (KHRC) on Tuesday rejected remarks made by former UNLF leader Ningthemcha Sanayaima, popularly known as RK Meghen, over the ongoing violence in Manipur.
In a statement issued on December 30, the KHRC said Meghen’s comments, made during the 169th birth anniversary of Bir Tikendrajit at Berimura in Tripura, misrepresented the nature of the conflict and unfairly blamed the Kuki community.
The council alleged that the violence in Manipur amounts to ethnic cleansing and accused the former state leadership and several Meitei armed groups of being responsible for large-scale attacks on Kuki villages. It dismissed attempts to project Kukis as aggressors, calling such claims misleading and insensitive to those affected by the conflict.
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The KHRC said relations between the Meitei and Kuki communities have broken down beyond repair, adding that any future arrangement could only be based on separate administrative and territorial boundaries.
According to the KHRC, more than 260 people have lost their lives since the violence began, with extensive damage to homes, property, and livelihoods. It said women, children, and elderly persons have borne the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.
Reiterating its position, the KHRC stated that the demand for a separate Kuki state or Union Territory has become unavoidable and called for those responsible for the violence to be held accountable.
The KHRC also urged restraint in public statements but maintained that its demand for justice and self-determination would not be diluted.
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