UKHRUL: The Kuki CSO Working Committee (WCKCSOs)-Ukhrul has accused the governments of Manipur and India of failing to ensure accountability for the killing of Kuki-Zo civilians, while alleging that sections of the media have adopted “double standards” in reporting violence in the state.
The WCKCSOs questioned the progress of the investigation into the March 11 killing of Thenkhogin Baite and Thangboimang Lunkim at Thowai Kuki, asking what action had been taken seven months after the case was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
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“What progress has been made? Who has been held accountable?” the WCKCSOs in a statement asked, alleging that the prolonged silence over the case had deepened the perception that Kuki-Zo lives did not receive equal urgency under the law.
The committee also raised the recent killing of 76-year-old Hemjang Haokip of Khunkho Kuki village, who it said was abducted from his farm hut on October 3 and found dead the following day at S. Golai near Leimakhong with his hands and legs tied.
The Khunkho Kuki Village Authority has attributed the killing to the NSCN (IM), the committee said.
The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul said the killings could not be viewed as isolated incidents and alleged a continuing pattern of violence, intimidation and displacement against Kuki-Zo civilians.
“The State cannot claim neutrality while applying the law selectively,” the committee said, alleging that Kuki-Zo civil society leaders faced arrests, cases and coercive action while allegations of attacks by armed groups against Kuki-Zo civilians received comparatively less attention.
The WCKCSOs also questioned the response of the governments of Manipur and India to remarks attributed to Yarchuiso Kashung, president of Tangkhul Aze Katamnao Long, concerning seeking protection from China if their demands were not met.
It asked why the governments had remained silent over the remarks and questioned whether a similar statement by a Kuki-Zo leader would have received the same response.
“The law cannot be selective. National security cannot be selective. Justice cannot be selective,” the committee said.
The statement also criticised sections of the Manipur media, alleging that Kuki-Zo victims were sometimes described as victims of “unknown miscreants”, while victims from the Meitei or Kacha Naga communities were more readily associated with “Kuki militants”.
The committee said accusations should be based on evidence and urged the media not to become a vehicle for “communal vilification”.
The WCKCSOs-Ukhrul said the Kuki-Zo community had repeatedly sought protection and justice while villages continued to face attacks and people continued to be killed.
“We have waited long enough. The State’s silence has itself become an answer,” it said.
The committee further warned that every unresolved killing and what it described as selective arrests would deepen distrust and reinforce perceptions of unequal citizenship.
“If the State continues to fail to protect Kuki-Zo lives, identify perpetrators and deliver justice, it cannot indefinitely expect the Kuki-Zo people to believe that they enjoy equal protection under the Constitution,” the statement said.
It also asserted that Kuki-Zo lives were “not expendable” and that its elders, women and children were not targets or collateral.
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