The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), an influential conglomerate of recognised Kuki-Zo tribes of Churachandpur district of strife-hit Manipur, has called for a rally and total shutdown on June 24, seeking an early resolution to its Union Territory demand.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ITLF said, “We have lost numerous homes and properties and sacrificed countless lives in the past year and a half, but we have not yet received a political solution. The Lok Sabha’s first session is scheduled to begin on June 24, 2024.”
“To further press for the establishment of our political demand, Union territory under Article 239A for the Kuki-Zo people of Manipur, the ITLF intends to hold a non-violent demonstration on the same day,” the ITLF statement said.
The statement added, “We request everyone to join in great numbers in order to demonstrate our political demand.”
There will also be a total shutdown on the day of the rally, to be held from Public Ground to Peace Ground in Churchandpur. Similar rally will be held in other districts such as Pherzawl, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal, among others.
Like most Kuki-Zo organisations, the ITLF is also pushing for a separate administration for Manipur owing to the “demographic and emotional separation” between the valley and the hills following the ethnic conflict that began on May 3 last year.
The demand for a separate administration is vehemently opposed by Meitei organisations. Churachandpur is a Kuki-Zo majority district.
The ITLF decision comes in the wake of a high-level review meeting of the prevailing situation in the state by Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday. After the meeting (which was not attended by Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh), Shah said that the MHA would talk to both Meiteis and Kukis to “bridge” the ethnic divide.
