IMPHAL: Intensifying their demand for a separate Kuki homeland, people belonging to the Kuki-Zo community staged rallies across hill districts of Manipur on Saturday.
The rallies were also organized to protest a purported “viral audio tape” of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh that has caused widespread outrage among the Kuki-Zo community.
The protest was jointly called by the Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) and the Kuki Students’ Organisation (KSO).
The protest rallies were taken out at several places, including Leishang in Churachandpur district, Keithelmanbi in Kangpokpi, and Moreh in Tengnoupal.
In Churachandpur, the protest rally started from the Anglo Kuki war gate at Leishang and culminated at Peace ground in Tuiboung, covering a distance of 6 km.
All markets and schools in the district remained closed in view of the rally organized by students belonging to the Kuki-Zo community.
Hundreds of protesters participated in the rally, which commenced from Keithelmanbi Military colony in Kangpokpi, and they marched to Thomas ground in the district headquarters covering a distance of 8 km.
Another protest march was also held in the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh, demanding a separate administration.
Holding placards and chanting slogans, the protesters demanded a separate administration as the only solution to the ongoing violence in Manipur.
The Manipur government had said that the audio clips, falsely claiming to be the voice of the chief minister, were released on social media in an attempt to derail peace initiatives in the ethnic violence-affected state.
The government had claimed that the audio tapes were “doctored” and the state police were conducting an investigation into the matter.
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Ahead of the protest rallies, the Manipur government had instructed all the authorities to take necessary precautionary measures during the protest rally to avoid untoward incidents.
However, Naga groups opposed the rally within the Naga areas in the interest of maintaining “peace and tranquillity”.
