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| Pic: Zira |
Aizawl July 12, 2023: Zo Reunification Organization (ZORO) General Headquarters staged a Solidarity Demonstration today in Aizawl, near the Directorate Transport Office, to show support for the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur. During the event, ZORO President R Sangkawia expressed the organization's utmost desire for the unification of the Zo people. He mentioned that they have sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General regarding the suffering of the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur, urging for their protection and adherence to the "UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
President Sangkawia also commended the Mizoram government's initiatives in handling the situation. He stated that the Chief Minister had engaged with his Manipur counterparts to reaffirm the ethnic ties between the Mizos and the Kuki-Zo people. Additionally, Mizoram MP Pu Vanlalvena had spoken to the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, urging him to address the conflict. However, President Sangkawia questioned the silence of the central government, including the Prime Minister, in response to the ongoing crisis, which has persisted for two months.
The demonstration also included a solemn display of grief and vigil to honour the slain Kuki-Zo people affected by the ethnic violence. As a form of protest, an effigy of an alleged mastermind involved in the beheading of a Hmar lad named David Thiek was burned, along with the picture of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh. ZORO accused the Chief Minister of orchestrating the "ethnic cleansing" and reiterated their support for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people in Manipur. A mass prayer was also conducted for Manipur.
Mizoram has experienced a stressful situation since the outbreak of violence in Manipur on May 3rd, 2023. While the narrative suggests a Meitei-Kuki conflict, indiscriminate killings and attacks on all ethnic Zo tribals in Manipur, including those belonging to major communities in Mizoram, have resulted in mixed emotions and trauma within the state. Mizoram sympathizes with the Kuki-Zo people of Manipur but simultaneously faces the challenge of accommodating approximately 12,000 internally displaced tribals from Manipur who have sought safety and refuge in Mizoram. The recent beheading of a Hmar lad named David Hmar has particularly shocked the state. The demonstration organized by ZORO highlights the nationalist sentiments of the Mizoram public in response to the ongoing violence in Manipur.
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ON TRIBAL LANDS, ETHNICITY AND DIGNITY