ITLF condemns FIRs lodged against Kuki-Zo leaders, intellectual

Dismayed over FIRs lodged against tribal leaders, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) claimed that such a move was a tactic to silence the voice of Kuki-Zo people out of desperation of the Meitei organizations in their effort to block the true nature of the conflict in Manipur.

Mentioning that ITLF's official Twitter account had earlier been suspended for the past month, the tribal leaders alleged that the Meiteis were trying to stifle the Tribals' voice on every platform, which showed the desperation of the radical Meitei organizations in their effort to block the true nature of the conflict in Manipur.

In a press condemnation issued on Saturday, ITLF stated, with dismay, that complaints have been lodged against two Kuki-Zo leaders and an intellectual for their comments in the media in connection with the ethnic violence in Manipur.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East, issued notices to Kuki Women's Forum Convenor, Mary Grace Zou; Wilson L. Hangsing, Co-founder of the Kuki People's Alliance, and Professor Kham Khan Suan Hausing, Head of Department of Political Science of the Hyderabad University, based on complaints by people claiming to be social workers.

ITLF claimed that the accusations, which come under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, are clearly an attempt to silence tribals who are speaking on behalf of their community.

"It is an attack on their right to freedom of speech and is meant to suppress the voice of the Kuki-Zo tribals who are witnessing an unprecedented threat to their existence from an unrelenting state-sponsored ethnic cleansing program," ITLF said.

ITLF also stated that in the midst of the Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh-led government, supported by radical outfits like the Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, controlling the police and the state media, the voiceless Kuki-Zo tribals in the hills desperately need intellectuals and their leaders to express their concerns and tell their side of the story to the outside world.

"Legally entangling every prominent tribal who speaks out on television is a reprehensible tactic to silence our voice," it said.