MZP condemns Biren's Govt action against Zo people, demands to stop demanding ILP from Zo ethnic brethren

The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), the largest students' organisation based in Mizoram, strongly condemned the Manipur Government led by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh's constant attempt to evict the Zo people living in different parts of Manipur.

As per the press release issued on Sunday, the MZP said they were closely monitoring the problems being faced by ethnic Zo people living under the government of Manipur. They alleged that the origin of these problems was the Manipur government's attempts to evict ethnic Zo people from their various settlements so that their lands could be taken from them and those tribal lands could be declared reserved forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands.

Opining that the Manipur Chief Minister's initiatives were inimical to Northeast unity, the MZP demanded that the Manipur government should immediately stop such initiatives that can be detrimental to ethnic Zo people.

"The MZP has been and will continue to promote unity among ethnic Zo people because it wants to preserve the brother/sister-hood of the community. Despite this, the Manipur Government is attempting to expel our brothers and sisters, who are people of the Northeast, from their own villages, and we are unable to accept this. We demand that the Manipur government immediately stop such initiatives that can be detrimental to ethnic Zo people," the press release stated.

The statement also said that while the Inner Line Permit (ILP) was required for non- Mizoram residents, the MZP never demand it from or create problems for Manipuri (Meitei) people, whom they treat without discrimination.

Asserting that demanding ILPs from those who were entering Manipur from Mizoram state was detrimental to ethnic Zo peoples and can lead to discord between the Mizoram and Manipur governments, the students' body, therefore, demanded that the Manipur government must stop demanding ILP from their ethnic brethren.

The MZP warned that if the Manipur government continued to take action that was not safe for ethnic Zo people, they would not be held responsible for anything that happened to Manipuri (Meitei) people in Mizoram.

The MZP added that they would continue to work for the safety of ethnic Zo people in Mizoram's neighbouring states and around the world.