Imphal: The Kuki-Zo Christian Forum (KCF) on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, seeking justice for 14 Kuki-Zo victims, the immediate lifting of the economic blockade affecting Kuki-Zo areas, and what it described as fairer representation of the community’s concerns in official and media narratives.
The memorandum was submitted during the Chief Minister’s visit to Kangpokpi, where he interacted with leaders of the Kuki-Zo Christian Forum. During the visit, the Chief Minister also addressed a public gathering, stressing the need for peace and reconciliation in the conflict-hit state.
In the memorandum, the KCF alleged that public discourse had focused more on the aftermath of recent killings than on the victims themselves and the broader pattern of violence affecting the Kuki-Zo community.
The forum sought justice for 14 Kuki-Zo victims, including three pastors and four church leaders, who it said were killed in separate incidents linked to the ongoing ethnic conflict. It referred to the May 13, 2026, attack on two vehicles carrying church leaders, in which three church leaders, including a former chairman of the Kuki-Zo Christian Forum, were killed.
The memorandum also highlighted the destruction of more than 350 churches since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on May 3, 2023, and said Kuki-Zo pastors and church leaders had consistently appealed for peace and restraint despite the violence.
The forum urged the Chief Minister to place its concerns before the state cabinet and the Union government and seek justice for the victims and their families.
The KCF also called for the immediate removal of what it described as the continuing economic and physical blockade affecting Kuki-Zo areas. It said the disruption of food, fuel, medicines, essential commodities and access to healthcare had caused severe hardship for civilians, particularly women, children, the elderly, the sick and displaced families.
The forum further appealed to the government to protect the lives and ancestral lands of the Kuki-Zo community, restore humanitarian access and ensure what it described as equitable treatment of all communities during the ongoing peace process.