AIZAWL: Mizoram’s apex students’ organization Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) on Sunday said it was closely monitoring the Manipur situation and slammed N Biren Singh’s BJP government for its alleged attempt to evict the Zo people from their lands.
Violence erupted in the Kuki-majority hill area of Churachandpur on Thursday evening with the vandalizing and torching of the event site where Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh was scheduled to attend a programme.
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Later, on the intervening nigh of Friday and Saturday, a Forest Department was torched by unidentified miscreants.
However, Sunday witnessed a calm Churachandpur with no reports of any incidents of violence.
Security forces called in from other parts of Manipur and deployed in Churachandpur have also been withdrawn and sent back to respective districts.
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However, night curfew will continue from 5 pm to 5 am till further orders.
Mobile and internet services in the district have also been suspended since the day of violence.
“The origin of these problems is the Manipur government’s attempt to evict ethnic Zo people from their various settlements so that their lands can be taken and declared reserved forest, protected forest, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands,” the MZP said in a statement.
The statement also stated, “The MZP strongly condemns Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s government’s actions against ethnic Zo people.
“The MZP is of the opinion that the Manipur Chief Minister’s initiatives are inimical to Northeast unity,” the MZP said.
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The Mizos and the Kukis belong to the greater Zo community and they share the same ancestry.
The Mizo students’ body said the Manipur Chief Minister’s initiatives were adverse to the unity of the Northeast.
“While the Inner Line Permit (ILP) is required for non-Mizoram residents, we never demand it from or create problems for Manipuri (Meitei) people, whom we treat without discrimination,” the MZP said.
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It demanded that the Manipur government immediately stop the ‘initiatives’ stating they could be detrimental to the ethnic Zo people.
Following an eviction drive and a survey of ‘reserve forests, protected forests, wetlands, and wildlife’ conducted by the state government, the Kukis in Manipur experienced a sense of uncertainty and anxiety.
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