The Western Sumi Frontals have reiterated the December 12, 2022, Kuhuboto resolution, which urged the state government to disband the special investigation team (SIT).
The frontals also demanded that the “biased order” of the government declaring Kiyevi village land as “disputed area” should be revoked immediately.
Western Sumi Hoho (WSH) media cell in a press release recalled that the Western Sumis held a general meeting on December 12, 2022, at Kuhuboto town, Niuland district, where after threadbare deliberation, the Western Sumis resolved not to cooperate with any government agencies as long as the SIT remained in place.
“It is very unfortunate that the Kiyevi village land encroachment issue has become a bone of contention, not between the landowners and the encroachers, but between the landowners and the state government,” WSH stated.
The hoho also stated that role of the government becomes suspect when the “encroachers are made to look legitimate and the land owners, illegitimate.”
The hoho also stated that in view of the “deliberate attempt to establish the so-called Lamhainamdi village within the village land of Kiyevi,” the state government issued status-quo and eviction orders on June 25, 2019, and July 8, 2019, respectively.
The government, however, did nothing to enforce its own eviction order or implement the status-quo, WSH alleged and went on to state that the inaction of the government compelled the landowners of Kiyevi village to force eviction of the “encroachers” on the November 7, 2022.
Instead of understanding the compelling circumstances of the landowners, the government set up the SIT and the latter immediately set out to harass the landowners through summons and the ever-threat of arrests, WSH alleged.
“The Western Sumi Frontals, once again, strongly reiterate that in the event of the government failing to enforce its own order of eviction, and, instead, adding salt to injury, retain the SIT to arbitrarily harass the landowners through summons or arrests, the Western Sumi Frontals have resolved to resort to its own further course of action,” it stated.
