ZYF accuses Manipur govt of singling out individuals

Dimapur, Jan. 18: The Zeliangrong Youth Front (ZYF) has accused the Manipur government of targeting individual leaders of organizations. The ZYF issued a press release on Wednesday accusing the Manipur government of trying to suppress the “ongoing Naga people’s democratic movement.” The organisation stated: “The Manipur Government attempt to single out some of the civil organization’s leaders of the Zeliangrongcommunity particularly Mr. Thomas Kamei, President, Zeliangrong Baudi, Manipur, Mr. Khangkiang Pamai, Vice-President, Zeliangrong Baudi, Manipur and Mr. David Kamei, Vice-President, Zeliangrong Youth Front and trying to implicate them by registering a police case instead of trying to resolve the present impasse amounts to fanning the inferno which is strongly refuted by the Zeliangrong Youth Front.” The ZYF also noted the Manipur government’s ‘intention’ to suppress the “ongoing Naga people’s democratic movement launched against the wrong policy” of the government by way of registering criminal cases against Naga civil organization’s leaders on the ground of imposing economic blockade. It will be a futile exercise “since it is a people democratic movement originated from the issue of Manipur government arbitrary interference into the Naga ancestral land.” The government had taken a unilateral decision in spite of various memorandums that were signed between Nagas civil organizations and Manipur government; assurances given by the government of India to the United Naga Council. It, the organization stated, “Clearly stated therein that the government of Manipur to consult all the stake holders in the event of creation of any districts or administrative set up. The Manipur Government levelling baseless allegation by misusing the police department and different government institutions just to suppress the Naga people’s democratic movement is undemocratic and totally unacceptable.” The Further, the organization lamented that the “bias and partiality of the Manipur government police department in dealing cases relating to the people of Nagas and Meiteis have once again exposed at the fore.” Also, the ZYF stated that the police department have came out with names of some of the leaders of the Naga civil organizations “by implicating them in the alleged vehicle burnt (sic) down cases whereas the police department is completely toothless to pick up a single person and not even have the guts to name those criminals who were responsible for burning down of so many vehicles, vandalized and destroyed valuable properties and materials worth crores of rupees belonging to Nagas in the Imphal valley districts in different places in the presence of Manipur police personnel.” The ZYF has demanded that the police department should “immediately drop those names” of civil organizations’ leaders “who are allegedly claimed by the police with intention to suppress the Naga people’s democratic movement.”