Manipur: CoTU calls for 12-hour bandh in Kangpokpi district of state on August 3

Committee on Tribal Unity Sadar Hills (CoTU) has called for a 12-hour bandh in the Kangpokpi district of the state on August 3. 

The wide-scale Manipur May's Mayhem will mark 90 days on August 3 with no sight of normalcy and peace though violence has reduced to some extent.

Besides this, the Kangpokpi Christian Tribal Churches Leaders Fellowship is all set to organize a massive mass prayer at Brig. M Thomas Ground at Kangpokpi District Headquarters on August 3.

The CoTU decision to impose the 12-hour total shutdown came in the backdrop of the non-withdrawal of state security forces including Police commandos from border town Moreh and the fresh arsoning of Kuki-Zo community residential houses in Imphal valley over the past two days.

Earlier, the CoTU had demanded the Government to withdraw the state security forces including the police commandos from Moreh during its sit-in-protest on July 31 at Kangpokpi.

CoTU's General Secretary, Lamminlun Singsit said that as we considered the deployment and an aggressive attempt to deploy additional state security forces in Moreh by Manipur Government as "life-threatening" for the Kuki-Zo tribals, we sincerely urged the Centre to withdraw the state security forces including the police commandos from Moreh, which is yet to be materialized.

Moreover, he said, residential houses belonging to the Kuki-Zo communities in the Kuki-Zo localities in Imphal have been burnt down again in the last two days.

Therefore, we have decided to impose a 12-hour total shutdown in the entire Kangpokpi District from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm on August 3, asserted CoTU's Secretary.

He also said that the total shutdown is also to mark the three-month-long infamous ethnic cleansing upon the Kuki-Zo tribals and to commemorate the departed Kuki-Zo souls in the violence.

He then appealed to the public to understand the sentiment of the Kuki-Zo people and obey the total shutdown.

Meanwhile, to mark the 90 days of Manipur turmoil, the Kangpokpi Christian Tribal Churches Leaders Fellowship decided to organize a massive mass prayer at Brig. M. Thomas Ground, Kangpokpi on August 3 from 8:00 am.

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