Kuki-Zo delegation meets Amit Shah, hands over list of demands

“We were supposed to meet him yesterday but due to the parliament debate we couldn’t. We finally met him this morning to put forward our demands,” he said.

According to the ITLF, the Home Minister requested them to not insist on carrying out the burial programme at the venue which falls within the conflict zone, and to identify an alternate location in consultation with the DC of Churachandpur to perform the burial at the earliest.

“We chose the location because it fell under our jurisdiction, was near the highway, and due to a public decision to choose that particular location,” Vualzong said. “We will go back and consult our people to decide an alternate location,” he added.

During the meet, the ITLF also presented the Home Minister with a list of 10 demands including the safety and security of the residents of the hills in Manipur, deployment of the forces to strengthen vulnerable gap areas, arrangements for the transportation and identification of dead bodies, helicopter services for residents of Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh areas, Transfer of Medical, technical and other students who can’t study due to the ethnic violence to universities and colleges in other states, and regular monitoring of the condition of the prison inmates, among others.

ITLF said another demand presented to Shah during the meeting was to not let the state police forces, specifically the Meitei commandos, operate in the hills.

“Our most important demand is that they return the dead bodies,” the ITLF said in their statement to the press. “So far there are 130 dead bodies in total out of which 40 to 50 bodies are unidentified,” the ITLF said.