Tuesday, September 11, 2007

KLA clarifies, demands apology

By Our Staff Reporter

IMPHAL, Sep 10: Offering revolutionary salutes to its 10 members eliminated after a joint exercise of the KLA, KRA and the NSCN (IM) on September 3 at Tangkhul Hundung village by one Paiso and his followers for the sake of weapons and to avenge kidnapping of Victor Keishing, alleged son of the NSCN (IM) godfather, the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) has clarified on the gruesome incident and their viewpoints with hard facts.

A statement issued by the KLA Information and publicity secretary Armstrong Kuki asserted that the NSCN (IM) has been scheming to disintegrate the States of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with the help of some other armed outfits of the North East region.

As much as the KLA is against bloodshed and disunity amongst UG groups of Manipur and Nagaland for they all share the common goal of liberating the neglected people from the alleged oppressive Government, the outfit deemed it necessary that the public should know the truth so that they can make their own judgement about the incident in which the 10 cadres of the KLA Internal Affairs Administrative Unit were done to death on some flimsy and irrational grounds by the NSCN (IM) cadres just to cover their misdeeds and the alleged direct involvement of their treacherous Kuki followers.

Noting that all the clarification and explanations furnished by the NSCN (IM) on the massacre were childish and baseless, the KLA maintained all citizens should know that all the victims were called for a friendly talk with the KRA and were brutally murdered after letting off the KRA cadres.

It was a pre-planned trap just to rob the weapons of the KLA. Regarding the accusation of taking taxes and hijacking, "the NSCN (IM) are the master of extortion, hijacking, kidnapping and burning of motor vehicles" , countered KLA. They survived through extortions by unleashing reign of terror all along the National highways, it said while challenging the NSCN (IM) if they can deny their indulgence in extortions, kidna- pping for ransom and unlawful tax collections in all hill areas of North East India. Asking if the NSCN (IM) can corroborate their allegation that the KLA has no support or sympathy from the Kuki and other Naga and Meitei societies, the KLA asserted that the "NSCN (IM) from Manipur are the most unwanted and hated persons in Nagaland itself at present. The truth is there for all to see. The killings of over 20 IM cadres in Kohima and Tamenglong recently and the attack on IM cadres in Wungram co-lony and the Hebron Camp to drive out IM cadres from Ukhrul district are best examples". There is no enmity or hatred among Kuki and Naga UG groups. There mi-ght have been repeated misunderstanding between KRA and the Naga UG gro-ups but there was no inter- action between KLA and NSCN (IM) in the past. Hence all other UG groups should be on guard when dealing with the NSCN (IM).

All Naga militants of a particular Naga tribe have been driven out both by the Zeliangrong and the peace loving Nagas of Nagaland for their alleged high-handedness. "If they are fighting for Naga people, why did they kill Yangma-sho Shaiza, the first tribal CM of Manipur and attempted the life of the then Nagaland CM SC Jamir and murdered many other Naga leaders?", asked the KLA. Moreover, the inhuman liquidation of 105 innocent Kukis at Joupi and Gelnel on September 13, 2003 by the NSCN (IM) was broadcasted by the BBC and CNN all over the world. Though the official record of the nu-mber of innocent Kukis sys- tematically liquidated by the NSCN (IM) in Manipur during May 12, 1992 till July 10, 1996 stands at 551, the whe-reabouts of 225 men, wo- men and children assumed killed by the NSCN (IM) remained untraced nor their mortal remains found.

In addition, more than 300 innocent Kuki villagers in Nagaland, Assam and border areas of Burma had been murdered. In Manipur alone, 300 Kuki villages we-re completely devastated while over 200 Kuki villages were attacked, burnt down or deserted as a result of NSCN (IM)'s ethnic cleansing. Yangmasho Shaiza, the first tribal Chief Minister of Manipur was brutally assassinated for his refusal to support the design of NSCN (IM) to disintegrate Mani-pur, alleged the KLA. "We want revolutionary for this political crime against humanity. We challenge no one, we challenge nobody or any fellow UG group in the past, present and we will not challenge any organisation in the future without revolutionary reasons. We are Kuki Liberation Army fighting till the last bullet to liberate our Kukigam" concluded the KLA.

The Sangai Express