Imphal: The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Wednesday issued a strong warning to the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), a Kangpokpi-based Kuki frontal organization, over its provocative and inflammatory statement made on March 3.
COCOMI condemned CoTU’s stance, asserting that defying the authority of the Union Home Minister and the Government of India is not only unconstitutional but also a direct threat to national unity, law and order, and the sovereignty of the Indian state.
Speaking to the media at its office, COCOMI convenor Khuraijam Athouba described CoTU’s so-called “unbreakable declaration of the Kuki-Zo community” as a secessionist manifesto. He accused it of inciting unrest, promoting illegal blockades, and openly defying the country’s democratic and constitutional framework.
Athouba called for immediate legal and administrative intervention, emphasizing that such rhetoric of defiance and extremism, issued on a public platform, must not go unchecked. He urged the Union Government and state authorities to take swift action.
By declaring their struggle for a ‘Separate Administration’ as ‘non-negotiable’ and threatening to ‘carve their own path, no matter the cost,’ CoTU has openly challenged India’s constitutional framework, Athouba asserted.
Furthermore, CoTU’s statement that ‘no free movement shall be permitted in Kuki-Zo land’ directly violates the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. No entity or community has the legal authority to impose restrictions on citizens’ movement within Indian territory, he added.
Athouba also condemned CoTU’s warning that ‘no Kuki-Zo volunteer shall be arrested’ and that ‘any such action will be met with consequences,’ calling it an outright challenge to the rule of law.
He urged the central government to take strict legal action against CoTU leaders, stressing that the group’s explicit threat to ‘unleash total resistance’ if the government enforces peace without meeting their demands amounts to an act of rebellion.
