Imphal, December 11 (MExN): The Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) today questioned the declaration of seven new districts, including Kangpokpi and Noney (Longmai), “by cleverly crafting new names by the government of Manipur without taking the confidence of all the stakeholders.” A press release from A. Longmei, Information & Publicity Secretary, ZUF termed the “ploy” of Government of Manipur “nothing less than putting of old wine in the new bottle to fool the people.” It asserted that the concern of Zeliangrong people in particular and the Nagas in general is not the name of districts but further division of their ancestral land. “The Government of Manipur must produce a ‘white paper’ on the jurisdiction/boundary of Noney, Jiribam and Kangpokpi districts for public consumption at the earliest,” it demanded. The Front cautioned that if the jurisdictions of the newly created districts of Kangpokpi and Jiribam infringed on the ancestral lands of the Zeliangrongs and other indigenous people, “those responsible persons in the Government of Manipur who took such undemocratic decisions would have to face the consequences.” The Government of Manipur, it said, claims that the creation of new districts is for the sake of administrative convenience, “but people clearly understood that such hasty decision was taken to take political mileage on the eve of Assembly Election.” Unless the government produces a ‘white paper’ on the jurisdictions of the new districts, the ZUF stated it will take all necessary initiatives to stop the operation of Congress party and its agents in all the Zeliangrong inhabited areas. It affirmed that the Zeliangrong people will never surrender even an inch of their land. In this crucial juncture, ZUF appealed to all the Zeliangrongs to be vigilant and remain alert against any element which may pose a threat to “our” land. “Our land is the most precious gift that we inherit from our ancestors and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) will defend it at all cost for the sake of our posterity,” it added.
