ANSAM questions KZC’s apology
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jun 26 : The All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) has questioned the apology issued by the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on the butchering of six Naga hostages by Kuki militants.
ANSAM has questioned whether the KZC tendered the apology on behalf of those directly involved in the killing of the six Naga hostages, or whether they themselves were responsible or associated with the barbaric crime for which they now seek forgiveness.
It further asked whether the KZC possesses any legitimate mandate to speak on behalf of all constituent communities grouped under the Kuki-Zo nomenclature.
“The Naga people also wish to know whether the Zomi people have formally accepted this so-called Kuki-Zo Council and whether they endorse the apology issued in relation to crimes committed against innocent Naga civilians”, ANSAM said in a statement.
It said that the statement issued by the KZC neither constituted an apology nor an admission of the unlawful and inhumane crime committed by the KNF(P) and Leilon Vaiphei Kuki villagers on May 13, 2026.
The KZC’s statement was tantamount to a direct challenge and an insult to the Naga people and reflected an alarming disposition of arrogance and perceived supremacy directed against the master of their land, it remarked.
The derogatory and contemptuous use of the term “Katcha Nagas” by these nomadic leaders who are also refugees historically is profoundly offensive. It amounts to a direct challenge against the identity, history and dignity of the Naga people, ANSAM said.
It asserted that no apology can be deemed credible, sincere and acceptable until the perpetrators responsible for the abduction, torture, mutilation and brutal killing of the six innocent Naga hostages are identified, apprehended and punished in accordance with the rule of law.
Justice cannot be supplanted by rhetoric, nor can accountability be substituted by carefully crafted declarations, it said.
“We seriously view the statement (of KZC) not as an act of repentance but as an affront that aggravates the pain and anguish already suffered by the Naga people”, ANSAM said.
It asserted that any attempt to implicate the Nagas for the killing of three Thadou Church leaders is entirely baseless, malicious and intended solely to manufacture communal animosity through misinformation.
ANSAM has also called upon the Government of Manipur and the Government of India to discharge their Constitutional responsibilities with utmost seriousness and urgency.
Those responsible for the abduction and brutal killing of the six innocent Naga hostages must be brought before the law without delay.
It said that the Naga people cannot be expected to accept symbolic gestures in lieu of justice, nor rhetorical statements in place of accountability.
“ANSAM stands in unwavering solidarity with the bereaved families and with the Naga people in their relentless pursuit of truth, justice and accountability”, it added.
IMPHAL, Jun 26 : The All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur (ANSAM) has questioned the apology issued by the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on the butchering of six Naga hostages by Kuki militants.
ANSAM has questioned whether the KZC tendered the apology on behalf of those directly involved in the killing of the six Naga hostages, or whether they themselves were responsible or associated with the barbaric crime for which they now seek forgiveness.
It further asked whether the KZC possesses any legitimate mandate to speak on behalf of all constituent communities grouped under the Kuki-Zo nomenclature.
“The Naga people also wish to know whether the Zomi people have formally accepted this so-called Kuki-Zo Council and whether they endorse the apology issued in relation to crimes committed against innocent Naga civilians”, ANSAM said in a statement.
It said that the statement issued by the KZC neither constituted an apology nor an admission of the unlawful and inhumane crime committed by the KNF(P) and Leilon Vaiphei Kuki villagers on May 13, 2026.
The KZC’s statement was tantamount to a direct challenge and an insult to the Naga people and reflected an alarming disposition of arrogance and perceived supremacy directed against the master of their land, it remarked.
The derogatory and contemptuous use of the term “Katcha Nagas” by these nomadic leaders who are also refugees historically is profoundly offensive. It amounts to a direct challenge against the identity, history and dignity of the Naga people, ANSAM said.
It asserted that no apology can be deemed credible, sincere and acceptable until the perpetrators responsible for the abduction, torture, mutilation and brutal killing of the six innocent Naga hostages are identified, apprehended and punished in accordance with the rule of law.
Justice cannot be supplanted by rhetoric, nor can accountability be substituted by carefully crafted declarations, it said.
“We seriously view the statement (of KZC) not as an act of repentance but as an affront that aggravates the pain and anguish already suffered by the Naga people”, ANSAM said.
It asserted that any attempt to implicate the Nagas for the killing of three Thadou Church leaders is entirely baseless, malicious and intended solely to manufacture communal animosity through misinformation.
ANSAM has also called upon the Government of Manipur and the Government of India to discharge their Constitutional responsibilities with utmost seriousness and urgency.
Those responsible for the abduction and brutal killing of the six innocent Naga hostages must be brought before the law without delay.
It said that the Naga people cannot be expected to accept symbolic gestures in lieu of justice, nor rhetorical statements in place of accountability.
“ANSAM stands in unwavering solidarity with the bereaved families and with the Naga people in their relentless pursuit of truth, justice and accountability”, it added.