Rein in, penalise Kuki militants : UNC to PM

Newmai News Network
IMPHAL, Jun 27: The United Naga Council (UNC) has sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Government into the rapidly deteriorating situation in Manipur, specially in the Naga areas.
Addressing a press conference at Press Club of India in New Delhi this afternoon, the UNC placed before the National media its recent memorandum to the Prime Minister, jointly submitted by the United Naga Council, Naga Women’s Union and All Naga Students’ Association, Manipur.
The memorandum called for urgent intervention against what it describes as a proxy war against the Nagas by Kuki outfits under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact and Myanmar-based KNA(B).
Following the killing of three Thadou Church leaders on May 13, 2026, 20 Naga civilians were taken hostage by Kuki militant groups at Leilon Vaiphei village and Sapermaina Kuki village. 14 were released on May 15, while six remained missing, the UNC leaders said.
On June 9, Naga village guards released 14 Kuki detainees and the Naga people expected this gesture to be reciprocated.
Instead, on June 10, the six Naga civilians who had remained in captivity were recovered as lifeless, mutilated and dismembered human remains, they said.
The UNC demanded a time-bound, independent and Court-monitored investigation into the abduction and brutal killing of the six Naga civilians.
It further demanded concrete security guarantees for all Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur.
The UNC underlined that large parts of what is now Kangpokpi is historically Zeliangrong Naga ancestral lands.
Referring to its memorandum to the Prime Minister, the UNC said the situation cannot be reduced to a routine law-and-order problem or an internal communal clash.
It argued that the May 7 attacks on Naga villages in Ukhrul and Kamjong, including Namlee-Wanglee, Choro and Kaka, involved cross-border armed movement, military-grade weapons, drone attacks, rocket launchers and coordinated assault by armed cadres.
The memorandum invoked Article 355 of the Constitution, under which the Union is bound to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.
"Our appeal to the Prime Minister is direct. Honour the Framework Agreement, secure the Naga areas and stop treating armed aggression against Naga civilians as a local disturbance. This concerns the credibility of India’s peace process and the security of its eastern frontier", the UNC leaders added.
The UNC reiterated its core demands to the Union Government which include immediate arrest and prosecution of all KNF-P personnel involved in the abduction of Naga civilians and the killing of six of them; arrest and prosecution of those involved in the killing of Wilson Thanga Chiru at Joujangtek on the same day; arrest and prosecution of the chief of Leilon Vaiphei village and all individuals alleged to have participated in the abduction and killing; and action against the serving Manipur Police personnel named by UNC for alleged personal involvement in the crime.
The UNC also demanded the declaration of the Kuki National Front-President (KNF-P) group as a terrorist organisation.
It called for abrogation of the Suspension of Operations agreement with Kuki militant groups. The council stated that  SoO groups continue to operate outside designated camps and engage in violence, which makes the agreement lose its moral and administrative legitimacy. Citing the connection of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen with the KNF-P leadership, being the wife of the group’s president, the UNC further demanded removal of Nemcha Kipgen from the position of Deputy Chief Minister of Manipur.
The UNC also placed before the media the wider demands made to the Prime Minister: uphold the Framework Agreement of August 3, 2015; end all forms of appeasement towards armed groups violating ground rules; evict illegal armed cadres from Liangmai and Inpui Naga areas, Ukhrul, Kamjong, Kangpokpi and other Naga areas; give an absolute guarantee that no separate administration, autonomy or territorial council shall touch Naga ancestral lands; restore and sanitise National Highways; institute a time-bound judicial inquiry into the May 7, cross-border attacks and sustained attacks since February 7, 2026; and asserted to expedite a final, honourable and inclusive Indo-Naga political settlement as it holds the key to the future of the Eastern frontiers.