UAL, UNAL join protest

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 3: Extending solidarity, Uripok Apunba Lup (UAL) and the Uripok Nupi Apunba Lup (UNAL) joined members of the Rongmei and Liangmai communities in demanding justice for the six Naga men who were murdered while in the captivity of Kuki armed groups.
They staged a protest demonstration at the JNIMS morgue complex yesterday, urging the authorities to arrest the chief of Leilon Vaiphei village, the women of the village involved in the abduction of several Naga civilians from the village on May 13, and the cadres of the Kuki armed groups responsible for the killing of the six hostages.
Members of UAL and UNAL also paid their respect to the slain Nagas.
The mutilated remains of the six victims continue to lie unclaimed at the JNIMS Morgue, while members of the Liangmai and Rongmei communities have been staging  protest demonstrations on the hospital campus daily, demanding justice for the victims.
Even as their mutilated bodies were recovered on June 10, a day after the United Naga Council released 14 Kuki hostages on humanitarian grounds, no one has been arrested so far in connection with the incident.
The protesters alleged that several residents of Konsakhul Liangmai village were abducted by the chief and some women of Leilon Vaiphei village on May 13 and handed them over to Kuki militants.
While the Naga community had exercised restraint and released all Kuki hostages on humanitarian grounds, the Kuki militants killed six of the Naga hostages in an extremely brutal manner, they charged, seeking justice for the victims.
The protesters urged the Government to investigate the case on a war footing and bring all those involved in the killings, as well as those who facilitated the crime, to justice.
Members of UAL and UNAL also called for unity among indigenous communities to safeguard the State and her people.