'Very sorry': Chief's remarks don't mean community responsible for Naga killings in Manipur: Kuki-Zo group

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on Friday clarified that its chairman's apology over the killing of six Naga civilians in Manipur was not an admission that the Kuki-Zo community was responsible for the crime, saying his remarks had been misconstrued.

The clarification came a day after KZC chairman Henlienthang Thanglet apologised for the killing of the six Naga hostages, saying he was "very sorry" and condemning the incident.

In a statement, the KZC said the chairman's expression of regret was made "purely in the spirit of humanity, compassion and moral responsibility" and "was never intended to assign collective guilt to the Kuki-Zo people or to suggest that the Kuki-Zo community was responsible for the killings".

The council said the apology was offered because the bodies of the six victims were recovered from areas near Kuki-Zo villages and was intended as a gesture of empathy towards the bereaved families.

It reiterated that no political, social or community institution representing the Kuki-Zo people had sanctioned, endorsed or supported the killing of innocent civilians.

The KZC maintained that those responsible for the killings remain unidentified and called for a fair, impartial and credible investigation to establish the facts and bring the perpetrators to justice.

It also demanded impartial investigations into the killings of Kuki-Zo civilians, attacks on villages and churches, and the murder of religious leaders, saying lasting peace cannot be achieved through "selective security measures or selective justice".

Earlier on Friday, the All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) rejected the apology, expressing its "strongest indignation" and repudiating what it described as the KZC's statement on the killing of the six Naga hostages.

Meanwhile, the Zomi Students' Federation (General Headquarters) sought to distance the Zomi community from the Kuki-Zo Council, stating that it neither recognised nor endorsed the organisation or its activities.

The federation said the KZC's attempt to portray itself as representing multiple communities, including the Zomis, was unacceptable.

The bodies of the six Naga civilians, who were abducted from Leilon Vaiphei village in Kangpokpi district on May 13, were recovered on June 10 near a Kuki-Zo village. The recovery came a day after 14 Kuki individuals abducted in Senapati district were released.

Manipur has witnessed ethnic violence since May 2023, with clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities leaving at least 260 people dead and thousands displaced.