IMPHAL: The United Naga Council (UNC), during its presidential council meeting, strongly voiced that the territorial council demanded by the Kuki militants should not affect the Naga ancestral territory under any circumstance.
Kuki militant groups, in talks with the Centre, have demanded creation of a territorial council for the Kukis in
Manipur. Initially, the Kuki militants began their armed rebellion demanding a separate state for the Kukis scattered in different parts of the northeastern states and parts of
Myanmar
. Later, the umbrella groups stepped down from their earlier demand and pitched for the territorial council. Kuki militant groups under two umbrella organisations, Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples Front (UPF), have been holding talks with the Centre since June 15, 2016. Eight organisations under UPF had signed a tripartite Suspension of Operation (SOO) peace pact with the central government in 2008 following which cadres of these groups have been put up in camps across Kuki dominated areas in the state.
UNC stated that they have "no objection to the demand of territorial council by the KNO-UPF but the same should not affect the Naga ancestral territory under any circumstances," the statement by the council read. Stating that the territorial boundary of the Naga tribal people is well demarcated and documented, the UNC said that "it is only in the recent past that other community(s) intruded into our ancestral homeland and they were allowed to settle down in our land only after fulfilling the conditions made between them and the Naga village chief(s)."
It also urged the Centre to honour the well established political position of the
Naga people
on land, identity, history and rights. "We also urge the Government of India to exercise its prerogatives cautiously", the UNC added.