Photo Courtesy: nenow
Imphal: Talks between Manipur government officials and the United Naga Council hit a brick wall Wednesday. The group refused to lift its blockade on National Highway-2. Essential supplies remain trapped. The meeting at the Senapati district Deputy Commissioner’s Complex lasted an hour but yielded no results.
The standoff follows the discovery of six murdered Liangmai Naga men. Their bodies currently sit in the morgue at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences. The council refuses to claim them until the state delivers justice.
The UNC issued four demands. They want the government to scrap the Suspension of Operations agreement with Kuki militants. They also want the Kuki National Front-President Group labeled a terrorist organization and the immediate removal of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen. The council also demands the arrest of everyone involved in the May 13 abduction and murder of the six men, which included the chief of Leilon Vaiphei village.
"The talks were fruitful and meaningful, but they remained inconclusive," UNC president Ng Lorho told reporters. He promised to crank up the pressure if the government drags its feet. Several lawmakers attended the meeting, but the blockade remains in place, choking a vital supply route for the region.
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