Guwahati, Jan. 29: A Kuki organisation has complained to the National Human Rights Commission about persecution of the tribe by the militant United People?s Democratic Solidarity with the backing of the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC), which is the dominant political party of Assam?s Karbi Anglong district.
In a memorandum to the commission, the Kuki Human Rights Association accused the Tarun Gogoi government of being ?casual? in its approach to the problems of the Kukis of Karbi Anglong.
Nearly 50 people from both the Kuki and Karbi communities have died and scores injured in the clashes between the two tribes since October. The conflict began with the anti-talks faction of the Karbi militants and the Kuki Revolutionary Army accusing one another of ethnic cleansing.
Thousands of people are still sheltered in refugee camps because the situation in Karbi Anglong and the adjacent North Cachar Hills remains tense.
Urging the national rights commission to visit the strife zone for an ?on-the-spot inquiry?, the Kuki organisation said schoolchildren, women and elderly males of the Kuki community were the prime targets of the Karbi militants. It claimed the ASDC, which is spearheading the political campaign for an exclusive homeland for the Karbi tribe, was party to the killings and arson.
The organisation said the ASDC and the Karbi militant group?s motive was to usurp land belonging to the Kukis. It demanded long-term measures for protection of rights and development of the Kuki-inhabited areas of Karbi Anglong.
Two days ago, the Karbi Anglong and N.C. Hills People?s Resistance, which is the armed wing of the anti-talks faction of the Karbi militants, announced a campaign against ?outsiders? engaged in agriculture in the twin districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills.
The militant group said it would not spare any ?outsider? found encroaching upon land. It barred transportation of agricultural produce from the twin districts to outside the region. The Kuki tribe is believed to be the prime target of the Karbi militant group?s campaign.
The militants also announced an economic blockade till May 19 in Singhasan, Khongmon, Dillai, Hidipi, Manja and Lomglit ? areas dominated by the Kuki tribe ? in protest against destruction of the environment.
The announcement followed the ASDC?s decision to scrap its memorandum of understanding with the Kuki National Assembly. The agreement, signed in 2000, envisaged a separate development council for Kukis staying in the Singhasan hills.