CoTU Hits Back at UNC, Demands Equal Accountability for All

KANGPOKPI, November 4, 2026: The Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) has strongly rejected the United Naga Council (UNC)'s November 2 statement, accusing the organisation of historical distortion, selective outrage and political deflection while demanding equal accountability for violence against the Kuki-Zo community.

In a rejoinder issued by the Department of Information and Publicity, Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) on 4 November 2026, CoTU alleged that the UNC was attempting to defend Deputy Chief Minister Losii Dikho while demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen. It questioned what it described as a double standard, arguing that if Nemcha Kipgen was to be held politically accountable for her husband's alleged organisational affiliation, Losii Dikho should also face accountability for continuing attacks against Kuki-Zo people and violence allegedly perpetrated by armed Naga groups.

According to CoTU, the toll on the Kuki-Zo community stands at 37 lives lost, 31 villages attacked and burnt, at least 271 houses destroyed, and more than 2,500 civilians forcibly displaced. The organisation questioned whether these losses and the suffering of affected communities were being ignored in discussions on political accountability.

On the origins and escalation of the violence, CoTU accused the UNC of portraying Kuki-Zo people as aggressors while overlooking incidents that it said triggered and intensified the conflict. It cited the killings of Thangboimang Lunkim and Thenkhogin Baite at Thawai Kuki on March 12, 2026, followed by the ambush and killing of three Kuki church leaders on May 13, 2026. CoTU also alleged continuing persecution of Kuki-Zo people by armed cadres of NSCN-IM and ZUF-K, saying these incidents should not be erased from the record.

Regarding the abduction and murder of two Kuki-Zo civilians from Taphou, CoTU stated that the victims were allegedly abducted by NSCN-IM cadres, held hostage and subsequently found brutally murdered. It called for an impartial investigation and accountability for those responsible.

The organisation also criticised the UNC's allegations against Additional Superintendent of Police (Law and Order), Senapati, Thangkhochon Haokip. CoTU clarified that Haokip was neither the Superintendent of Police of Senapati district nor an Investigating Officer in the case concerned, and therefore had no role in the investigation. It described questioning his impartiality solely on the basis of his Kuki-Zo identity as ethnic profiling and institutional intimidation. CoTU said that anyone possessing credible evidence of misconduct should approach the competent authority rather than make public allegations.

On the T. Khullen arson incident, CoTU said it unequivocally condemned violence against innocent civilians. However, it argued that the burning of makeshift huts erected for compensation purposes could not be equated with the burning of inhabited homes, villages and civilian settlements. It described such comparisons as an attempt to distort facts and create moral equivalence.

CoTU further stated that the T. Khullen incident occurred amid deep outrage among Kuki-Zo people over what it described as the inhumane treatment, abduction, hostage-taking and brutal murder of the two Taphou civilians. It maintained that the community had exercised maximum restraint despite repeated provocations, sustained persecution and atrocities.

The rejoinder also questioned the UNC's role as a Naga civil society organisation, asking whether it remained an independent civil society body or had become a political mouthpiece and defensive shield for NSCN-IM. CoTU urged the UNC to examine its own conduct, alleged political complicity and selective silence before lecturing others on peace, justice and accountability.

Reaffirming its position, CoTU said the Kuki-Zo people would not be intimidated into silence or allow their suffering to be dismissed as propaganda or victim-card politics. It maintained that demanding justice for murdered civilians, accountability for destroyed villages and protection against armed aggression was a fundamental right.

The organisation concluded by demanding one standard of justice for all, accountability for every perpetrator and an end to the politics of impunity.