IMPHAL, November 16: The Aimol Tribe Union Manipur (ATUM) has claimed that S. Muntheireng Aimol, former president of the union and his outfit members with support from local NSCN (IM) cadres are planning to erect monolith symbolic of joining Aimol Tribe in the Naga Group at Aimol Satu Village premises in the month of November, which is completely against the wish of the Aimol people and the Principle of Neutrality in the Constitution of ATUM 2001.
According to a statement issued by ATUM, the Aimol people have been betrayed and deceived by the leadership of Munthuireng. Notably, Munthuireng and his colleagues went underground and they committed treason by declaring the Aimol tribe as a Naga tribe on April 18 as published in local daily/newspaper, it said.
The declaration and planning to erect monolith to include Aimol in the Naga cluster as attempted by the outfit is totally unacceptable to the people of Aimol. As a result, the leadership of Munthuireng and his colleagues was dissolved and the Aimol people had elected ATUM`™s new office bearers on June 23 at Aimol Ngairong Village in Chandel district, it said.
In fact, they are `coward traitors`™ and `incompetent`™ leaders of the Aimol people, the statement said, adding that for the sake of the community`™s well being, ATUM had appealed to the outfit that they should stop all kinds of outrageous and treacherous activities immediately against the Aimol.
Maintaining that there are 15 villages of the Aimol Community in Manipur, ATUM in the statement further claimed that the outfit has occupied four of the villages namely Aimol Satu, Aimol Khunjai, Chingnunghut and Kumbirei in Chandel district so far.
In these four Aimol Villages, the outfit makes the villagers including elders on sentry duty in the village day and night when the people of Aimol have no community`™s enemy at all in the land. At the same time, by using the same ATUM Official Letterhead and seal, the outfit`™s members are collecting money and practiced extortion in the community in the name of political propaganda of land issues, it alleged.
Appealing to the people of Aimol to stand firm and strong in protecting the social, political, cultural identity and dignity of the Aimol, ATUM asserted that the Aimol Community has been living peaceful with all the Naga, Kuki, Meitei and other communities in the land since time immemorial.
Accordingly, a separate entity of the Aimol Tribe should be honored and respected by all the communities in Manipur, and also keep on the principle of peaceful co-existence in the future as well, it said.
It further warned that Munthuireng and his outfit members should be fully responsible for any unwanted or untoward incident happening in the Aimol community in the future.