The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has extended a warm welcome to President Droupadi Murmu ahead of her two-day visit to Manipur beginning December 11, while urging her to acknowledge the prolonged suffering of the Kuki-Zo community displaced by the ongoing ethnic violence.

In a statement issued from its Lamka headquarters, the KZC said the President’s visit “carries deep significance and offers hope to many who continue to live with the scars of the ongoing conflict.” President Murmu is slated to attend official programmes in Imphal and Senapati district.

The council expressed its hope that the President, herself a tribal leader, would visit Kuki-Zo inhabited areas to meet victims firsthand. “We sincerely wish that the President, being a tribal herself, could also visit the Kuki-Zo areas to meet fellow tribal victims who have suffered immensely since the outbreak of violence,” the statement said.

Reaffirming its respect for the President “as the First Citizen of the nation” and as someone who understands tribal dignity and struggles, the KZC urged her to take note of the humanitarian crisis faced by the community. It called for justice, restoration, and durable peace, stating that the Kuki-Zo people continue to face displacement, insecurity, and targeted violence “amounting to ethnic cleansing.”

The council expressed hope that the President’s visit will bring long-overdue national attention to the community’s plight.