Northeast Desk, 11th July: In a poignant address to the United Nations, Lalnun Fella Changte, representing the Zo Reunification Organisation (ZoRO), passionately advocated for the rights of the Zo Indigenous Peoples spanning Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh. Changte highlighted the profound challenges confronting ethnic Zo communities, largely stemming from geopolitical divisions imposed during colonial rule.
“The Zo peoples, fragmented by colonial borders, suffer unjust division and denial of their fundamental rights,” Changte emphasized before the UN assembly. He drew attention to the ongoing ethnic conflicts in Manipur, where violence and displacement have upended the lives of minority hill tribes, compelling many to flee their ancestral lands.
Critically, Changte criticized India’s proposed fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border, asserting it would further curtail the freedom of movement for Zo communities already beleaguered by internal strife and forced displacement.
Calling for urgent international intervention, Changte underscored the deteriorating humanitarian crisis faced by Zo people, particularly those seeking refuge in Mizoram amid escalating tensions in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts.
“Our people are besieged from multiple fronts—Bangladesh, Myanmar, Assam, and Manipur,” Changte declared, urging immediate humanitarian aid and global recognition of the Zo people’s right to self-determination.
Changte’s address at the UN underscores the urgent need for concerted international support to alleviate the plight of the Zo Indigenous Peoples, emphasizing humanitarian aid and advocacy for their rights amidst complex geopolitical challenges.
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