Centre, Manipur govt, Kuki-Zo Groups Sign Fresh Pact to Maintain Peace
Agreement commits to Manipur’s territorial integrity, free movement on NH-2, and stricter monitoring of militant camps
New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s yet-to-be-confirmed visit to strife-torn Manipur on September 13, the Union home ministry on Thursday inked an agreement with two Kuki-Zo insurgent groups to extend its suspension of operations (SoS), maintain the territorial integrity of Manipur, open National Highway-2 for free movement and relocate insurgent camps away from vulnerable areas in the state.
"A tripartite meeting among representatives of the ministry of home affairs, the government of Manipur and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) was held at New Delhi today. The meeting concluded with the signing of a tripartite suspension of operations agreement on renegotiated terms and conditions (ground rules) to be effective from the day of signing of the agreement for a period of one year," the Union home ministry said in a statement.
The statement said: “The KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate the weapons to the nearest CRPF and BSF camps and have stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.”
The pact was signed after a series of meetings between the officials of the Union home ministry and a delegation of Kuki groups in the last few days here, the statement further said.
"The KNO and the UPF, as well as their constituents, shall completely abjure the path of violence and abide by the Constitution of India, laws of the land, and territorial integrity of Manipur," a home ministry official said.
According to the agreement reached, the KNO and the UPF groups, as well as their constituents, cannot have association, either at the organisational level or at an individual level, with any other armed group within the country or outside. Also, the insurgent groups cannot undertake any offensive operations like ambush, raid, sniping and attack leading to death/injury/damage or loss of property, kidnapping, extortion, intimidation, etc. against security forces, other groups and the public.
As part of the agreement, the security forces also will not launch operations against the KNO and the UPF as well as their constituents as long as they abide by this agreement.
As part of the agreement, a joint monitoring group will closely monitor enforcement of ground rules,, and violations will be dealt with firmly in future, including review of the SoO agreement. The resolution also underscored the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to Manipur.
Meanwhile, prominent civil society group Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has decided to open the National Highway-02, which passes through Manipur, for free movement of commuters and essential goods. The group has also committed to cooperate with the security forces deployed by the Centre to maintain peace along the national highway.
The SoO agreement, which was first signed by the Centre and the Manipur government with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups in August 2008 and was being renewed every year until February 28, 2024, was kept in abeyance by the Centre following allegations of indulgence of insurgent groups' cadres in Manipur’s ethnic clashes and providing training to the village defence volunteers, charges denied by the groups.
The KZC in a statement on Thursday urged the Union home ministry to deploy Central security forces to ensure safety for commuters and transportation of essential goods along NH-2. "In accordance with the resolution adopted in the Kangpokpi public meeting on July 29, the Kuki-Zo Council appeals to the public in Kangpokpi district to cooperate with security forces, deployed by the government of India, in their efforts to provide security to commuters and transportation of essential goods on NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur),” the council said in a statement.
Manipur is currently under President's rule since February 13, following the resignation of then chief minister N. Biren Singh on February 9 due to continued ethnic violence in the state. The state Assembly, which has tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.
Over 260 people were killed, 1,500 injured, and over 70,000 displaced after the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities on May 3, 2023, after a Tribal Solidarity March, organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
