As the Manipur Assembly on February 29 passed a resolution to urge the Union Government to abrogate the suspension of operations (SoO) pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, in effect since 2008, suspense prevailed over the extension of the agreement.
The 10 Kuki-Zo-Hmar legislators in the 60-member Assembly were not present in the House when the resolution was passed.
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The tripartite pact was signed in 2008 by the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), an umbrella of 24 insurgent groups, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Manipur government. The annual extension of the pact lapses on February 29.
‘For the sake of peace’
A source said that the Manipur government did not send its representative to a meeting called to formalise the extension of the pact for the next year. MHA officials did not respond to queries from The Hindu regarding the status of the agreement.
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Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said the resolution was aimed at ensuring peace in the region. “The 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly on the 2nd day of its 5th session, unanimously resolved to urge the Central Government to completely abrogate the SoO pact with all the Kuki-Zo militant groups. This decision comes in the interest of ensuring peace and security in the region,” he wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
Tripartite agreement
During a short discussion in the Assembly, former CM O. Ibobi Singh and leader of the Congress party said that the SoO pact had been signed between the Assam Rifles and some Kuki militant groups in 2005. “It was done without the knowledge of the Manipur government. The State forces continued to arrest the militants. Another SoO was signed in 2008 with the participation of the State government,” Mr. Singh said.
The agreement was signed in the wake of the Kuki-Naga clashes of the 1990s when hundreds were killed. The militant groups were demanding an independent land for the Kukis. The main conditions of the pact were that the Kuki-Zo groups would surrender their weapons, join peace talks, and stay in designated camps.
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These groups have held several rounds of negotiation with the Union government, and had almost settled for the “local self governance” of Kuki-Zo tribal areas in Manipur till ethnic violence erupted between the tribal Kuki-Zo and the Meitei communities on May 3, 2023.
