Imphal: Intending to end militancy in Manipur, Chief Minister, Biren Singh-led Government has successfully entered a tri-partite agreement with the banned armed militant group Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) on December 27.
Terming it as a milestone towards peace and harmony, the Chief Minister informed that a ‘Cessation of Operation was signed with ZUF and this will be a significant boost to the peace process in the state’.
The tri-partite Cessation of Agreement was signed by the senior officials of the Centre, State Government and ZUF represented by Piyush Goyal, Additional Secretary (North East), Ministry of Home Affairs, Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Chief Secretary of Manipur and Chairman of ZUF along with its General Secretary respectively.
ZUF is a proscribed armed organisation based in Manipur that has been active for more than a decade mainly in Tamenglong District.
After signing the Cessation of Agreement the militant group has agreed to abjure violence and join the peaceful democratic process. While both the Centre and State have assured to provide rehabilitation and re-settlement of ZUF cadres, informed a release by Home Ministry.
The Union Government, State and ZUF also agreed to constitute a Joint Monitoring Group to oversee the enforcement of the agreed ground rules as part of the Cessation of Agreement which was signed in the presence of Chief Minister.
It may be recalled the statement of the Chief Minister during a homecoming ceremony of Liberation Tigers of Tribals (LTT) militants, that the government is committed to ending the issue of militancy within 3-4 years through political dialogues, discussions, homecoming or by any other means.
In a post on his social media platform, N Biren Singh thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fulfilling the vision of ‘Insurgency free and prosperous North East’ and also Union Home Minister Amit Shah for ensuring that the armed insurgents of the region return to the mainstream.
According to Home Ministry data, around 8,000 insurgents have joined the mainstream since 2014 by laying down their arms.
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