Imphal: The centre and Manipur administration has inked a Suspension of Operation (SoO) with Kuki militant organisations in a renegotiation terms. After a series of important meetings held in New Delhi, in a significant decision, the Kuki-Zo Council decided to open the National Highway-02 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods.
The decision came after a series of meetings between officials of MHA and a delegation of KZC in the last few days at New Delhi.
KZC has given commitment to cooperate with Security Forces deployed by GoI to maintain peace along NH-02. A tripartite meeting among representatives of MHA, Govt. of Manipur, and Kuki National Organisation/KNO and United People’s Front/UPF also held at New Delhi.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement on re-negotiated terms and conditions (ground rules) to be effective from the day of signing of the Agreement for a period of one year. Among other provisions, the revised ground rules reiterated:
i. The territorial integrity of Manipur.
ii. Need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the State of Manipur.
KNO and UPF have also agreed to:
i. Relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict.
ii. Reduce the number of designated camps.
iii. Relocate the weapons with nearest CRPF/BSF camps.
iv. Stringent physical verification of cadres by Security Forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any. Joint Monitoring Group will henceforth closely monitor enforcement of ground rules, and violations will be dealt with firmly in future, including review of the SoO Agreement.
The Meitei Heritage Society has welcomed the decision with some reservation. The Meitei civil body said, “While we welcome efforts towards peace building and normalisation, there are few disturbing aspects.
First, does this mean that the KZC has the authority over the opening or closure of Highways?
Second, can the MHA give guarantees for the safe travel of Meiteis in the Highways?
Last and most importantly, has the open violation of ground rules by SoO Groups, including killing of Security Forces and Civilians (named by agencies such as NIA) been overlooked, contradicting its own conditions in previous agreements?”
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