Three months after the Union government and the Manipur government signed a peace agreement with one of the factions of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest valley-based armed insurgent group, officials said the terms of the pact — which include monitoring of the armed cadres — are not available to the central security agencies.
A senior government official told The Hindu there has been a sharp rise in cases of extortion in the valley areas of the State “in the name of UNLF”.
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Neither has a camp been designated for holding the armed cadres nor has the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or the State Police been nominated to monitor the movement of the cadres, a second government official said. The total number of cadres and the monthly stipend to be allocated to the cadres is also not known.
After a peace pact with an insurgent group is signed, camps are earmarked for the cadres and their weapons and ammunitions are accounted for through regular checks conducted by the nominated security force.
In 2008, after the Manipur government, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and 24 Kuki insurgent groups formalised a Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact, the Assam Rifles was designated as the monitoring agency. The pact, extended annually, is set to expire on February 28.
After the ethnic violence erupted in the State between the tribal Kuki-Zo people and the Meitei community on May 3, 2023, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh claimed that SoO groups had violated ground rules and instigated the violence. Meitei civil society groups have demanded that the pact not be extended by the MHA.
The UNLF, formed in 1964, is one of the eight “Meitei extremist organisations” that were declared unlawful by the MHA under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
The MHA said the outfit has been “operating both within and outside the Indian territory”.
“Presently, two temporary camps have been identified for the UNLF cadres, which can hold around 400 cadres each. In the absence of a permanent base, many are living in their homes or in the other civilian areas. They also have their weapons with them,” said the first government official quoted above.
Another official said that since no security agency has been given the mandate to check the usage of arms and ammunition, it was impossible to keep a check on their movement.
The official said the armed cadres had occupied a temporary camp at Nongsum in Imphal East, which borders the Kuki-Zo areas in Kangpokpi. Apprehending an escalation of violence, the Assam Rifles had asked them to vacate the premises and the order was met with stiff resistance from locals who said they needed the cadres to defend their villages.
Since last year, buffer zones between the valley areas where the Meitei live and the hills where the Kuki-Zo live have been created to stop any kind of clash or arson. The buffer zones are manned by the CAPF.
“The military wing of the UNLF has been roaming around in vehicles brandishing weapons. Their involvement in looting of a police armoury has also been found. Post the signing of the peace pact, the cadres were observed indulging in violence against security forces,” the official said.
On November 29, Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on X that the UNLF had agreed to “renounce violence and join the mainstream”.
He shared photos of the cadres of the insurgent group surrendering their weapons in an open field.
Though the MHA did not share the details of the militants who surrendered, The Hindu had learnt that as many as 65 cadres of one of the factions of UNLF, led by K. Pambei have joined the peace pact. The 65 cadres are said to have entered Manipur during the ongoing ethnic violence.
