Two months after the Manipur government refused to send a representative to a meeting called by the Centre to extend the suspension of operations (SoO) pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, the “status quo” on the agreement exists on the ground. Despite the Centre’s directives to extend the pact, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Manipur did not send any official to participate in the tripartite meeting on February 29, leaving the agreement in a limbo.
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 (MHA) and the Manipur government. It has been extended periodically since 2008.
After ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo people and the Meitei people erupted in the State on May 3, 2023, there were strong demands from the Valley areas to abrogate the SoO agreement.
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had claimed that SoO groups violated ground rules and instigated the violence. Meitei civil society groups have demanded that the MHA not extend the pact.
Gaps in execution
On February 29, the MHA held a meeting at North Block with the representatives of SoO groups and Manipur government. “There was one chair that was empty, it belonged to the Manipur government official. Since no one came, the SoO pact could not be extended on papers. As of now status quo exists,” said the source.
According to norms, after a peace pact is signed with an insurgent group, camps are earmarked for the cadres and their weapons and ammunition are accounted for through regular checks conducted by a security force decided by the government.
Assam Rifles, the Central Armed Police Force designated as the monitoring agency for the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups is yet to receive an order promulgating the pact, another government official said.
According to an estimate, around 2,200 cadres of the SoO groups live in 14 designated camps in the hill districts of Manipur. Each cadre is entitled to a monthly stipend of ₹6,000. A KNO representative said that the stipend had not been released by the State government for the past 26-27 months. MHA reimburses the State government for the expenses incurred on stipends.
The Manipur Assembly on February 29 had also resolved to urge the Central government to abrogate the SoO pact with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.
The agreement was signed in the wake of the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s when hundreds were killed. The insurgent groups demanded an independent land for the Kuki-Zo.
