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Hindustan Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
MHA officials meet Kuki-Zo insurgent group members
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) officials on Monday held a meeting with representatives of the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups, which are currently under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact with the Centre, over the renewal of the SoO agreement. While the government is yet to comment on the details of the meeting, people aware of the matter, said MHA officials insisted on ensuring there is no hindrance from SoO groups on the free movement of people across the state and relocation of the camps from certain civilian areas, while the SoO groups insisted on new ground rules before the Centre renews the cessation of hostilities pact. Senior security force officers in Manipur maintained that the SoO groups wield influence over almost everything in the hill areas, where the Kuki-Zo people live, including their elected representatives. The meeting on Monday was significant because it was the first meeting held between government and SoO groups since the pact was put in abeyance last year. The MHA and the SoO group representatives have agreed to finalise a date within the next one week for the second meeting. 'There were five representatives from the two umbrella organisations KNO and UPF that are under SoO. The MHA side was represented by Northeast interlocutor AK Mishra and IB officials, including state's IB chief, a joint director rank officer. The ground rules need to be revisited and put on paper because a lot has changed since the SoO pact was signed in 2008. Before SoO is renewed, these rules must be formalised and put on paper. Both parties have to agree for its renewal. The second meeting will be held soon,' a person aware of the meeting said. The SoO agreement was signed by the Centre and the Manipur government with the insurgent groups in August 2008 and was being renewed every year until February 28, 2024 when the renewal process was kept in abeyance. The SoO was kept in abeyance by the Centre following allegations of SoO group cadres indulging in Manipur's ethnic clashes or providing training to the village defence volunteers, a charge that groups have denied vehemently. While former chief minister Biren Singh and other MLAs have demanded that the SoO pact be cancelled, Kuki-Zo groups and their legislators have requested Centre to renew the pact. There are around 1,500-2,000 insurgents from the SoO in different camps across the state. Their weapons are kept locked in a room within each camp under a double lock system - one key with them and the other with the government. Under the SoO Pact, the insurgent groups have agreed to stop any form of violence including attacks on security forces. The Centre and the state too signed that no force (army, paramilitary, state police) would launch operations against the signatories as long as they abide by the terms of the agreement. Meitei groups have accused SoO of being involved in the ethnic clashes, a charge that the representatives of the SoO groups deny.
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ex-chief minister N Biren Singh leaves for Delhi amid escalating Manipur tensions
Former chief minister N Biren Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha lawmaker Leishemba Sanajaoba left for New Delhi on Monday to brief central leaders on the escalating tensions in the ethnic violence-hit Manipur. An influential Meitei outfit member's arrest over the weekend triggered the fresh violence that left at least 11 people injured and prompted authorities to reimpose restrictions, and governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to conduct a security review. Singh, who resigned as the chief minister in February after the Supreme Court directed a central forensics lab to examine leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring him purportedly saying the ethnic violence was instigated at his behest, declined to comment when asked whether Union home minister Amit Shah had summoned them. Singh said they were headed to New Delhi to apprise the central leadership of the worsening situation, four months after the president's rule was imposed in Manipur in February following Singh's resignation. 'I appeal to the public, this is a very crucial stage. People should act cautiously and in unity, avoiding violence. Unity is our strength, and every step taken should move us toward peace.' Protesters on Sunday defied prohibitory orders and blocked major roads in parts of the state capital, Imphal, by burning debris and tyres, a day after clashes rocked the city. A police post was torched, forcing police to use tear gas shells. A road was blocked to stop Border Security Force personnel from entering the city. The arrest of Kanan Singh, a member of the Meitei body Arambai Tenggol, and the detention of four of his associates triggered the latest wave of violence. On Sunday, the Central Bureau of Investigation said that it had arrested Singh over his involvement in the violence in the state. On Saturday, hundreds of protesters resorted to arson and threw stones at security forces as the news of Singh's arrest broke. The Arambai Tenggol demanded Singh's immediate release and announced a 10-day shutdown. Singh was dismissed from the police force this year over his alleged involvement in smuggling weapons and looting armouries. The authorities suspended broadband and mobile data services in Imphal East and West, Kakching, Thoubal, and Bishnupur, saying some 'anti-social elements might use social media' to incite the public. A curfew was reimposed in Bishnupur for the first time this year. The movement of people in the valley districts was restricted due to apprehension of a breach of peace. The fresh unrest comes against the backdrop of a meeting between Union home ministry officials and representatives of Kuki-Zo militant groups who signed a Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact in 2008. It will be the first meeting between the two sides since the peace pact was put in abeyance last year. The Union and the Manipur governments signed the pact with the militant groups. I was renewed annually until 2024, when the renewal was kept in abeyance following allegations that members of the groups were involved in the ethnic violence. The protracted violence between Meiteis and Kukis was triggered in May 2023 and has left around 250 people dead and thousands displaced. Meiteis live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis in the hills. They have withdrawn to their respective strongholds. The groups have since 2023 set up road blockades to restrict each other's and the movement of essential items between their strongholds.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Kuki groups decide to halt talks with Centre
Guwahati: The from ethnic strife-torn Manipur on Friday decided it will not hold talks with the Centre until a ' ' is initiated by the Union govt with various stakeholders of their society. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Several Kuki MLAs from Manipur, along with representatives of various civil society organisations (CSO) and that have signed Suspensions of Operation (SoO) agreements, held a closed-door meeting in Guwahati to discuss their future course of action with peace gradually returning to the state. "The joint meeting of the MLAs, CSOs n (sic) SoO groups today at Guwahati resolved that until the resumption of substantive political dialogue by the with SoO groups, the CSOs and elected representatives shall no longer engage with the Government of India or it's (sic) representatives," stated a press release, issued by convener secretary of the meeting. Members of the Kuki community arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday and Thursday and are staying at an undisclosed hotel where the meeting was held, a source from the community and privy to the development told PTI. A senior Assam Police officer confirmed the meeting, but said it is taking place without informing the administration here. PTI
