Kuki-Zo groups sign peace pact with govt, agree to uphold Manipur's unity

Two prominent Kuki-Zo groups on Thursday signed a suspension of operations agreement with the government on re-negotiated terms and conditions under which they agreed on maintaining territorial integrity of Manipur, relocating designated camps away from vulnerable areas and working for a solution to bring lasting peace and stability in the state.

The signing of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) is also set to have a positive impact on peace efforts in Manipur, officials said.

Separately, civil society group Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) has decided to open the National Highway-02, which passes through Manipur for free movement of commuters and essential goods.

The move comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to Manipur next week, first since ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and Kukis in May 2023.

The pact was signed after a series of meetings between the officials of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a delegation of Kuki groups in last few days here, according to an official statement issued by the MHA.

Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts, in protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

Since then, about 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence. However, there has been relative peace in Manipur in last few months.

"A tripartite meeting among representatives of MHA, government of Manipur and Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) was held at New Delhi today. The meeting concluded with the signing of a tripartite Suspension of Operations 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," the MHA statement said.

The other provisions include territorial integrity of Manipur will be maintained, all agreed for the need for a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to Manipur.

The KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps, relocate the weapons with nearest CRPF and BSF camps, stringent physical verification of cadres by security forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any.

There are seven constituents of UPF and 16 constituents of KNO.

A 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 statement said.

"The Kuki-Zo Council has decided to open the National Highway-02 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods. The KZC has given commitment to cooperate with security forces deployed by government of India to maintain peace along NH-02," it said.

The SoO agreement was first signed in 2008 and was renewed periodically.

However, it has not been extended since February 2024 due to the ethnic strife in the northeastern state.

Officials said the KNO and UPF as well as their constituents shall completely abjure the path of violence and abide by the Constitution of India, laws of the land, and territorial integrity of Manipur.

The SoO agreement shall be followed by tripartite dialogue with KNO and UPF to pave the way for a negotiated political settlement under the Constitution of India in a time bound manner.

The KNO and UPF as well as their constituents shall not have association either at organisation level or at individual level with any other armed group, within the country or outside, officials said.

The KNO and UPF as well as their constituents shall not undertake any offensive operations like ambush, raid, sniping and attack leading to death/injury/damage or loss of property, kidnapping, extortion, intimidation, etc. against security forces, other groups and/or the public, they said.

The security forces also will not launch operations against KNO and UPF as well as their constituents as long as they abide by this agreement.

The relocation of designated camps of the Kuki groups has been a long standing demands of the Meitei groups which alleged that militants from these camps had earlier carried out attacks on people living in the valley.

They also sought opening of the national highway for free movement.

Manipur is currently under President's rule which was imposed on February 13 after the then chief minister N Biren Singh resigned on February 9 following months of ethnic violence.

The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation.

After the imposition of the President's rule, Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla had taken a number of steps to restore peace and bring back normalcy, including asking those who looted arms from security forces.