Imphal: Four civil society organisations of Meitei, Thadou, and Naga communities have jointly urged Union Home minister Amit Shah to abrogate the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements with Kuki armed groups as allegedly responsible for the ongoing law and order crisis in Manipur.
The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum Manipur, Thadou Inpi Manipur, Meitei Alliance, and the Foothills Naga Co-ordinating Committee submitted a memorandum of demands to the Home minister on Thursday.
They said militant groups under the SoO framework had persistently violated its ground rules and played a major role in instigating violence in the state.
“We urge the Government of India not to arbitrarily renew the flawed SoO agreements with armed militant groups who have continuously violated its terms. These groups triggered the violence on May 3, 2023, beginning in Churachandpur and later torching homes in Torbung and Kanvai,” they said in the memorandum.
They argued that the groups protected under the SoO are undermining the safety and security of all communities in Manipur. They highlighted that the Indian Army initially signed bilateral arrangements on August 1, 2005, with the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF), which were later converted into tripartite agreements involving the Government of India, the Government of Manipur, and the two militant outfits on August 22, 2008.
Despite yearly renewals, the organisations said the agreements have been repeatedly violated by the Kuki armed groups, and the state government has been rendered ineffective in enforcing accountability due to structural flaws in the agreements.
According to the preamble of the SoO agreements, signatory groups like KNO and UPF are expected to completely renounce violence and unlawful activities such as killings, extortion, kidnappings, and carrying arms in public. The agreements aim to help maintain law and order a subject under the State List of the Indian Constitution.
The civil bodies pointed out a serious contradiction in the functioning of the Joint Monitoring Group, which includes representatives from the same militant outfits accused of breaching the agreement. The monitoring is mandated to oversee the implementation of the SoO and recommend action against violators, effectively allowing accused groups to judge themselves.
“The Manipur state government, being a party to the tripartite agreement, officially abrogated the SoO Agreements with the Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) in March 2023, and again recommended against their extension in January 2024,” the memorandum mentioned.
The civil bodies pressed that unless recommended by the elected state government, the agreements cannot be renewed or extended in their current form.
To restore peace in Manipur, the civil bodies have made key recommendations — Immediate abrogation of the SoO agreements as per the decision of the last elected Manipur state government; Restoration of a popular government through re-election to enable legitimate recommendations on SoO renewals; A comprehensive review and restructuring of the SoO framework; Appointment of an independent and neutral arbitrator to resolve conflicts; Prosecution of militant elements involved in violence, and exclusion of such individuals from SoO protections, the civil bodies said.
“SoO framework must serve as a mechanism for peace and non-violence, not as a shield for those perpetrating unrest.”
