Centre meets Kuki-Zo groups, discusses opening of highways, surrender of weapons
At the meeting, the insurgent groups, in peace talks with the government since 2008, were conveyed about ground rules violations and were also asked to shut down or relocate camps close to the Meitei-inhabited areas.
The ground rules of the SoO agreement are being reviewed by the MHA, and the next rounds of talks are expected next week to finalise the details for its implementation.
A senior government official told The Hindu that the preliminary meeting discussed a road map for restoring normalcy in the northeastern State and finding a long-term solution.
The official added that the opening of national highways for free movement of vehicles from Meitei areas and vice versa was emphasised upon. National Highways-2 and 37, which connect the land-locked Imphal valley to Nagaland and Assam respectively, critical for supply of essentials and other commodities, pass through Kuki-Zo inhabited areas.
The talks, that were affected due to the May 2023 ethnic violence in Manipur, were held in Delhi after a gap of two years. The insurgent groups reiterated their demand for a union territory with legislature for the Kuki-Zo people.
A SoO representative said, 'The grounds for discussion should be spelt out clearly. An agreement for a political settlement should be part of the SoO extension. Most ground rules are likely to remain the same as 2008, but regarding relocation of camps, we will have to discuss with our constituents.'
Also Read: The paradox of the approach to the Manipur issue
Five members of the Kuki-Zo SoO groups held talks with A.K. Mishra, Adviser (Northeast), MHA and Intelligence Bureau officials on Monday (June 9, 2025).
Looting of weapons
'A large number of police weapons were looted since the violence began. The groups were told to surrender weapons to bring long-lasting peace,' the official said.
The agreement, in place since 2008, has been periodically extended each year except on February 29, 2024, when the Manipur Government pulled out from the tripartite pact; the MHA and SoO groups being the other two signatories.
The representative added, 'The meeting focused on the way forward, it concluded on a positive note. Some of the camps that were set up in 2008 were inappropriately located; they have water scarcity and are in want of serious repair. The cadres have not been paid stipend for the past two years.'
The representative added that the State government withdrew from the SoO pact after alleging ground rules violation. 'The ground rules are violated if our cadres attack the security forces. Post-May 3, 2023, the State police commandos at the behest of the State government were attacking our camps with mortars.'
Around 2,200 cadres of the SoO groups comprising United People's Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) – umbrella organisations of 25 insurgent groups, live in 14 designated camps in the hill districts of Manipur. The cadres are entitled to a stipend of ₹6,000 per month which has not been paid since the violence erupted.
The SoO agreement was signed in the wake of Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s when hundreds were killed. The insurgent groups demanded an independent land for the Kuki-Zo people.
Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had claimed that SoO groups violated ground rules and instigated ethnic violence.
The violence between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei people, which erupted in the State on May 3, 2023, has claimed the lives of 250 people, displacing more than 60,000 people from their homes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
More Communities In Manipur Join Call For Ending Deal With Kuki Militants, Write To Amit Shah
Imphal/Guwahati: Four influential civil society organisations from different communities in Manipur have for the first time made a united call against extending what they called a "flawed and violated" tripartite agreement signed between 25 Kuki, Zomi and Hmar insurgent groups and the Centre and the state government. While the Meitei Alliance, a global umbrella body of civil groups of the Meitei community, and the Thadou Inpi Manipur, a body that represents the indigenous distinct Thadou tribe, have been asking the Centre to scrap the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the 25 insurgent groups, two more top civil society organisations of the Naga tribes and other indigenous communities have come forward in demanding the same. The four civil society organisations made a joint representation to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, pointing out that the insurgent groups have been persistently violating SoO ground rules. Broadly, under this agreement, the insurgents have to stay at designated camps and keep their firearms in locked storage, to be jointly monitored with the security forces. They cannot recruit fresh insurgents too. The four civil society organisations, however, alleged these armed groups protected by the SoO agreement"are gravely undermining safety and security of all communities in Manipur." The preamble of the SoO agreement state that KNO and UPF will completely abjure the path of violence and will not engage in violent or unlawful activities like killing, injuries, kidnappings, ambush, extortions, intimidations, carrying of arms in public and imposing of 'tax' or 'fines', the civil society organisations said in their memorandum submitted to Mr Shah. Therefore, it establishes that the purpose of SoO agreement is to maintain law and order, which is a State subject under the Constitution (List II, State List), they said. The other two civil society organisations are the Foothills Naga Coordination Committee, and the Indigenous Peoples' Forum Manipur. The 25 insurgent groups come under two umbrella organisations for the purpose of negotiations - the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) led by the Kuki National Army (KNA), and the United People's Front (UPF) led by the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA). The KNO and the UPF representing all the others have signed the SoO agreement. The SoO agreement is steered by a joint monitoring group (JMC) which also takes a call on whether to extend it or not. Alleged Misuse of SoO Agreement "... On one hand, the SoO agreement states that the Manipur government can terminate and take appropriate action against the KNO and the UPF. In case the groups are found violating the ground rules, the state government on the recommendation of the joint monitoring group may terminate the SoO arrangements and also take appropriate action including use of force against the groups," they said in the memorandum. "However, on the other hand, the SoO agreement establishes a joint monitoring group that includes the very groups responsible for violence - KNO and UPF - who are expected to recommend to the state government whether action should be taken against themselves," the memorandum said, pointing out what they called an inherent flaw in the controversial arrangement. They said the purpose of the SoO agreement is to maintain law and order in Manipur, and it is the state government that should be responsible for maintaining law and order; however, due to the flawed structure of the SoO agreement, the state government is unable to do so. As the SoO agreements are tripartite between the Centre, the state government, and the insurgent groups, and since the armed militant groups have violated the preamble and ground rules of the SoO agreements, the state government officially scrapped the SoO agreements with KNA and ZRA in March 2023 and recommended against their extension in January 2024, the memorandum said. "Therefore, the SoO agreements cannot be renewed or extended unless recommended by the elected state government of Manipur, and not in the current structure and form of the agreements," the civil society organisations said in the memorandum. Corrective Measures The civil society groups suggested the Union home minister to consider these measures: 1. Abrogate SoO agreements as recommended by the last Manipur state government, or establish a popular government or conduct re-election in Manipur to ensure the elected state government can recommend renewal of the SoO agreement. 2. If the SoO agreement is to be renewed, then the structure and framework of the agreement should be holistically reviewed for effective and efficient implementation. 3. Establish an independent and neutral arbitrator in case of conflict of interest under the Constitution. 4. The armed militants who committed acts of violence should be prosecuted according to the law, and if any signatories or members of KNO and UPF are found to be associated directly or indirectly, they should not be protected under the SoO agreement. 5. The SoO agreement should be considered as a mechanism for non-violence and not as a protector of violence. In June, a KNA insurgent was among three people arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly attacking a police post and killing two commandos in Manipur's border town Moreh in January 2024. That was the second time an authority confirmed on record the violation of SoO ground rules by Kuki insurgents in Manipur in the last two years since Meitei-Kuki ethnic clashes began in May 2023. The first official confirmation of the SoO agreement's ground rules violation came from the Manipur Police in September 2024 when three Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) insurgents - all of them residents of Churachandpur district - were killed in a gunfight in Jiribam. They were Seiminlen Khongsai, Haogoulen Doungel (31), and Nehboithang Haokip (26). The Manipur Police in September 2024 also for the first time confirmed the involvement of Meitei insurgent group UNLF (P), which had signed a ceasefire with the Centre and the state, after a UNLF (P) insurgent identified as Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma (41) was killed in the Jiribam gunfight. The NIA's June 8, 2025 statement and the Manipur Police's September 8, 2024 statement showed that insurgent groups in Manipur that have signed the SoO agreement have been involved in the Manipur violence. While the authorities have confirmed only two cases of SoO agreement and ceasefire violations in the last two years, both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups accuse each other of hiding the involvement of insurgents belonging to their respective communities in dozens of cases.
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Civil groups in Manipur demand end to Suspension of Operations pact with Kuki militants
In a strong push for accountability and peace, four major civil society organisations representing the Meitei, Thadou, and Naga communities have jointly urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discontinue the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreements with armed Kuki militant groups. The organisations claim these groups are largely responsible for the ongoing instability in Manipur and have consistently violated the terms of the a joint memorandum submitted to the Home Minister on Thursday, the Indigenous Peoples' Forum Manipur, Thadou Inpi Manipur, Meitei Alliance, and the Foothills Naga Co-ordinating Committee alleged that the SoO-protected groups played a central role in triggering the ethnic violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, starting in Churachandpur. They pointed to the torching of homes in Torbung and Kanvai as early signs of the broader unrest instigated by these signatories asserted that militant organisations under the SoO framework continue to pose threats to the lives and security of all communities in the state. They highlighted that the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People's Front (UPF) originally entered into bilateral ceasefire arrangements with the Indian Army in 2005, which were converted into tripartite agreements involving the Government of India and the Manipur Government in 2008. Despite yearly renewals, the organisations claim the agreements have failed to ensure peace and have, instead, enabled lawlessness. According to the memorandum, the preamble of the SoO Agreement requires militant groups to renounce violence and illegal activities such as extortion, abductions, and the public display of arms. However, the civil bodies allege that these terms have been repeatedly breached, and the state government is unable to enforce accountability due to loopholes in the agreement's structure. One key concern raised was the role of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG), which includes representatives from the same militant groups it is supposed to monitor—creating a situation where violators oversee their own organisations also pointed out that the Manipur Government had officially abrogated the SoO agreements with the Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) in March 2023, and later recommended against their renewal in January 2024. They insisted that unless recommended by the elected state government, the agreements should not be extended under any restore peace and normalcy, the civil society groups proposed several key recommendations: the immediate abrogation of the current SoO agreements, re-establishment of a popular elected government to enable legitimate consultation on such agreements, a comprehensive review and restructuring of the SoO framework, appointment of an independent and neutral arbitrator, and prosecution of militants involved in violence—removing their protection under the memorandum concluded by reaffirming that the SoO framework must not serve as a shield for those perpetrating unrest but should function strictly as a peacebuilding tool. As Manipur continues to recover from the aftermath of more than a year of conflict, the demand to rethink the SoO agreement underscores growing calls for structural reform and a return to democratic governance.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
‘Equip Israel with bunker busters': US lawmakers push bill to arm Tel Aviv if Iran goes nuclear - The Economic Times Video
Amid rising tensions with Iran, a new bipartisan bill in the U.S. Congress proposes authorizing the transfer of B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound 'bunker buster' bombs to Israel if Iran resumes its nuclear weapons program. Backed by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), the proposed Bunker Buster Act would give President Donald Trump authority to equip Israel with advanced weaponry to counter Iran's nuclear threat.
