Kuki Inpi Manipur says the Kuki political question must be resolved through dialogue among the Centre, Manipur government and SoO groups.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, September 10: The Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) on Thursday rejected a demand by a group of Meitei and Naga civil society organisations for the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF), calling the move “misplaced” and contrary to the purpose of the peace process.
In a statement issued on September 10, KIM said the SoO was a peace initiative of the Government of India aimed at suspending hostilities and creating conditions for political dialogue with Kuki armed organisations.
The tripartite agreement, signed in 2008 between the Centre, Manipur government and Kuki armed groups, has subsequently been extended by successive governments. KIM said the repeated extensions demonstrated that the Centre continued to regard the framework as an instrument for political engagement on the Kuki question.
“It is therefore deeply contradictory that organisations claiming to seek peace should demand the dismantling of the very mechanism through which the Government of India has maintained a structured political engagement with Kuki representatives,” the organisation said.
READ: Kuki Armed Leaders Accuse Manipur Govt of Shielding NSCN-IM
KIM also rejected the argument that the SoO should be scrapped because individuals associated with SoO groups have allegedly committed crimes.
It said that even where there were genuine violations of the SoO ground rules, such cases should be referred to the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG), the mechanism established to address compliance issues under the agreement.
“Even assuming that there were genuine violations of the SoO ground rules, the matter should be placed before the appropriate Joint Monitoring Group,” KIM said.
The organisation further argued that the political aspirations of the Kuki-Zo people could not be determined by another ethnic community.
KIM said Meitei civil society organisations had the right to express their views and make representations to the government, but such demands did not give them the authority to determine the political future of the Kuki-Zo community.
“The Kuki political question is fundamentally a matter between the Government of India, government of Manipur and the SoO groups, to be addressed through dialogue and a constitutional political process,” it said.
The KIM said the Centre had entered into the SoO arrangement as a sovereign government, repeatedly renewed it, established monitoring mechanisms and engaged the KNO and UPF in political dialogue.
It argued that the appropriate course was therefore to strengthen the existing process until a durable political settlement was reached rather than terminate the framework in response to demands from civil society organisations belonging to another community.
KIM urged the Centre to reject any attempt to terminate the SoO agreement solely on the basis of demands from sections of another ethnic community.
At the same time, it called for strict enforcement of the agreement’s ground rules, investigation of genuine violations and prosecution of individuals against whom credible evidence exists.
It also urged the government to strengthen the JMG and other institutional mechanisms responsible for monitoring compliance.
“The Kuki people have demonstrated their willingness to pursue their political aspirations through dialogue,” KIM said, maintaining that the SoO provided the framework for that dialogue to continue.
“Until a mutually acceptable and durable political settlement is achieved, the Suspension of Operations Agreement must continue,” it said.
The statement was issued by Janghaolun Haokip, Secretary (Information), Kuki Inpi Manipur.
