Imphal:
Manipur Congress MP A Bimol Akoijam has questioned whether a controversial tripartite agreement between two dozen Kuki-Zo militant groups and the Centre and the state government “has become the reason of conflicts” in Manipur.
Mr Akoijam, another fierce critic of former chief minister N Biren Singh, who belongs to the BJP, called for a proper look at the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement based on its results, instead of blaming “which government did what in the past”.
“Regarding SoO, a lot has been talked about what the Congress or the BJP has done. SoO was implemented for a political demand without using force, without harming [Manipur’s] territorial integrity, whatever the limitation. But the complexity is, whether the intended objectives of SoO have been achieved or not?” Mr Akjoijam told reporters in the state capital Imphal on Sunday.
He was talking about the protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act when he also commented on issues that violence-hit Manipur has been facing.
The SoO agreement, signed in 2008, keeps insurgents at designated camps and their weapons in locked storage, monitored regularly. The insurgents get stipends meant for their rehabilitation. The agreement is also reviewed every year for extension or termination by a joint monitoring group.
“Has this [SoO agreement] been naturalised and become the reason for conflicts? I raised this question in parliament, but I’m not sure if people heard me… There are issues of being in SoO. It normalises illegal taxation – the cement that costs Rs 300 in Dimapur costs over Rs 1,000 in Imphal due to taxation, I have already said in parliament,” the Inner Congress MP told reporters.
“There is nothing wrong when an armed movement gets into a signed agreement. It’s a political agreement to ensure there would be no bloodbath or no citizens would become collateral damage… SoO was implemented with the condition that Manipur’s territorial integrity will not be harmed. So, instead of politicising it, the question that must be asked is whether SoO has served its intended purpose,” Mr Akoijam said.
The Manipur government on February 29, 2024 unanimously passed a resolution asking the Centre to scrap the SoO agreement. The deadline for extension of the SoO agreement also ended that day.
However, there has been no official word on its extension or termination, Mr Akoijam, who is also a professor at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told reporters.
“There are ground rules. The joint monitoring committee must be questioned. Has the government questioned it yet? Instead of discussing these points, arguments such as ‘Congress signed it, BJP did this’ are cliche. Such arguments indicate the failure to understated real administration and politics,” he said.
“We should ask, when they [Kuki insurgents] break the ground rules, did the government write to the JMC?” Mr Akoijam said. “Since February 29, 2024, people are in the dark as to whether the SoO agreement is in force or not.”
The two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups come under two umbrella groups – the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), and the United People’s Front (UPF). These two representing the others have signed the SoO agreement.
Manipur BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen’s husband Semtinthang Kipgen alias Semma T Thangboi Kipgen – also mentioned as Semma Kipgen in her affidavit to the Election Commission – heads the Kuki National Front (P). Kuki People’s Alliance MLA Kimneo Hangshing is the wife of David Hangshing, the chairman of the insurgent group Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA).
The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kukis, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 260 have died in the violence and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
