Guwahati: The Centre on Tuesday signed a peace agreement with a Manipur insurgent group, which agreed to give up violence and join the peaceful democratic process.
The tripartite agreement was signed by the central and Manipur governments and the Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) rebel group which mostly operated in Manipur.
The agreement was signed by senior home ministry officials and the government of Manipur and the representatives of ZUF in presence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh termed the development as yet another ‘milestone’ and a significant boost to the peace process in the state.
“Representatives of ZUF agreed to abjure violence and join the peaceful democratic process as established by law of the land. Truly happy to see that more insurgent groups have embraced peace by putting faith in the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” the chief minister took to Twitter later to express his gratitude.
“Also, thankful to Union home minister Amit Shah ji for ensuring that the armed insurgents of the region return to the mainstream,” Singh expressed in a tweet.
In a statement, the Union Home Ministry said fulfilling the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of an ‘insurgency-free and prosperous Northeast’ and under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the government of India and the government of Manipur entered into a cessation of operation agreement in New Delhi with ZUF that had been active for more than a decade.
Representatives of the armed group agreed to abjure violence and join the peaceful democratic process as established by law of the land, the statement said.
Notably, the Centre has over the years signed several agreements to end insurgency and boost development in the Northeast in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make the region “insurgency free and prosperous”.
In September this year, a similar tripartite peace agreement was signed between the Centre, the Assam government and as many as eight Adivasi rebel outfits in New Delhi.
Among the militant outfits that signed the pacts, in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah and Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, were the Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam, Birsa Commando Force, Adivasi People’s Army, All Assam Adivasi National Army, Santhal Tiger Force besides three breakaway groups.
Last month, 31 cadres of five valley-based underground groups in Manipur laid down arms at a ‘homecoming ceremony’ in Imphal in the presence of the chief minister.
Of the 31 cadres who joined the mainstream at the ceremony held at the 1 Battalion, Manipur Rifles, 17 belonged to the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP)-People’s War Group (PWG); four are from the United National Liberation Front (UNLF); six from The People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK); three cadres from Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) while one cadre was from PREPAK (VC).
Last week, nine cadres of the Mizoram-based militant group Hmar People’s Convention-Democracy (HPC-D) laid down their arms and surrendered to police in southern Assam’s Cachar district.
Earlier this month, as many as 1179 cadres belonging to two Barak Valley-based militant outfits – United Democratic Liberation Front of Barak Valley (UDLF-BV) and Bru Revolutionary Army of Union (BRAU) – laid down arms in southern Assam’s Hailakandi district.
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The agreement provides for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the armed cadres. A joint monitoring group will be constituted to oversee the enforcement of the agreed ground rules.
“This will be a significant boost to the peace process in Manipur,” the statement said.
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