The Meitei Alliance, a global network of the Meiteis, has demanded the termination of the tripartite Suspension of Operations Agreements (SoO) signed between the Centre, the state, and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) in Manipur.
The armed groups have been repeatedly violating the Agreed Ground rules of the SoO, which poses a threat to India’s security and demographic balance, the Alliance said in a press release.
The Meitei Alliance submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister of India on February 21, 2024, requesting the SoO to be scrapped.
The tripartite SoO with KNO and UPF agreement was first signed in 2008 and extended annually. However, the armed groups have been violating the “Agreed Ground Rules of SoO” to achieve their hidden agenda, the Alliance alleged.
The Meitei Alliance has also demanded the immediate enforcement of the terms of the SoO, especially the provision for termination of the agreement in case of violations of the ground rules.
The Alliance further called for biometric identification of the inmates, reducing the number of camps, and strict enforcement of AGR by concerned agencies.
Addressing the media, Dr Malem Ningthouja said, “To restore peace and internal security, terms for SoO should be immediately enforced, especially -In case of groups found violating the Ground Rules in future, State Government on the recommendation of the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) may terminate the SoO arrangements and also take appropriate action including use of force against the group.”
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Meanwhile, Prof. Angomcha Bimol Akoijam said, “Suspension of Operation with any armed group is, technically speaking, to restore law and order and to ensure human security in the country. But when it is used to mask privatisation of violence, it poses a threat to the security of the state as well as life and property of the citizen. There are allegations of present SoO being such a mask. And hence it should be reviewed.”
The Meitei Alliance was founded in November 2023 and is an alliance of Meitei diaspora associations in India and around the world.
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