Manipur: PM Holds Meeting; ‘Centre to Ensure SoO Agreement Is Implemented,’ Says CM Biren

As the Army released a video saying women activists were interfering with security forces’ efforts to ensure peace, the presence of a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA at Itham village when soldiers released 12 men from a banned outfit to a 1,200-strong mob has led to controversy.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported to have held a meeting on Monday, June 26, between high-level officials and elected representatives, as criticism grows over his silence on the ethnic violence that has swept Manipur since early May.

Meanwhile, as the Army released a video saying women activists were interfering with the security forces’ efforts to ensure peace in the state, the presence of a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA at Itham village when soldiers released 12 men from a banned outfit to a 1,200-strong mob has led to controversy. The instance was also cited in the Army’s video as an example of the apparent lawlessness of the local women-led crowd. Thounaojam Shyamkumar Singh has claimed he was at the spot but did not ask the Army to release the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup militants.

Cloud over leadership

PM Modi, who completed trips to two countries recently, has not spoken publicly about the violence that has led to the deaths of 131 people and to the displacement of close to 60,000 people. Union home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri were present at the meeting where it was decided that the Union government would facilitate the process of ensuring that petrol and cooking gas reached Manipur.

Indian Express has reported that the Union government and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top brass are yet “undecided” on the status of leadership in Manipur as clamour grows for the removal of chief minister N. Biren Singh.

Meanwhile, a day after meeting Shah in New Delhi, Biren told The Hindu on June 26 that the Union government would ensure the implementation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki insurgent groups in the hill areas. This agreement was signed in 2008 between 24 Kuki insurgent groups and the Union home ministry and required the identified groups to remain in designated camps, with weapons behind lock and key.

A source in the defence ministry told Hindu that SoO camps were regularly checked and in the last two months, only two weapons have been found missing.

“The Home Minister said the Centre will provide maximum support to implement ground rules applicable to SoO groups and also asked me to explain to the valley people to maintain peace,” Biren said.

The valley and hills in Manipur are Meitei and Kuki-majority respectively. The Army has been deployed to the hills, members of the Central Armed Police Force are in charge of the buffer areas and Manipur police commandos are in charge of the valley, the Hindu says.

A day ago, reports had said that Biren had been told by Shah to reach out to Kukis as well and not favour a particular community.

On the same day, an influential tribal organisation from Manipur, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, rejected “any offer of dialogue” with Biren.

The Hindu has separately reported that the Manipur government has submitted before a Manipur high court division bench of Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and A. Guneshwar Sharma that the All Manipur Tribal Union has no locus standi to file an appeal against the March 27 order of the high court that directed the state government to recommend the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list.