Agreements signed with Kuki-Zo groups will be honoured: Manipur chief secretary

Manipur Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel on Friday said that agreements signed with Kuki-Zo groups will be honoured, while asserting that the government was making all efforts to restore normalcy in the ethnic strife-torn state.

Two prominent Kuki-Zo groups on Thursday signed a suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the government on re-negotiated terms and conditions under which they agreed on maintaining territorial integrity of Manipur, relocating designated camps away from vulnerable areas and working for a solution to bring lasting peace and stability in the state.

Besides, civil society group Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) decided to ''reopen'' the Dimapur-Imphal National Highway-2 for free movement of commuters and essential goods.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Teachers' Day function in Imphal, Goel said, ''The government is making all efforts to bring back normalcy in Manipur. Everything is on the paper... whatever agreement has been signed will be honoured.'' KZC's decision to reopen the highway came after a series of meetings between its representatives and officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi.

KZC has given a commitment to cooperate with central security forces to maintain peace along the Dimapur-Imphal highway, officials said.

Its decision, however, has been condemned by several Kuki civil rights and armed organisations that iterated that ''Meiteis will not be allowed to enter Kuki-majority areas''.

The Village Volunteers Co-ordination Committee (Eastern, Southern and Western Zone) condemned the ''unilateral decision'' of KZC and claimed it was taken ''without any consultation with the general public or the primary stakeholders directly affected by the ongoing conflict''. ''There shall be no free movement for the Meitei community within the Kuki-Zo territories until a separate administrative arrangement for the Kuki-Zo people is granted,'' it said.

Militant outfit United Kuki National Army (UKNA) also expressed strong resentment over KZC's decision.

UKNA, a non-signatory to SoO pact, said no discussion and peace agreement should be signed till the demands for separate administration are met.

The outfit also gave a five-day ultimatum to the KZC leaders seeking an explanation, failing which it warned it will ''take its own course of action''.

KZC, on the other hand, asserted that the question of ''reopening'' NH-2 does not arise, as the road was never closed or blocked, and cautioned that its decision must not be misinterpreted as an endorsement of unrestricted or free movement across the Meitei and Kuki areas.

Officials said that the signing of the SoO agreement with the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People's Front (UPF) on Thursday is set to have a positive impact on peace efforts in Manipur.

The move comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's likely visit to Manipur next week, the first since ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and Kukis in May 2023, claiming over 260 lives and rendering thousands homeless. However, there has been relative peace in Manipur in the last few months.

Meanwhile, a tribal rights organisation in Churachandpur district has said it will hold a public rally on Saturday to demand justice for the killings of community members during the ethnic strife in the state.

Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) will organise a public rally from 11.30 am in the Churachandpur district headquarters, a statement issued by the rights body said.

The rally will start from Koite Playground and end at the Wall of Remembrance at Tuibong, covering a distance of nearly 6.5 km, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)