Don’t disarm our youth in Manipur without cancelling SoO pact with Kukis, say Meitei groups

The Meitei groups also demanded that the process for drawing up the National Register of Citizens (NRC) had become imperative now more than ever.

Amid the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur, hundreds of people from Meitei organisations in Delhi held a demonstration on Sunday stressing that youth belonging to their community in the State should not be disarmed until and unless the government cancelled the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact signed with Kuki insurgent groups in 2008. 

Pressing on with the demand to cancel the SoO pact, a tripartite agreement between the State government, the Centre and the insurgent groups (out of which the State government withdrew earlier this year), the Meitei groups also demanded that the process for drawing up the National Register of Citizens (NRC) had become imperative now more than ever. 

Also read: Manipur unrest | The embers of Meitei-Kuki conflict still glow

This comes even as security forces in Manipur struggle to get back the thousands of weapons looted from police armouries in the Imphal Valley area in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the dominant Meiteis and Scheduled Tribe Kuki-Zomi people

In Sunday’s protest, the Meitei groups had gathered under the banner of the Manipur Coordination Committee (Delhi), which included several CSOs like Meitei Heritage Organisation and some student associations as well. The rally saw several families and students dressed in white, raising slogans of “Long Live Manipur”, and condemning the violence, asking for restoration of peace in their home State. 

“Many people are homeless, the terror keeps us all sleepless. I don’t know who is right or wrong, but we can’t give away our arms as we want to live,” said Mani Yumnan, a 24-year-old Meitei student studying in Dehradun, who had come to the Capital for the protest.

“We wanted to come together in solidarity and raise our demands; the arms won’t be used to harm common innocent people, but sadly, we need them for protection, houses are still being burnt. A civil war is occurring, however, the government is not looking into such substantial problems and is concise about the reservation issue,” said Professor Bhagat Oinam, who teaches at Jawaharlal Nehru University and is also associated with the Delhi Manipuri Society.