Modi soon in Manipur: a first step towards peace?
The Indian prime minister is expected to visit the northeastern state next week, after more than two years of communal violence. Meanwhile, militant Kuki groups signed a reconciliation agreement with the central and state governments, but many issues remain unresolved, such as the displacement of some 60,000 people and internal divisions within the BJP, the prime minister’s own party, which controlled Manipur when violence erupted in 2023.
Imphal (AsiaNews) – India’s Union government and the State of Manipur signed an agreement on Wednesday with Kuki-Zo militant groups to renew the Suspension of Operations (SoO) framework, after more than two years of tensions and violence in the northeastern state.
Local media are reporting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Manipur next week for the first time since fighting broke out in 2023.
New Delhi, the Manipur government, and two Kuki militant groups, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF) inked the first SoO in 2008, renewing it every year.
The agreement stipulates that both security forces and militant groups cannot launch operations, and that militant groups must remain in areas designated by the central government.
According to local authorities, under the latest beefed-up agreement, Kuki-Zo groups, who have been fighting against the Meitei majority for the past two years, have accepted to maintain Manipur’s territorial integrity.
In a move aimed at reducing tensions, the groups also pledged to reopen National Highway-2, which connects Dibrugarh in Assam to Tuipang in Mizoram, which had been blocked since fighting began on 3 May 2023.
Further commitments made at the meeting with the India’s Home Ministry include the relocation of seven designated camps away from conflict areas with weapons locked away.
To address concerns about the presence of foreign elements, the groups also agreed to rigorous verification of militants by security forces.
According to official figures, clashes between ethnic Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities have caused at least 260 deaths and the displacement of approximately 60,000 people since May 2023.
Kuki groups have long demanded a separate administration for their community as a condition for peace talks, but the Indian government, which imposed direct rule on the state, has not officially responded to this demand, which is strongly opposed by the Meitei community, largely confined to Manipur’s valley districts, while Kuki are mostly concentrated in the hilly areas.
The renewal of the SoO agreement is, however, seen as a first step for Prime Minister Modi's planned visit, which local media expect to take place next week.
The Manipur Home Department issued a circular on 30 August, stating that no leave would be granted to police officers or personnel from 7 to 14 September due to “exigencies of duty”.
If the visit does take place, it will be Modi's first since communal clashes broke out two years ago.
His itinerary is expected to include Imphal, the state capital, and Churachandpur, one of the districts most severely affected by the violence.
Sources note that the visit was billed as a "decisive move to bring an end to the prolonged conflict and to set the stage for a fully functional government in Manipur.”
However, the reality on the ground remains complex, with deep communal divisions, and thousands of people still stuck in camps for internally displaced persons.
India’s opposition has long criticised Modi for his protracted silence on the crisis, and the appointment of a new chief minister and the formation of a state government remain issues that need to be settled.
In Manipur, presidential rule by New Delhi followed the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi's own political party.
The formation of a stable government faces major hurdles, including divisions within the BJP and a rebellion by ten Kuki lawmakers, seven of them BJP members, who have publicly slammed Singh's mishandling of the situation.
Sources told The Wire that an agreement on the formation of a new government has yet to be reached.
“Reconciling these divisions and satisfying all factions within the party will be a formidable challenge to form a government in the state presently,” a source explained, adding that, “The Biren Singh faction is batting for announcement of fresh elections as they don’t want any new chief ministerial candidate to be announced by the party’s national leadership as it may put Singh’s political stature in jeopardy.”
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24/11/2023 19:07
