UNC writes to Amit Shah as Naga districts rally against Kuki SoO pact

The United Naga Council (UNC) has sent a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking the immediate scrapping of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki militant groups, as Naga bodies held rallies and sit-ins across Naga-inhabited districts of Manipur on Saturday, October 31.

The memorandum was submitted through the Senapati deputy commissioner. The rallies were held at four Naga district headquarters the same day, in support of the joint rally called by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in Imphal, Ukhrul Times and Northeast Now reported.

Four demands

The UNC listed four main demands:

• abrogation of the SoO pact, which it said armed groups had used for killings, extortion, land grabbing and poppy cultivation on Naga ancestral land;
• an end to what it called a proxy war against indigenous communities;
• time-bound implementation of the tripartite agreement signed in Guwahati on September 26 between the Centre, the Manipur government and the UNC; and
• withdrawal of the Assam Rifles from border areas and conflict zones, with other forces deployed instead.

The council accused the Assam Rifles of acting in a partisan manner in Naga areas, including disarming village volunteers. It also referred to what it described as an assurance at the Guwahati talks on the removal of Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen. These are the UNC's allegations; the Assam Rifles and the state government had not responded to them in the reports.

Senapati

In Senapati, the rally at Traffic Point was organised by the district's apex Naga bodies, including the Naga People's Organisation and student and women's associations. UNC president NG Lorho said Nagas across the hills had united to defend their ancestral land and called the SoO pact "a licence to kill". The rally also demanded the deputy CM's resignation and the resettlement of all displaced people.

Tamenglong and Chandel

In Tamenglong, hundreds of people from the Inpui, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme communities marched under the Joint Tribes Council of Manipur from Apollo Ground to Haipou Jadonang Park.

In Chandel, the Chandel Naga People's Organisation (CNPO) held a rally at the main stadium with 11 tribal groups, raising five demands that included an end to civilian killings. CNPO president Dilbung Francis Thandok told reporters the situation in the state was no longer acceptable and that the rallies were meant to push the government to restore peace.

Context

The protests come amid a fresh spell of violence in the hills. Three people were killed in a gunfight between armed groups in Noney district this week, and the bodies of two missing Kuki youths were recovered in Kangpokpi on Sunday. The Centre had not publicly responded to the UNC memorandum at the time of writing.