Core issue of SoO not addressed : AKSIL

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jun 1: While the SoO Kuki militants are causing all the violence and prolonging the conflict, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has failed to address this core issue, the cause of all the violence during his visit to Manipur, said Apunba Keithel Shinnaibi Lup Kangleipak.
Speaking at a press meet held at Manipur Press Club, the Lup's president, Khamnam Sobapati said, the present unrest in the State may never end until the Kuki militants abandon weapons to follow the SoO ground rules and shed their hidden agenda.
"The reason for the Kuki militant groups demanding separate administration is to realise their hidden agenda of conducting drug businesses without the interference of the State Government. They want separate administration as it would  give them autonomy," she said.
Sobapati asserted that the violence perpetrated by the Kuki militants are a result of the Government's crackdown on illegal immigrants from Myanmar, poppy cultivation and eviction drives aimed at preserving and protecting Reserved and Protected Forests. They had vented their anger to the Meitei community as they couldn't face the Government, she said.
One of the Lup's members, in the midst, added that much before ATSUM's May 3 Solidarity Rally which turned violent and gave birth to the present full blown violent conflict, in some hill districts, forest offices were burnt to the ground protesting the eviction drives inside Protected and Reserved Forests. So, there were violent protests happening weeks before the rally, the member said, adding there were also intense protests against a drive that aimed at detecting illegal immigrants.
"If you're a legitimate citizen of Manipur, you should have no fear of such a drive that aims to detect and deport only the illegal immigrants. People should also not harbour illegal immigrants. Harbouring illegal immigrants is against the law of the land," the member said.
While it has been claimed that the Solidarity Rally was designed to protest against Meitei's ST demand and the High Court's direction to the State Government to send recommendations to the Centre in connection with the ST demand had driven and fuelled the conflict, there is no mention of the ST demand from their side now as the real reason of the conflict emerged before all. Separate administration was in their minds all this time and they had used the protest against ST demand as a means to arrive at and achieve their true goal, asserted the member.
Resuming her address to the media, Sobapati said the violence being committed against Meitei civilians by the Kuki militants is a cowardly act of terrorism. The militants should shun violence and all atrocities against civilians, she said.
While Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the State to stop violence and his assurance on Manipur's integrity are welcome, there is still apprehension in the minds of the people, Sobapati said.
She said even though the Union Home Minister has urged all concerned to shun violence, Kuki militants are still torching Meitei villages and killing innocent civilians daily. They have burnt houses of thousands of Meitei people.
Sobapati continued that the Union Home Minister's visit and his assurances lacked clarity on the issue of Suspension of Operation (SoO). While the SoO militants are causing all the violence and prolonging the conflict, the Union Home Minister has failed to address this core issue, the cause of all violence. There is apprehension among the people about the Centre supporting the Kuki militants.
The Lup's general secretary, Konthoujam Prabha said while people welcome all efforts to restore normalcy and peace, the Centre and the State Government must take strict measures against the issue of drugs and illegal immigrants and foreign infiltrators. Why have the Centre and its agencies not yet collected all the weapons of the Kuki militants? The Centre and the State Government must control and contain the SoO Kuki militants at their designated camps and collect their weapons. They shouldn't be allowed to roam freely with arms and attack civilians, she said.