‘No SoO camps near Meitei settlements’

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 29 : Residents of Sekmai and Lamshang staged a sit-in protest at Senjam Chirang today demanding that no designated camps for Kuki armed groups under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) pact be established near Meetei villages.
The protest demonstration was organized by the Rural United Clubs' Organisation (RUCO), an apex body comprising 42 clubs from Sekmai and Lamshang, along with five Gram Panchayats based in Sekmai.
Placards with messages "No SoO camps near Meetei villages", "Revoke SoO agreement", "Don't arrest Meetei village volunteers", "Don't set up SoO camps in  Reserved Forest areas and  near highways" were displayed during the protest among others.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines, Heikham Ambrabati, secretary of Senjam Chirang Meira Paibi, stated that the violent campaigns launched by Kuki militants and their associates since May 3, 2023, had displaced many people from the foothills including from Sekmai side.
She expressed dismay that the Government is allegedly planning to set up designated camps for armed Kuki groups near Meetei villages as normalcy gradually returns.
Noting that many paddy fields remain abandoned and displaced individuals are still unable to return to their homes, she asserted that no SoO camps should be established near Meetei villages, whether in Reserved Forests or hills, under any circumstances.
She further said that the Government allegedly planning to set up a designated camp for Kuki armed groups near National  Sports University (NSU) at Koutruk and hill ranges close to Sekmai is unacceptable and added that the land where NSU is being constructed was donated by the Meetei villagers of Koutruk, Chirang and Senjam, Ambrabati.
Claiming that Kukis are refugees in Manipur, she urged the Government to instead set up the SoO camps in Myanmar or Mizoram. Ambrabati alleged that the Kukis initiated the violent campaign against the Meeteis and vowed that they would resist any attempts to forcibly establish designated camps of Kuki armed groups near Meetei villages.
Notably, RUCO and its women wing had submitted a memorandum to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla yesterday against the alleged move to set up SoO camps near Meetei villages yesterday.