Manipur-based United National Liberation
Front (UNLF), which was banned by the Central Government earlier this month, “agreed
to renounce violence”, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.
The minister said “a historic milestone
(was) achieved” as the organisation signed a peace agreement in Delhi on
Wednesday.
“UNLF, the oldest valley-based armed
group of Manipur has agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream. I
welcome them to the democratic processes and wish them all the best in their
journey on the path of peace and progress,” Amit Shah said in a post on X.
In another tweet, Amit Shah said the
peace agreement signed with the UNLF by the Central Government and the Manipur Government
“marks the end of a six-decade-long armed movement”.
“It is a landmark achievement in
realising PM Narendra Modi Ji’s vision of all-inclusive development and
providing a better future to the youths in Northeast India,” he added.
The Union Home Ministry stated, “This is
the first time a valley-based Manipuri armed group has agreed to return to
mainstream by abjuring violence and agreeing to honour the Constitution of Bharat
and laws of the land.”
“The agreement is poised to give a
fillip to usher in a new era of peace in the Northeast in general and Manipur
in particular,” stated the Ministry.
The United National Liberation Front
(UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA), were among many Meitei
extremist organisations in Manipur banned by the Union Home Ministry earlier
this month.
The move to declare many Meitei
extremist organisations as “unlawfull” was taken amid ongoing violence in the Northeastern
State.
On Sunday, Manipur Chief Minister N
Biren Singh said his government was engaged in talks with an Imphal
Valley-based insurgent group. He had ensured that a peace accord would be
signed soon.
Speaking to PTI-Video, Singh had said, “We
are advancing, and we are expecting to sign a peace accord with one big UG
(underground organisation) very shortly,” said the CM. He, however, had
refrained from naming the underground organisation.
Now, Amit Shah’s tweet confirmed that
the UNLF agreed to renounce violence.
“Modi Government’s relentless efforts to
establish permanent peace in the Northeast have added a new chapter of
fulfilment as the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) signed a peace
agreement, today in New Delhi,” Shah said.
Manipur has been witnessing incidents of
ethnic violence since May 3 this year, after people from Kuki community protested
against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. More
than 180 people have been killed since the violence broke out in the State.
On Tuesday, the Centre constituted ‘The
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal’ under Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi to
adjudicate the ban on nine Meitei Extremist Organisations under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Agency
