Zeliangrong civil society organisations welcome ZUF peace pact with Government of India

Our Correspondent

Imphal, Dec. 29 (EMN): The Zeliangrong civil society organisations including Zeliangrong Baudi, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (ZB-AMN), All Zeliangrong Students’ Union, AMN (AZSU-AMN), Zeliangrong Youth Front, AMN (ZYF-AMN) and other Zeliangrong leaders have appreciated the government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, IB team leaders, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and state officials for signing the agreement.

The government of India and the government of Manipur signed a ‘Cessation of Operation’ Agreement in New Delhi on Dec. 27 with Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), an armed group operating in Manipur.

A joint press statement signed by the presidents of ZB-AMN, AZSU-AMN, ZYM-AMN and advisor of ZB (Nagaland) issued on Dec. 27 read, “The organisations jointly conveys its impressions and trust that the signing of the Cessation Of Operation is the honest beginning of taking a next step forward the process of resolving the Zeliangrong political issues at the earliest”.

Expressing appreciation to ZUF officials and the front for taking ‘the movement alive and making this occasion a landmark of progress,’ the joint press statement appealed ‘to all the Zeliangrong kindred people and neighbouring tribes to cooperate and extend support toward securing the long anticipated and aspiring demand of the Zeliangrong People Convention.’

Soon after the agreement was signed by the senior officers of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government of Manipur and the representatives of the ZUF, Biren Singh who was also present during the occasion, shared photographs of the gathering in a tweet on the same day.

Stating that ZUF agreed to abjure violence and join the peaceful democratic process as established by law of the land, Biren Singh in his social media post wrote, ‘the agreement includes rehabilitation and re-settlement of armed cadres. A Joint Monitoring Group will oversee enforcement of the agreed ground rules’.

However the details of the agreement could not be made available till the filing of this report.