Reducing SoO to a joke : SHADC impasse
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 13, 2012 -

You can't have your cake and eat it too. This is the message that the Government should convey to the armed groups which are signatories to the Suspension of Operations agreement inked with the State Government and the Centre as well.

The tussle for the post of Chairman in the Autonomous District Council of Sadar Hills has once again demonstrated the sheer hollowness of the truce ground rules.

The unfolding drama at the Sadar Hills Autonomous District Council is a clear manifestation of the unholy nexus between elected representatives of the people and armed groups and with allegations flying thick and fast across the table, it is time for the Government to get its act together and start dictating terms and conditions.

The politics of power can definitely manifests itself in different ways and while use of force and intimidations have always been resorted to by the unscrupulous lot, what is unacceptable is the manner in which the Government has given a long rope to the armed groups.

Or is it a question of the elected members using the might of the armed groups to further their own vested interest ? Either way it sucks and this defeats the very idea of holding endless rounds of political parleys, which is also known as peace process.

That peace should not be understood within the narrow definition of the guns remaining silent is a point which Imphal and Delhi should have understood a long, long time back.

Again the fact that the spill over effect of the tussle within the Sadar Hills Autonomous District Council has had a drastic impact on the people should be clear from the open appeal issued by the Sadar Hills Women Union and it is hard to digest that the Government has not been able to get its act together and tell the SoO signatories to fall in line.

Abduction, intimidation and use of force to settle the issue within the Autonomous District Council is a clear indication of how the Government and its agencies have been treating the issue with kids' gloves. This is not the time to molly coddle the armed outfits but to take a firm stand and draw the line.

Or are peace treaties some sort of a license granted to the armed outfits to operate freely under the cover of a pact ? More importantly, does the Government have some hidden agenda in letting the status quo continue ?

Seen on a wider and bigger canvass, the people of Manipur have had to experience the bitter side of peace deals which have been inked between the Government and armed outfits.

Some of the most bizarre, blood curdling and downright inhuman acts of violence have been perpetrated by groups which are supposed to be in a peace process with the Government and Manipur has enough evidences to prove this.

It has increasingly become clear that to the Government, bringing the armed groups to the negotiating table is something to be crowed about and has nothing to do with how it impacts on the people.

This is the reason why they are given a long rope once they sign a truce pact. This trend has to be reversed, if the understanding of peace deal is to come anywhere near its universal application.

The charges and counter charges that have come flying out from the impasse within the Sadar Hills Autonomous District Council is a stark reminder of the Government refusing to see the obvious, which is the armed groups, which are supposed to be in a political dialogue, are having a field day under the shadow of the peace deal.

The question that follows is whether the growing voice of dissent within the SHADC has been fuelled/engineered by any of the SoO groups or whether the elected representatives sought the help of the armed groups.

Either way, it goes against the grain and this is something which should be dealt with a firm hand. Let the elected members decide who should be the Chairperson and providing the right ambience to the members to make up their mind should be the job of the Government.

The time is long over due to tell the armed groups in peace deal with the Government that they cannot have their cake and eat it too.