UPF team to reach Delhi on Jul 30
Source: The Sangai Express / Newmai News Network

New Delhi, July 28 2014 : A team of United Peoples Front (UPF), the umbrella Chin-Kuki-Mizo underground organisation, will be arriving here in New Delhi on Wednesday, July 30 for a meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India.

The UPF team will be headed by Araon Kipgen who is the convenor of UPF's representative for 'political dialogue' with the Government, according to a well placed source informing Newmai News Network in New Delhi today.

With just 25 days left for the expiry of the present one year term of Suspension of Operation (SoO) with both the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples' Front (UPF) there have been hectic consultations going on among the leaders of KNO and UPF.

The current one year SoO term for both UPF and KNO ends on August 22 .

Meanwhile, both UPF and KNO are not sure whether they will extend the SoO for another term.

"Our team will arrive here in New Delhi on Wednesday and a meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India will be held within this week," said the source, adding, "This team will be going back to Manipur and brief the UPF leaders on August 12 where we will have a big meeting that day" .

The source further said only after the August 12 meeting the UPF will only know whether to extend the Suspension of Operation with the Government or not after the current term expires on August 22 .

The source however, did not disclose the venue of the August 12 meeting of the UPF.

"We will however, participate in the August 22 meeting with the Government in New Delhi to place our position," added the UPF source.

On the other hand, the KNO is still observing the situation.

"We have not decided whether to extend the SoO term or not," a top KNO source disclosed Newmai News Network this evening.

"We are closely observing the situation," stated the source, adding, "We are also observing what the Government of India's initiative is regarding our position." The source also said that the KNO is yet to fix a date for the outfit's meeting in connection with the SoO expiry issue.

"Signing the SoO pact just for the sake of signing every time it expires is a futile exercise," stated the KNO source.

The KNO however, expressed hope that the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be better than the previous Congress led UPA government.

Both UPF and KNO are engaging in political struggle with similar ideologies.

The KNO, however, in recent time is widening its political advocacy and perspective.

Early this year, KNO president PS Haokip had mentioned it in his message on the KNO Raising Day on February 24 in Churachand-pur district of Manipur that stretching from Kachin State of Burma covering up to Changlang district in Arunachal Pradesh and Tuensang and Mon districts of the Konyak and Khimniungan region in the present day Nagaland in India, as well as the land of the Heimi people in Myanmar (Burma) to which tribe SS Khaplang, leader of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K), including Upper Chindwin and Kale Kabow valley in Sagaing Division are entirely ethnic Kachin-Kuki inhabi-ted.

The Kachins have always maintained their link through folklore connections with the Kukis, he added.

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