Amit Shah refuses to give written assurance COCOMI lines up public meet on Nov 29
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, November 26 2019: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has once again assured verbally that the Naga peace talks would not affect the territorial integrity and administrative setup of Manipur but refused to give the same assurance in black and white.

An 18-member team of COCOMI met Amit Shah at 10 pm yesterday at Delhi in the presence of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, BJP general secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh, Union Home Secretary Ajaykumar Bhalla, MHA Joint Secretary (North East) Satyendra Garg, Chief Minister N Biren and Education Minister Th Radheshyam, MLA Th Satyabrata ad MLA L Rameshore.

>Amit Shah refuses to give written assurance COCOMI lines up public meet on Nov 29

The meeting which went on till 11.15 pm deliberated minutely on the confusion and apprehension felt by the people of Manipur with regard to the Naga peace talks and its solution, conveyed a press release issued by COCOMI assistant coordinator (media) Jeetendra Ningomba.

During the meeting, COCOMI handed over a memorandum to the Union Home Minister which explained and vindicated the non-negotiability of the integrity of Manipur.

In response, Amit Shah reiterated his assurance that the Naga peace talks would not affect the territorial integrity and administrative set up of Manipur.

He stated that if there should be any change to his assurances, COCOMI representatives, the Government of Manipur and political parties would be consulted in time.

However, when the COCOMI delegates insisted on a written assurance, the Union Home Minister declined their demand saying that he had done no such thing in the past.

At this point, BJP general secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh pointed out that the assurance was given by none other than the Home Minister of the country in the presence of 18 delegates of COCOMI and many responsible Government officials.

He went on to ask if there was any room for doubting such an assurance.

As the COCOMI delegates pointed out that the people of Manipur would find it hard to fully trust any verbal assurance, BL Santosh asserted that it must be the responsibility of COCOMI and the State Government to convince the people of Manipur about the Union Home Minister's assurance.

The COCOMI delegates pointed out that lack of any official communication from the Central Government to the State Government and the people of Manipur in the aftermath of a signing a Framework Agreement between the Government of India and NSCN-IM has evoked deep suspicions.

In the meantime, negotiating parties of the peace talks including Interlocutor RN Ravi came out with different statements which went against the interest of Manipur but the Ministry of Home Affairs never bothered to make any clarification.

The made the people of Manipur highly sceptical about the peace talks and its solution, the COCOMI delegates pointed out.

Following the mass civil uprising of June 18, 2001 when even the Manipur State Assembly building was set ablaze, the then Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced before the Chief Ministers of the North East States that the words 'without territorial limits' had been removed from the Bangkok Agreement and the ceasefire would be confined within the State of Nagaland.

But today, Naga inhabited areas of Manipur are being dragged within the ambit of the Naga peace talks.

Given these developments, the people of Manipur feel that the Government of India has not kept its own words, asserted the COCOMI delegates.

Given these precedents, the people of Manipur are sceptical, the COCOMI delegates pointed out while justifying their demand for a written assurance.

It then conveyed that a public meeting would be held on November 29 to discuss the Union Home Minister's assurance and take a decision on the future course of action.

Until a decision is adopted on November 29, there would be no change to the ongoing mass protest movements of COCOMI.

It also appealed to all the people to stage only symbolic protest movements without indulging in any communal or offensive activities.

The COCOMI further appealed to all the people to participate in the public meeting scheduled on November 29 .