Administering the dose of inertia : Taking SoO to the next level
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 30, 2012 -

A designated camp of the SoO group :: Pix - TSE

Inertia. A one word prescription to kill or derail a peace pact or peace process.

This apparently was the dose that had been injected in the Suspension of Operation pact reached with the Kuki armed groups more than seven years back.

And obviously no one seemed to realise this, including the media.

It was only after the Kuki National Organisation dropped a sort of a bomb shell at Delhi recently that it would abrogate the SoO pact if the peace process is not taken to its next level-read as political dialogue-that things became clear.

Delhi sure seems to have the knack of playing pricey, never mind if in the process it is the people here who have to bear the brunt.

Remember the indefinite public blockade imposed by the Kuki State Demand Committee some days back.

December 5 is the date to watch out for, especially in the backdrop of the assurance given by Union Home Minister Shushil Kumar Shinde to Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam that all efforts would be made to initiate a political dialogue after the ongoing Winter session of Parliament.

From what has been coming from the SoO signatories, a Kuki State within the Union of India is on the agenda of the Kuki National Organisation, while greater autonomy is the aspiration of the United Peoples' Front.

It is early days yet and it would be foolhardy to hazard a guess on which way the political wind will blow, but a beginning has to be made and December 5 will prove crucial.

Or will turn out to be another time buying tactics, for which Delhi has earned a degree of notoriety ? It will also be interesting to see how or if the KNO and UPF can come to a common meeting ground while putting forward their agenda for the talk.

Any dialogue, particularly political negotiation between the Government and armed groups will have to centre around some laid down points.

What will be the points around which the political dialogue will proceed is not yet clear, but it should not come as a surprise, if a thick veil of secrecy surrounds the talk, if and when it starts.

A lesson which everyone must have learnt from the ongoing political dialogue between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM).

The State Government has neatly sidestepped the crux of the matter, by putting it on record that it is just a facilitator to the SoO pact.

This may be taken to mean that it will not be a party to the political talk when it actually starts. A question of political exigency constraining the State Government to wash its hands off the proposed political dialogue or a question of passing the buck.

Only time will tell, but it will not hurt if the State Government insists that it be taken into confidence when the talk actually starts.

A Kuki State or greater autonomy, all have something or the other to do with Manipur and it is here at the beginning that the State Government should make its stand clear.

It will not do the proposed talk any good if the State Government prefers the easy way out by sticking to the ‘facilitator’ alibi.

Delhi on its part should realise that peace pact or deal or agreement is not just about building designated camps but more about sitting across the negotiating table and thrashing out issues.

The question of whether December 5 becomes a landmark in the SoO process or is reduced to just another date will rest to a large extent on how sincere the parties are in inking a settlement that is acceptable to all.