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October 19-Kuki militants strike in a big way and shoot dead three woodcutters at Sunurok hill. October 20-ADGP (Law and Order) Dorjee Lhatoo informs the media that three people have been rounded up and out of them two have reportedly confessed to being directly involved in killing the three woodcutters. October 21-Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) personnel of the CRPF move into Sinai camp, a SoO camp housing cadres of the Kuki National Army and Kuki Liberation Army ! Developments in the last three days and clearly the pattern is clear and this is precisely the reason why there has been a loud demand to abrogate the SoO pact or to review it. And it is amid this reality that New Delhi went ahead and extended the SoO pact for one year on September 1, 2025. It is another matter that the said pact has not been extended, as conveyed by officials of the Union Home Ministry during a meeting with members of the United Naga Council held at Assam some time back. As noted in earlier commentaries here, the Centre did not commit itself to the demand to scrap the SoO pact, neither was the abrogation demand rejected outright, and instead opted to stick to the line, ‘the pact has expired and not been extended.’ So while Delhi continues to molly coddle cadres of armed organisations which have inked the SoO pact, it has come to light that out of the 140/150 cadres of both the Kuki National Army and Kuki Liberation Army attached to the camp, only 18 were present. A clear indication that in all these years, that is since the evening of May 3, 2023, SoO cadres have been given the long rope to do as they please, with Imphal not even once demonstrating that a close tab need to be kept on the designated camps. As repeatedly stated in this column, not once has the Government indicated that the SoO camps are being monitored. In the early stage of the conflict between the Meiteis and the Kukis in 2023, the Security Advisor did talk about the inspection drives conducted at the SoO camps but since then no one knows whether the Government is keeping a tab on the movement of the SoO cadres or not. What is stopping the Government from inspecting the camps or is a permission needed from Delhi to check the camps ? If such a permission is needed, has any attempt been made to approach Delhi to check the camps ? Not the first time that The Sangai Express is raising this question, but remember too many people have died and the demand that the pact be abrogated is growing by the day. Only 18 cadres out of 140/150 present in the camp and this works out to a measly 10/15 percent. So where were the rest of the 80/90 percent of the cadres ? The CoBRA personnel have found this, but can one expect the Government to act on it ? Not likely, but can one expect the report to be placed before Delhi ? The answer is anyone’s guess.
Certain things must be clear. Over 85 percent of the cadres not present at the Sinai camp. This much is clear, but what about the arms supposed to be kept at a safehouse ? Can one expect an answer to this from the Government ? Not likely, but it is more than clear that as long as SoO cadres are given the long rope, peace and normalcy will be a pipe dream. Today it is about three woodcutters who were shot dead and tomorrow it could be anyone, anywhere. And earlier ? Go back to the Tribal Solidarity March of May 3, 2023, and how does one explain the presence of fully armed, dressed in battle fatigues cadres partcipating in the march and then later leading the mob towards the Meitei settlements at Torbung ? The absence of so many cadres from Sinai camp should also give a big lie to the recovery or country made guns and pumpis from the hills, especially after the call to surrender all illegal arms was issued during the PR tenure in Manipur. In the early stage of the conflict Delhi appeared to be overly concerned over the arms looted from different police armouries in the valley districts while talking about the violence in Manipur, but not once was any question raised on the guns used to rain bullets on settlements at the foothills and the guns used in firing at farmers tending to their fields in the valley area.