Meitei civil society organisations holds rally seeking NRC, scrapping of SoO pact

Meitei civil society organisations on Saturday held a public rally here to demand the implementation of NRC in the state and the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations SoO pact with Kuki militants. The committee said the SoO pact should be scrapped to stop legitimising, shielding and sustaining armed foreign-linked narco-terrorist groups operating in the hill areas of the restive state.

Meitei civil society organisations on Saturday held a public rally here to demand the implementation of NRC in the state and the abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with Kuki militants. In a statement, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an umbrella body of Meitei organisations, also demanded that the Centre must ensure the return of all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their respective homes with full security guarantees, rehabilitation, livelihood support, and protection from terror. The committee said the SoO pact should be scrapped to stop ''legitimising, shielding and sustaining armed foreign-linked narco-terrorist groups'' operating in the hill areas of the restive state. SoO is a tripartite agreement signed between the central government, the state government and dozens of Kuki and Zomi militant groups. It also demanded implementation of NRC or a similar mechanism to address demographic challenges in the state arising from long-term illegal immigration and that the Centre must guarantee the free, safe and uninterrupted movement of all citizens of the state on national highways.

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