UNLF cadres during the surrender ceremony. (Photo via special arrangement.)
Imphal/Kohima/New Delhi: The United National Liberation Front, Manipur’s oldest insurgent group, has surrendered after a tripartite agreement between the group, the Centre and the Manipur state government, the Union home minister, Amit Shah, announced on Wednesday. The peace agreement was signed between the three parties in New Delhi.
Shah, while announcing this development on X, also posted images of the surrender. Calling it a “historic milestone”, he said the group has agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream. “I welcome them to the democratic processes and wish them all the best in their journey on the path of peace and progress,” he wrote.
A historic milestone achieved!!!
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 29, 2023
Modi govt’s relentless efforts to establish permanent peace in the Northeast have added a new chapter of fulfilment as the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) signed a peace agreement, today in New Delhi.
UNLF, the oldest valley-based armed… pic.twitter.com/AiAHCRIavy
Dozens of its cadres laid down their arms in the state at a ceremony in the presence of senior security and other government officials. This marks the end of the group’s insurgency movement for a sovereign Manipur state that the armed group had been running for the last 60 years.
A historic milestone achieved!!!
— India Sentinels (@indiasentinels) November 29, 2023
The government signed a peace agreement with Manipur-based United National Liberation Front (UNLF) as part of its relentless efforts to establish permanent peace in the Northeast.
UNLF has agreed to renounce violence and join the mainstream. pic.twitter.com/RmBxkwDyFY
The UNLF was once headed by former separatist and now politician RK Meghen, who reportedly joined the group in 1976. It was under him the group became a formidable insurgency outfit. However, Meghen left the group, which led to the group splitting into several factions.
The surrender, however, doesn’t mean that it is the end of insurgency in Manipur. Several other groups, like the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), etc, are still active in the valley despite some of them being in temporary ceasefire currently with the Union of India.
