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Imphal, Nov 30: Federation of Civil Society Organizations (FOCS) Manipur on Thursday welcomed the “peace agreement” which a major rebel group based in Manipur signed with the Centre and the state government of Manipur.
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The United National Liberation Front, one of the oldest rebel groups of Manipur, inked the “peace agreement” with the Government of India and the Manipur government in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“We welcome the peace agreement,” said FOCS president Th Manihar who addressed a press conference at its office in Imphal’s Wangkhei today.
He said that the signing of the “peace agreement” has given a ray of hope to the people of the restive state that there would be an end to the protracted armed struggle with a solution agreeable by all.
He asserted that armed struggle is not the only way to regain sovereignty while urging other rebel groups to come forward and hold table talks.
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Coming out to the negotiating table by a rebel group would be the first step toward a long lasting peace in the state, he added.
He also said that in order to achieve the goal, other rebel groups also try their best to come out to the negotiating table.
“If all the rebel groups come together and hold talks with the government of India, what the rebel groups targeted and what the indigenous people of the state wanted will be achieved”, he hoped.
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The FOCS president then appealed to the people of the state to support the step which the rebel group put forward for the lasting peace in the state.
To note here, Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh while hailing the signing of “peace agreement” had expressed, on his Facebook, hope for a new era of peace and progress in Manipur.
He further wrote that signing a “peace agreement” was a testament to the relentless efforts of the BJP government in bringing peace and development in the northeast states and Manipur.
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The UNLF resorted to armed struggle to regain the sovereignty of the erstwhile Kingdom of Manipur was formed under the leadership of late Areambam Samrendra Singh on November 24, 1964.
During the initial stage, that is, in the seventies and eighties, the UNLF concentrated mainly on mobilization and recruitment. The front formed its armed wing, Manipur People’s Army (MPA) in February 1987 and picked up arms and launched an armed struggle for the ‘liberation’ of Manipur from India.
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