The Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday extended the ban on several Meitei militant organisations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for five years for advocating the secession of Manipur through armed means.
A gazette notification referred to the groups collectively as Meitei Extremist Organisations.
The groups are the Peoples’ Liberation Army and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front, the United National Liberation Front and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army, the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak and its armed wing, the Red Army, the Kangleipak Communist Party and its armed wing, also called the Red Army, the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup, the Coordination Committee and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak.
Of these, the Peoples’ Liberation Army, the United National Liberation Front, the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak, the Kangleipak Communist Party and the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup had already been outlawed, PTI reported.
The ministry said that the factions, related wings and front organisations of these groups are also banned.
In the notification, the ministry accused the groups of engaging in activities harmful to the sovereignty and integrity of India through armed means as well as attacking and killing security forces, police officials and civilians in Manipur.
The ministry also accused them of intimidating and extorting civilians for money and securing assistance from foreign entities for weapons, training and sanctuary.
The Centre said that if the organisations are not curbed, they will conduct violent acts, including killing civilians and security forces, and other unlawful activities.
According to a 2018 notification extending the ban at that time, the organisations were involved in 756 violent incidents between January 1, 2013 and July 31, 2018. During the same period, they had killed 86 persons, including 35 members of the security forces, The Hindu reported. The ministry did not update these figures in Monday’s notification.
Meanwhile, an unidentified senior government official told The Hindu that the Centre has found eight of these groups to be involved in the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur.
Manipur has been reeling under ethnic clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities. Over 200 people have been killed since the conflict broke out in early May. Nearly 60,000 persons have been forced to flee their homes.
Also read: Ramachandra Guha: Six months of chaos in Manipur show utter failure of double-engine government
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