RK Meghen alias Sanna Yaima, former president of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and the man who once led one of the longest armed insurgencies in Manipur, is now calling for peace to resolve the ongoing Meitei-Kukis and Kuki-Naga clashes in the state.
Megyn, 82, returned to New Delhi after nearly 16 years and began meeting Meitei and Naga civil society groups, urging dialogue to end the cycle of ethnic violence that has engulfed the state.
He led the National Liberation Front – one of Manipur’s oldest and most influential rebel groups – before being brought back from Dhaka in 2010 and later convicted of waging war against the country.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, he said he was no longer associated with either the FLN-Bambi faction, which is under a ceasefire agreement with the government, or the Koirang faction, which is not part of any peace agreement.
He said that his communications are conducted entirely in his personal capacity. During his years in hiding, when he was one of the country’s most wanted men, Megan ran the banned group from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
“I am also willing to talk to my Kuki brothers and am trying to reach out to them. Over the past three days, since my arrival in Delhi on July 3, I have been holding meetings with civil society members of the Meitei and Naga groups. The violence in Manipur has led to a lot of bloodshed. The future looks bleak for our next generation. I want to tell everyone that violence is not the answer. This crisis will not help anyone,” said Meghni, who was once one of the most wanted rebels in the state. Ne said.
His appeal from New Delhi came on the day two Assam Rifles personnel were killed in an ambush by militants in Manipur’s Ukrul district, and just a day earlier, several houses were burnt in Manipur in the Naga-Kuki clashes. Although the Kuki-Maiti clashes in Manipur, which began over 3 years ago, remain unresolved and have led to the death of nearly 300 people, the state is mired in the Naga-Kuki clashes that began in February this year. At least twenty people have been killed in the Naga-Kuki clashes in the past six months.
With large parts of the state divided along ethnic lines between Kukis, Nagas and Métis, Meighen warned that allowing the current situation to continue would jeopardize the future of generations.
The National Liberation Front is still considered the most influential rebel group in Manipur. To be sure, Megan made it clear that he is not associated with any group and has not been contacted by government agencies.
Meghna served behind bars for nearly 10 years after being formally arrested (from Bihar) by the NIA in 2010 before being released in 2019 and staying away from public life or the banned outfit.
“Communities must learn to co-exist and live together. The buffer zones created must be removed for the future of the state. What is happening in Manipur is not just a law and order problem which cannot be solved by army security forces. Foreign non-state actors are also stoking tension. People must come forward and speak out. I have started taking these small steps towards restoring peace by bringing all communities together,” he said.
