United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
The oldest Meitei insurgent group in Manipur, the UNLF was founded in 1964 and is led by Rajkumar Meghen. The armed wing of this outfit is called the Manipur People's Army. The objective is to establish an independent and socialist Manipur, a state the UNLF claims was "annexed" by India in 1949. The outfit had an estimated strength of 2,500 as of 2005, with training camps believed to be in Burma and Bangladesh. In 1990, the UNLF along with other NE insurgent groups like ULFA, NSCN-K and the Kuki National Army floated the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front to wage a "united struggle for the independence of Indo-Burma." The outfit has consistently attacked security personnel.
In February 2005, the UNLF mooted a four-point proposal to bring the Indo-Manipur conflict to an end. The proposal included: a plebiscite under United Nations supervision to elicit the opinion of the people of Manipur on the core issue of Manipur's independence; deployment of a UN peace keeping force in Manipur to ensure the process is free and fair; surrender of arms by the UNLF to the UN force, matched with the withdrawal of Indian troops; and handing over of political power by the UN in accordance with the results of the plebiscite. These conditions were unacceptable to the GOI and no progress has been made so far.
History
The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest
Meitei insurgent group in the State was formed under the
leadership of Arambam Samarendra Singh on November 24, 1964 to
achieve independence and a socialist society. It was a
secessionist organisation and was the culmination of several
movements like the shadowy Pan-Mongoloid movement and the
Revolutionary Nationalist Party (RNP), which raised the
banner of independence in 1953. Later, differences within the
outfit surfaced over the issue of strategies to be adopted.
While Samarendra Singh sought to spread ideological
consciousness before launching an armed struggle, the more
radical leader Oinam Sudhir Kumar established Revolutionary
Government of Manipur (RGM) in December 1968.
UNLF remained a social organisation for a decade after this, and
took to arms again only in the early nineties. By mid-1990, the
front decided to launch an armed struggle for the 'liberation'
of Manipur from India. In the same year, it formed an armed wing
called Manipur People's Army (MPA). Soon after its
formation, UNLF launched its first armed action against Indian
security force in Loktak hydel project area, 30 km from Imphal
in December 1991. In that ambush five Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) personnel were killed by MPA militants. In 1990, a
faction led by Namoijam Oken left UNLF and formed the UNLF (Oken
group). This led to bloody factional clashes between the two
groups, which claimed more than one hundred deaths. Later, UNLF
Oken group merged with splinter groups of the Kangleipak
Communist Party (KCP) and the People's Revolutionary Party of
Kangleipak (PREPAK) and formed the Kanglei Yawol Kanna
Lup (KYKL).
In the nineties, the front undertook a social reformation
campaign against rampant alcoholism, gambling, drug peddling and
drug abuse. The front even helped in solving private and petty
disputes. UNLF has claimed to have shot death more than 50
rapists. UNLF has been on war with NSCN- (IM) since 1991. The
ongoing conflict has claimed many cadres on both sides. The main
reason for this conflict is attributed to the NSCNIM's demand to
include four districts of Manipur in creating a "Greater
Nagaland" which UNLF firmly opposed to and has been challenging
the Naga militant group to protect the territorial integrity of
Manipur. UNLF has accused NSCN- (IM) of anti-Manipur policies
and charged that NSCN- (IM) is trying to destroy the communal
harmony by instigating, first, the Naga-Kuki bloodbath of 1993
against the Kukis as part of their "ethnic cleansing" plan, then
initiating the Paite- Kuki bloodshed.
Samarendra the founder and first General Secretary of UNLF was
killed by suspected Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) militants
while attending a seminar in Imphal on June 10, 2001. From 1993
UNLF started observing October 15 as "National Resolve Day".
From September 21 to October 15 every year, UNLF observed the
period as "Oppose Indian Annexation Month".
Objectives
The UNLF aims to establish an independent socialist Manipur. The
front also aims at establishing a "revolutionary front" by
uniting all the militant groups operating in Northeast. Its
ideology is to create a society based on equality - equality
among different groups of people living in the Northeast region.
Leaders
In 2003, the structure of UNLF Central Committee has been
changed following a decision at its General Assembly Session.
The structure of the new Central Committee are as follows:
Chairman - Rajkumar Meghen aka Sana Yaima
Vice-Chairman - Vacant
General Secretary - Kh. Pambei
Secretary of Defence - A. Wangpa
Secretary of Organisation - M. Nongyai
Secretary of Publicity - N. Thabal
Associate Member - N.C. Koireng
Command Structure
The Central Committee of UNLF is the highest decision making
body. Its armed wing - MPA operates under different district
commands. A District command is headed by a district commander
and it is further divided into units. The front's armed wing MPA
has three well-trained mobile task forces - Wangbran Task Force,
Siroy Task Force and Maril Task Force. The front also maintains
an organizational cell, which takes up developmental and welfare
measures for the people. Department of Publicity and Propaganda
is the publicity wing of the front and all press releases and
propaganda work is done by it. The front also has a women's
wing. The Chief of the women's wing is Nganbi and Banti is the
Deputy Chief. These three task forces are there.
Strength
A large chunk of its MPA fights are
concentrated in Chandel and Churachandpur districts.
Areas of
Operation
In the eighties, the front's primary area of operation was
confined to the three Valley districts - Imphal, Thoubal and
Bishenpur. However from the early 90s, it began to mobilise in
the hilly areas of the state. Presently, the front is active in
Churchandpur and some parts of Chandel districts. It is also
reported that there is a strong presence of UNLF cadres in the
Jiribam sub-division. In these hilly areas, the MPA strikes at
will and neutralized army operations against them on various
occasions. The five day-long encounter between MPA and Indian
security forces in Sajik Tampak area in January 2003 is a clear
indication of the spreading influence of UNLF in the hilly
district of Chandel. Of late, the front has spread its tentacles
to some parts of Cachar district (Assam). In July 2002, a group
of MPA cadres ambushed a column of Indian Army and killed three
soldiers.
Funding
Extortion
The funding for the front mainly comes from extortion from
government employees, businessmen, contractors etc. The front
used to collect some percentage from the monthly salaries of all
the employees of the state until it formally declared in January
2002 that the front would not anymore collect monthly salaries.
It is believed that UNLF also receive money from its
sympathisers.
Supply of Arms
Highly placed official sources said that UNLF has been procuring
large stocks of weapons from black markets in Thailand,
Singapore and Cambodia and started selling arms and ammunition
to several Northeast underground organisations. There are
reports that the front has, of late sold weapons to United
National Liberation Front (ULFA) and National Democratic Front
of Bodoland (NDFB). It has also supplied arms and ammunition to
Tripura's insurgent groups like All Tripura Tribal Force (ATTF).
Income Generating Projects
Although there is no official source indicating UNLF's income
generating business establishments, one can speculate from the
seizure of a large stock of arms and ammunition and gem stones
worth crores from its hideout in the Tamu area of India and
Myanmar border by the Myanmarese Junta in December 2002 that the
front has involved in gems and gold smuggling to finance its
activities.
Training Camps
It also maintains close association with the NSCN-(K). UNLF
cadres received military training in the areas controlled by
National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang group) in
Upper Myanmar bordering Nagaland and Myanmar till the
mid-nineties. But its training camps have come down in recent
years and UNLF cadres are now mainly receiving training in
Manipur's southern hilly areas. Its General Headquarters (GHQs)
is located in Sajik Tampak areas of Chandel district and it is
reported that there are many camps in this area. Besides, the
front has established mobile training camps in Churachandpur
district.
Major Incidents
1999
February 15: UNLF militants kill nine security force personnel
in Churachandpur district.
2000
May 8: Eight MPA militants are killed in an encounter in Wangoo
Laipham, Thoubal district.
June 10: Arambam Samarendra - UNLF founder who was also a
Manipuri play right and social worker, is killed in Imphal.
2001
February13: UNLF chairman Sana Yaima, speaking at the 36th
anniversary of the outfit appreciates Union Government's
willingness to hold talks with insurgent groups of Northeast.
He, however, says issues such as independence of Manipur, right
to self-determination must be brought under the ambit of
negotiations.
October 4: UNLF kill two security force personnel and injures
four others in an ambush in Chandel district.
October 14: Three security force personnel are killed by MPA
militants at Kwakta in Bishenpur district.
December: The Myanmar Army arrest 192 UNLF militants including
its chairman Sana Yaima from Tamu and Kalamyeo areas following a
series of raids on their hideouts. Myanmarese Army seizes around
1,500 sophisticated weapons, over Rs. One core in cash, a huge
quantity of gold and 20 rocket launchers from their hideouts.
2002
January 16: A UNLF press statement says the outfit would
not participate in the forthcoming State Assembly elections, due
in February 2002.
February 14: All the 192 UNLF militants arrested in December
2001 by the Myanmar Army are set free. The release tool place in
four batches beginning in January 3.
December 8: Ukhrul Superintendent of Police escapes UNLF ambush.
However, four other policemen are killed.
2003
January 1: MPLF, which includes the UNLF, asks all the outfits
in Northeast to put to an end to extortion in the name of armed
movement, commencing from January 15, 2003.
January 10: Three militants affiliated to the MPLF, are killed
in a prolonged encounter at Sajik Tampak in the Chandel
district.
June 12: Rival militant outfits of UNLF and UKLF agree to end
hostilities between themselves.
June 30: Assam Rifles personnel kill two UNLF militants,
including a 'district commander', in an encounter at Mayang
Imphal in Imphal West district.
July 21: Security force personnel kill at least seven UNLF
militants in an encounter at Moreh in Chandel district.
2004
January 5: Suspected cadres of Manipur People's Army (MPA),
armed wing of the UNLF, kill one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
personnel at Khumoi village in the Churachandpur district.
January 6: UNLF hands over one of the killers of Lungnila
Elizabeth, the minor daughter of a Manipur legislator who was
kidnapped and killed in November 2003, to women activists at an
undisclosed location in the Imphal East district.
April 6: UNLF bans 14th Lok Sabha elections in Manipur. The
front warns poll related activities like holding of public
meetings, campaigning, flag hosting should be stopped with
immediate effect.
April 16: A team of Imphal East commandos kill three cadres of
UNLF after a fierce encounter in Yairipok Yambem. Police recover
two AK-47 rifles, one Lathod bomb, 15 bullets and a small arm
from the slain militants.
June 12: Indian Army kill three MPA cadres in an encounter at
Holjang village near Joupi in Chandel district.
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