IMPHAL, Sept 7 - The first-ever tripartite talks at the �political level� with Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People�s Front (UPF) are likely to be held either by the end of this month or early next month, according to sources.
Just one meeting had been held after Dineshwar Sharma, New Delhi�s Interlocutor for the ongoing tripartite dialogues between KNO and UPF was appointed. �No political discussion� took place in the August 9 meeting.
According to �negotiator� of KNO Dr Seilen Haokip, the Interlocutor had told him that the tripartite talks are likely to be held either by the end of September or in the first week of October. Suspension of Operation (SoO) terms with KNO and UPF were extended for another one year which became effective from August 31.
Meanwhile, Dr Haokip has expressed the desire to make the Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) active and vibrant once again. He rued that the JMG has become �inactive�. He also said that matters related to the �ground rules� of the SoO should be confined within the ambit of the JMG.
On August 31, Hmar Inpui (the apex body of Hmar tribe), Thadou Inpi (apex body of Thadou tribe) and Zomi Council (apex body of Gangte, Kom, Mate, Paite, Simte, Tedim-Chin, Thangkhal, Vaiphei and Zou tribes) had urged the Interlocutor of the ongoing tripartite dialogues between UPF, KNO and the Government, to expedite the dialogues for �an early political solution�. They had also urged the Interlocutor to engage UPF leadership with �utmost sincerity to arrive at a pragmatic political autonomy for the tribals of Manipur within a given time-frame�.
On August 7, Kuki civil organisations had urged the �Kuki armed nationalists� to �unequivocally present the Kuki people�s demand for Statehood�, according to Kuki Inpi Manipur.
