Imphal, May 03: The armed secessionist movement in Manipur seems to be a hard nut for the Army authorities to crack even it they claim to have flushed out militants from some parts of the State.

Though the Army succeeded in flushing out militants from some parts of the State, they would not be able to suppress the ongoing armed armed movement in Manipur completely as the movement always gain ground in some other parts of the State, according to some of the top Army officers who are directly involved in the counterinsurgency operation being launched in the interior parts of Churachandpur district.

Talking to media-persons who had gone to the area recently, the Army officers admitted that they are encountering various unforeseen inconveniences in fighting the militants in Manipur unlike in other parts of the country like Jammu and Kashmir where the problem is created by mercenaries coming from across the border.

Unlike in Jammu and Kashmir, the armed movement in Manipur is being taken up by the native people themselves and it is difficult for the Army to differentiate the common people from the armed militants, they said adding that Army could not face the militants entirely on their own.

The Army officers who wanted to remain anonymous observed that the problem in Manipur should be resolved through political dialogue only and not militarily.

Turning the table on the mediapersons, one of the Army officers asked whether they (media-persons) believed that Manipur would become independent from India and how would it come about. Before the media-persons could give a reply, the Army officer again asked the ratio of the population who are for independence of Manipur from India and who are against it.

As the mediapersons did not give a direct reply to the question, the Army officer repeated the question to which one of the mediapersons opined that the ratio is rightly balanced.

At long last, the said Army officer added that he is a Nationalist and believes in unity and integrity of India.

On the other hand, although the Govt of India has stated that the doors are opened for holding peace talks with the underground outfits to bring about a solution to the problem, it is yet to give a definite reply on the demand for holding plebiscite under UN supervision raised by the people in response to the call of underground outfits like UNLF.

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