Hindu Description | Why are the central and Mizoram governments different on the issue of Myanmar refugees?

the story So Far: With the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February, Mizoram is caught between a humanitarian urge and India’s policy on refugees. At least 1,000 people from the nearby Chin state of Myanmar are said to have crossed Mizoram for fear of military escalation. The Mizoram government favors asylum to Chin, who belongs to the majority of Mizos in the state, but the Ministry of Home Affairs has made it clear that “India is not concerned with the status of refugees at the 1951 United Nations Convention.” And the 1967 Protocol Theron ”.

When did the arrival of refugees begin?

A month after the military coup, heat was felt in Mizoram when three policemen crossed the village of Lungkavalh in Serchhip district. Within weeks, the number increased to around 400. According to the State Home Department, most of the asylum seekers were from the Myanmar Police and Fire Services Department. He had to flee after joining the civil resistance movement.

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The citizens of Myanmar came from Hanthiyal, Champai, Satual and Serchhip districts. Most of the refugees reached across the Tiyu River, which is in most of Mizoram’s 510-kilometer border with Myanmar.

Is this the first time?

Extremism, anti-terrorism and communal violence drove the people of Myanmar out of India in the past as well. In 2017, more than 1,200 Buddhists and Christians from the Arakan state of Myanmar took refuge in the Longtalai district of Mizoram in 2017. They fled their homes after the Myanmar army collided with the extremist Arakan army. The refugees stayed back for over a year. Thousands of Chin are said to have been living in Mizoram for more than 40 years.

There are other examples, though not on this scale. Manipur, too, has been dealing with the issue of income, albeit on a smaller scale, for a long time. The villages of Kuki-zomi were often inhabited by people from Myanmar.

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How much is the border?

Unlike India’s border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, most of the border with Myanmar is without any fence. The personnel of the Assam Rifles guard the border but a difficult terrain gets in the way of maintaining airtight violations.

There have been calls for fencing on the border. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, Arunachal Pradesh MP Tapir Gao said that fencing the border would help in checking the movement of extremist groups from and to Myanmar.

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Some people are against the idea that a fence will make “free movement” of border residents difficult in each other’s country. Was in both countries 2018 agreed to streamline the movement of people within 16 km on both sides of the border. There are more than 250 villages within 10 km of the Indo-Myanmar border with about 300,000 people.

Where do the Center and Mizoram stand now?

As a humanitarian gesture, the Mizoram government on 26 February issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to the Deputy Commissioners of the border districts to facilitate the entry of refugees and migrants. The SOP said that all Myanmar nationals entering Mizoram would be properly identified in connection with political developments in the country.

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The government said that those who pose a threat to their lives should be treated as refugees, given medical care, relief and rehabilitation and protection. But the SOP was repealed on 6 March after the Center made the state aware of its displeasure with the development. On 10 March, the North East Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a letter to the principal secretaries of Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and the Director General of Assam Rifles, directing them not to allow refugees from Myanmar and to take appropriate action. Gave instructions. Law. The ministry stated that state governments have no powers to “grant refugee status to a foreigner”.

Mizoram is not happy about this. “They are like family … We share ethnic ties with them,” of Mizoram. Rajya Sabha member from Vanlalvena said. “We do not want the Indian government to grant them full-time citizenship or employment. The only thing we ask is that these refugees be allowed to stay until their country returns to normal. ”