Amid Mizoram's opposition, Manipur CM thanks PM, HM for fencing India-Myanmar border, scraping FMR

Imphal/Aizawl: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Sunday thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his announcements on fencing the India-Mayanmar border and scrapping the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between the two countries, saying that these assurances are the biggest gifts for the people of the state.

His response came a day after his Mizoram counterpart Lalduhoma on Saturday opposed both the fencing and ending of the FMR.

Reiterating his earlier position, Manipur Chief Minister while addressing the statehood day function here, also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking this decision to fence the 398-km India-Myanmar border with Manipur and cancelling the FMR.

Considering the vulnerability and threats of the 1,643 km unfenced India-Myanmar border spanning Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram, the Union Government has decided to fence the entire border and to scrap the FMR, which allows citizens residing close to both sides of the border to move 16 km into each other's territory without passport or visa.

The Union Home Minister, while addressing the passing out parade of 2,551 commandos of Assam Police in Guwahati on Saturday, said that the Centre has decided that India-Myanmar border would also be fenced on the lines of Indo-Bangladesh border, and is reconsidering the existing agreement between Myanmar and India for free movement.

The Mizoram Chief Minister, hours after the Home Minister's announcement, said in Aizawl on Saturday, that his government does not have the authority to stop the Central government from erecting border fencing along the India-Myanmar border and scrapping the FMR but would oppose both the moves.

He said that the border with Myanmar in Mizoram was "unilaterally imposed" by the British without consulting the people and the Mizo-Zo-Chin community people living on both sides of the border do not accept the boundary.

Lalduhoma said that Mizoram government and many other organisations in the state were opposed to the fencing of the India-Myanmar border and scrapping of the FMR as Mizos of Mizoram share similar ethnic and cultural ties with the people of the Chin-Zo community in Myanmar.

The Chief Minister said that during his last month's visit to Delhi, he had discussed both the fencing and the FMR issues with the PM, Home Minister and External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, and they did not oppose his appeal on both the issues.

Around 32,000 people from Myanmar, mostly from the Chin state, have taken refuge in Mizoram following the military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021.