Manipur tribal bodies reiterate opposition to Indo-Myanmar border fencing, FMR

Imphal: At least ten tribal organisations in Manipur including the influential Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) on Sunday once again urged the Centre not to fence the India-Myanmar border and not to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR).

The tribal organisations in a joint statement said that if the fencing is done along the India-Myanmar border and scrap the FMR then it would not be possible in maintaining social, cultural, and economic ties between tribal communities who live on both sides of the border.

The tribal organisations’ joint statement said that the ITLF wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on January 24 requesting him to reverse the decision to scrap the FMR and to stop border fencing along the Myanmar frontier.

The people of Mizoram and Nagaland have also voiced their opposition to border fencing, citing the importance of FMR in maintaining social, cultural, and economic ties between tribal communities who live on both sides of the border, the statement said.

The tribal bodies requested all tribals, especially village chiefs and government employees, not to participate in any border fencing activities that would “split our people on either side of the border”.

The FMR allows citizens residing close to both sides of the border to move 16 km into each other’s territory without a passport or visa.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu and both the state governments are in favour of the border fencing and scrapping of FMR while Mizoram and Nagaland Chief Ministers and the two state governments are not supporting the move.

The Manipur Chief Minister said that to check infiltration, drugs smuggling, and to prevent other cross-border illegal activities, the Union Home Ministry through the Border Roads Organisations (BRO) is erecting fencing along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier announced the scrapping of the FMR and the erection of fencing along the 1,643 km long India-Myanmar border to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of the northeastern states bordering Myanmar.

Four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km), and Mizoram (510 km) -- share a 1,643 km unfenced border with Myanmar.

Out of four northeastern states, which share borders with Myanmar, only works for fencing of the 20 km of the mountainous borders with Manipur are now underway.