KOHIMA, 10 Feb: The Nagaland government has decided to hold a meeting with tribal bodies and civil society organisations on the Centre’s decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and abolish the free movement regime (FRM) between the two countries.
Interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme in Phek district on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton said that the state cabinet took the decision on 8 February.
Asked about the date of the meeting, Patton said that it would be held at the earliest.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had recently said that consultations with civil society organisations are required before implementation of the Centre’s decision, as many Naga people of the state have properties on the other side of the international border.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced that the central government has decided to fence the over 1,600 km stretch of the Indo-Myanmar border falling in the Northeast, ending the FMR up to 16 kms.
Four Northeastern states – Arunachal, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland – share a border with Myanmar.
The NSCN (IM), which is negotiating with the Centre on the Naga political issue, has stated that the decision cannot be accepted.
Various other Naga civil societies, tribal organisations, Naga political groups and also the chief angh (king) of Longwa village in Mon district, whose house has be divided into two nations, have also objected to the decision.
The Naga Students’ Federation, a major student body in the state, on Thursday appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene in the matter.
Mizoram MP asks Centre to reconsider decision to fence border
Mizoram’s lone Rajya Sabha member K Vanlalvena has written to union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to reconsider the Centre’s decision to fence the India-Myanmar border, and asserted that the move would create hardship for Mizo people.
The MP said also that it is learnt that “there is an intention to withdraw the free movement regime which allows people to cross up to 16 kms on both sides of the international border.”
“If such fencing is carried out on the India-Myanmar side, we only stand to lose more than 500 kms of precious fishing grounds and agricultural land,” the Mizoram MP said.
Vanlalvena also stated that the removal of the free movement regime is bound to create hardship for people on both sides.
He said that the current international boundary with the neighbouring country was arbitrarily demarcated by the British without proper ground survey.
“…this wrongly demarcated border was never corrected but simply forced upon us as the new international border which remains till this day as a great injustice to our people,” Vanlalvena wrote in the letter on Thursday.
He said that the Centre’s decision to fence the international border has shocked the Mizo people.
Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma had already objected to the Centre’s decision to erect a fence along the India-Myanmar border. (PTI)
