Aizawl: A day after Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma urged civil societies and the public to remain calm on the issue of Free Movement Regime (FMR) being scrapped and fencing along Indo-Myanmar border, the state’s NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC) announced its decision Wednesday to take further action.
The NGOCC is a conglomerate of central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or women’s organisation, Mizoram Upa Pawl (MUP) or elders’ association, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) or students’ federation, and Mizo Students Union (MSU).
The NGOCC is organising a public gathering in Aizawl on 21 February in protest against the scrapping of FMR and the fencing along the 404-km-long Mizoram-Myanmar international border.
The NGOCC had Tuesday sent a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah through the state governor, urging him to reconsider both moves.
The memorandum asked India — a signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) 2007 — to assert the rights of indigenous people who are divided by international borders.
“The Free Movement Regime is a vital mechanism in maintaining the ethnic and cultural linkages between the Mizo people living on both sides of the border,” the memorandum, which ThePrint has seen, said.
The NGOCC added that ending the FMR and fencing the border would have detrimental effects on “these vital ethnic and cultural connections, disrupting the harmonious coexistence and cultural exchange that has been integral to the lives of the Mizo people living in both sides of the two neighbouring countries.”
Speaking at a press conference upon his return from a three-day official visit to the national capital, CM Lalduhoma had Tuesday stated that he had discussed the issue of the proposed removal of FMR and border fencing with Shah extensively.
“While the Union home minister did not explicitly confirm the abandonment of the border fencing or the retention of FMR, based on our discussions, I am optimistic that the Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram will not be fenced. I urge all stakeholders not to panic. There is no cause for alarm,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Mizo National Front (MNF), the largest opposition party in the state, said Wednesday that the party vehemently opposed the termination of FMR and fencing of Mizoram-Myanmar border and expressed full support to the steps being taken by the NGOCC. The MNF accused the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) government of not being firm enough in opposing the Centre’s moves.
“The MNF had all along opposed these moves, and the cabinet meeting chaired by then Chief Minister Zoramthanga, in later part of 2023, had declined to undertake collection of biometric and biographic data of Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the state, as ordered by the Centre,” said a statement released by the party.
Scrapping of FMR and fencing of Mizoram-Myanmar border, the statement added, will amount to acceptance of the border demarcated by the colonial British government as the border is regarded as imposed on the Mizo people without being consulted or heard.
It also said that the MNF has been looking forward to the unification of all ethnic Mizos living in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh under a single administration.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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