Aizawl: Central committee of the Young Mizo Association, or Central YMA (CYMA), urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to revise the Centre’s decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and lift the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with the neighbouring country, said a CYMA leader on Sunday.
According to the 2011 census, YMA is the largest civil society organisation in Mizoram, with more than 4 lakh members out of the state’s nearly 11 lakh population.
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CYMA general secretary Malsawmliana told an agency that leaders of the association met Shah during his visit to the state on Saturday and submitted a memorandum urging him to stop fencing the Indo-Myanmar border and reconsider the plan to lift the FMR.
The memorandum said that the proposed scrapping of the FMR and fencing the international border would have a detrimental effect on the vital ethnic and cultural linkage between ethnic Mizos of India and Myanmar as well as their livelihoods.
It said that the FMR has been a vital mechanism in maintaining ethnic and cultural connections and fostering brotherhood between the Mizo communities of the two countries.
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“The proposed abolition of the FMR and the implementation of border fencing would have a detrimental effect on the vital ethnic and cultural connections, disrupting the harmonious co-existence and cultural exchange that have been integral to the lives of Mizos We firmly believed that the scrapping of the FMR and the erection of border fence would not only disrupt these cultural connections but also the lives and livelihoods of the Mizo people on both sides,” the memorandum said.
Mizoram has been providing shelter to about 40,000 refugees from Myanmar’s Chin state, who share ethnic ties with the Mizos, since the military takeover in the neighbouring country in 2021.
Besides, the state also hosts 2,000 refugees from Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and 12,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Manipur.
The memorandum urged the Centre to extend humanitarian assistance and provide additional funds to support the YMA and other organisations’ efforts in providing relief to refugees and IDPs.
The CYMA also placed several demands, including upgradation of Lengpui airport, allocation of more funds for combating drugs, inclusion of Mizo language in the 8th schedule and creation of a Mizo battalion under the Border Security Force (BSF).
Malsawmlian said that Shah assured them of upgradation of Lengpui airport, which will be executed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the work will be completed within six months.
Shah told the leaders that the Centre would provide financial assistance to the state government to provide relief to the refugees and IDPS, he said.
Regarding lifting the FMR and erection of border fence, the Home Minister informed the CYMA leaders that it requires careful deliberations and suggested to them that they should send representatives to Delhi, according to Malsawmliana.