AIZAWL, Jan 17: The Zo Re-Unification Organization (ZORO), a Chin-Kuki-Mizo group based in Mizoram, will hold demonstrations in Aizawl and other parts of the state on January 29 to protest the alleged scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the introduction of a border pass system along the Indo-Myanmar border, a leader said on Friday.
The organisation, representing all ethnic Zo or Mizo tribes in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, convened a meeting chaired by its president R Sangkawia to discuss key issues, including the alleged scrapping of the FMR, fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border and deportation of Bangladeshi refugees from the state, organisation general secretary L Ramdinliana Renthlei said.
“The meeting decided to stage demonstrations in Aizawl and other parts of the state,” Renthlei said.
In a statement, ZORO urged the Centre to revoke the ‘notification’ ending the FMR with Myanmar.
Previously, the organisation had called for the reinstatement of the FMR, which allowed visa-free movement across the India-Myanmar border, and demanded the cancellation of the order mandating border passes for residents within a 10-km radius on either side of the international boundary.
Sangkawia claimed that the ministry of home affairs recently replaced the FMR with a new system to regulate movement across the border.
“Under the new system, effective from January 1, people residing within 10 km of the border on either side must obtain a border pass to visit each other,” Sangkawia said. (PTI)