HT Correspondent
DIMAPUR, Feb 18: With the cries growing louder in the Northeast against the Centre’s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and fence the India-Myanmar border, leaders of indigenous people’s organisations of four states of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam came together to raise a common voice to push for reconsideration of the decision.
Besides the leaders of the indigenous communities, political parties of Nagaland, including ruling Nationalist Democratic Party, Naga People’s Front and Rising People’s Party and other individuals gathered at a symposium on India-Myanmar border issue, organised by the Nagaland Indigenous People’s Organisation, here on Friday night to deliberate on the Centre’s decision.
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Various speakers put forward their suggestions and called for a common platform of the indigenous people of the Northeast to push the Centre for reconsideration of the decision.
A 12-member core committee, comprising members from the indigenous tribal organisations, was also formed at the meeting to press the government of India to revoke its decision. The meeting also decided to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him how the scrapping of the FMR and border fencing is going to impact the people of the region, especially those living in border areas.
As per the draft representation to be sent to the PM, the move to repeal the FMR and fencing the border was not only impractical but also dehumanizing.
“The decision to do away with the FMR and erect border fencing is not only impractical and dehumanizing to the communities living on both sides of the border but also such an approach may only diminish the prospects for peace and wellbeing in the restive region,” it said.
“The security argument that your government has used to justify the removal of FMR stands in contradiction to the diplomatic and strategic outreach with the neighbouring countries and, more importantly, it violates the indigenous rights of the border communities. We strongly oppose the security-centric approach to border management,” it said.
The draft representation stressed that as a signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), India’s approach to the indigenous peoples in the Indo-Myanmar border must be guided by the principles of the Declaration.
Also, underlining that the collective aspiration of the indigenous communities of the NE should not be ignored, it sought to urge the PM to explore other measures to urgently address the present concerns of the indigenous people to consolidate the efforts towards building peace and amity “that is so vital for all-round human and economic development in this strategically sensitive border region”.
The organisations of indigenous communities such as Kuki Inpi Manipur, Zo Reunification Organisation (Mizoram), Kuki Inpi Nagaland, Indigenous peoples of Mung-Dun-Chun-Kham, Assam, North East India, Manipur Naga Youth Organisation, Nagaland GB Federation, Nagaland Tribes Council, Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation, Senior Citizens Association Nagaland, United Naga Tribes Association on Border Areas, Project Constitutional justice, The Naga Rising, Chakhroma Youth Organisation among others attended the meeting. Today’s gathering also included political parties like the NPF, NDPP and RPP and former bureaucrat KK Sema, former MP C Apok Jamir and NPF MLA Kuzholuzo Nienu.
Former Indian ambassador to Myanmar Gautam Mukhophadhyaya also took part in the discussion on invitation. He said the existing Indo-Myanmar border has been largely accepted by the cross-border populations so long as the FMR remained in effect. However, once removed, further risk lurks in the form of counter-territorial claims from both sides of the imaginary border, he stated.
