Mizo MP on FMR, border fencing

Lone Rajya Sabha member from Mizoram K. Vanlalvena on Friday told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the decision of the central government to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and fence the Indo-Myanmar sent shockwaves across Mizoram. In a letter submitted to Shah, Vanlalvena said that the present international border in Mizoram was arbitrarily demarcated by the British government without proper ground survey and with no regardfor the groundreality. “Due to the unjust actions of the British, our people were settled in three countries – India, East Pakistan and Burma. Most unfortunately, at the time of gaining independence from the British, 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,” he said.

“While we have been yearning for the day that this error would be corrected so that our people would be re-united under one administrative umbrella, the recent decision to fence the Mizoram-Myanmar border has come as most shocking news,” the MP said. He also said that the central government’s intention to withdraw the FMR came as a shocking news. “Our people who are settled on both sides have been able to earn their livelihood and be in contact with each other for the past 75 years after independence due to mechanisms like FMR and removal of such mechanism is bound to create great hardships for the people on both sides of the border,” he said. The logic of fencing the border to curb drug trafficking, gun running and smuggling of illegal goods cannot be justified, Vanlalvena said, adding that evidences of huge consignment of drugs and weapons being smuggled across Indo-Bangladesh international border after fences were erected is a clear example.

What such kind of fencing has achieved is only to deprive the people’s access to the rivers in the border areas which are their fishing grounds and the agriculture fields from which they have been earning their livelihood, he said, adding, “If such fencing is carried out in the Indo-Myanmar side, we only stand to lose more than 500 kms of precious fishing grounds and agricultural fields.” Meanwhile, Mizoram-Myanmar border at Zokhawthar-Khawmawibridge at Champhai-Chin state sector was briefly closed for movement of vehicles and people on Friday, forcing the people to cross the border river Tiau on foot. The closure was, however lifted at 3.30 PM. The move came after the centre suspended the FMR from Thursday. However, there have been no reports of border closure in other border areas. Mizoram shares 404-km-long porous international border with Myanmar. EOM