Mizo NGOCC opposed FMR and Border fencing

Even as state Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Tuesday tried to reassure civil societies and the public by urging them to remain calm on the issues of lifting of Free Movement Regime (FMR) and Indo-Myanmar border fencing, Mizoram’s NGO Coordination Committee continues to be on the war-path and announced the decision on Wednesday for further actions. The NGOCC is a conglomerate of central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or women’s organization, 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 February 21 in protest against the scrapping of FMR and erection of fencing along the 404-km-long Mizoram-Myanmar international border.The NGOCC on Tuesdayhad sent a memorandum to Union Home MinisterAmit Shah through the state governor, urging him to reconsider the decision to remove the FMR and fencing of India and Myanmar border in Mizoram. The memorandum urged India, being a signatory of UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) 2007, to assert the rights of indigenous people who are divided by international borders.”The Free Movement Regime is vital mechanism in maintaining the ethnic and cultural linkages between the Mizo people living on both sides of the border,” the memorandum said.

The NGOCC opined that ending the FMR and fencing the border would have detrimental effect 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, Lalduhoma on Tuesday stated that he had extensively discussed the issue of the proposed removal of FMR and border fencing with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “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, emphasizing his appeal for calm assurance. Meanwhile, Mizo National Front (MNF), the largest opposition party in the state, said on Wednesday that the party vehemently opposed the termination of FMR and fencing of Mizoram-Myanmar border.

The MNF expressed full support to the steps being taken by the NGOCC in opposing the proposed discarding of the FMR and border fencing accusing the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) government of being not 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,” the party said. Scrapping of FMR and fencing of Mizoram-Myanmar border 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, a press release issued by the MNF said. It also said that the party has been looking forward to unification of all the ethnic Mizos living in India, Myanmar and Bangladesh under a single administration.