Imphal. After the Manipur government, several Naga civil bodies and organisations in the state have urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to send back illegal immigrants from Myanmar to their country, sources said on Saturday. Sources said the Naga organisations submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister earlier this week, requesting him to send back illegal immigrants from Myanmar.
The memorandum states that about 5,457 illegal immigrants from Myanmar have taken refuge in eight Tangkhul villages of Kamjong district of Manipur and their number is more than the local residents. After visiting the India-Myanmar border areas on a fact-finding mission recently, the United Naga Council (UNC), Naga Women’s Union (NWU), All Naga Students Association Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPM-HR) submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister.
A UNC leader said a section of migrants is involved in illegal and anti-social activities and law enforcement agencies are unable to prevent such activities. “Though biometrics data of 5,173 people have been taken, monitoring the activities of adult male inmates (illegal immigrants) has become a big challenge. The authorities cannot carry out regular verification operations amid the fluctuating number of inmates during the day and night in those temporary refugee camps,” the UNC leader said on condition of anonymity.
A Manipur home department official said the state government, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and central security forces, has deported 115 Myanmar nationals, including women and children, in three phases since March 8. The Myanmarese immigrants were deported through the Moreh border in Manipur’s Tengnoupal district. Manipur has an unfenced border of about 400 km with Myanmar.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had earlier said that though India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it has provided shelter and assistance to people fleeing crises in Myanmar on humanitarian grounds. Since the military took over Myanmar more than three years ago, at least 8,000 Myanmarese have taken refuge in Manipur’s Tengnoupal, Chandel, Churachandpur and Kamjong districts, while more than 36,000 people have taken refuge in Mizoram.
Following the advice of the Home Ministry, the Manipur government is collecting biometric details of Myanmar nationals taking refuge in the state. However, the Mizoram government had initially rejected the Home Ministry’s appeal to collect biometric data of Myanmar refugees. But, recently the state government has decided to collect biometric details of the refugees.
Tags: Amit shah, india myanmar, gujarati
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 15, 2024, 20:03 IST