Hold deportation of our nationals on humanitarian ground: Myanmar group's appeal to Manipur govt

Guwahati: Burma Refugee Committee-Kabaw Valley, a pro-democracy organisation in Myanmar, on Sunday urged the Manipur government to hold deportation of Myanmar nationals on humanitarian grounds as the same could land them in the hands of the military junta.

The appeal came days after the BJP government in Manipur deported seven Myanmar nationals and said all 77 would be deported in batches. The Myanmar nationals, who entered Manipur illegally, are lodged in foreigners detention camps. The government began deporting them in view of the growing anger among the majority Meitei community.

"We are extremely worried that handing the Myanmar nationals to the Junta would prompt the military regime to use them as human shields on the battlefields. We express our utmost concern and sympathy for their safety if they are to be deported as per the plan announced some time ago.

"For this, we respectfully request the Manipur state government to reconsider the plan on the basis of social, political and humanitarian ground," the committee said in a statement on Sunday.

The committee urged the Manipur government to allow the Myanmar nationals to stay temporarily along the border after their release from the detention centre till they can safely return to their homes.

"We remain indebted to the government and people of Manipur for the kind sympathy and commitment to justice and humanitarian principles on the case. And we would also earnestly like to implore the release of all Myanmar nationals currently lodged at the detention centre in the state without deporting them and handing them to the unhuman and brutal Myanmar Junta as a sign of the healthy, sustainable relationship between the two-neighboring people during this critical situation," it further said.

Conflict in Myanmar:

Situation in Myanmar has remained volatile since the military took over the elected government in 2021, and subsequently launched an armed crackdown against the pro-democracy forces, including members and supporters of political parties. This forced over 40,000 Myanmar nationals including MPs and MLAs to take shelter in Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland. Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh share a 1,643 km border with Myanmar.

While Mizoram government has provided shelters to the Myanmar nationals, the Manipur government was compelled to take up the deportation following the conflict involving the majority Meitei and the minority Kuki tribes. Meiteis demand that Myanmar nationals should be deported as continuous influx poses a threat to their identity, culture and land rights of the indigenous communities in Manipur.

On March 9, when seven Myanmar nationals were deported, Manipur CM N Biren Singh, also a Meitei, said although India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, the state provided shelters and aid to those fleeing the crisis in Myanmar on humanitarian grounds with a systematic approach.