NEW DELHI: The Union Home Minister on Thursday announced that the Centre has decided to completely scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the borders with Myanmar to ensure the country’s security and also the demography of northeastern states.
Shah in a social media post on ‘X’ said that as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is currently in the process of scrapping it, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recommended the immediate suspension of FMR.
The FMR is a regime agreed between India and Myanmar in 2028 to allow their respective citizens living near the borders to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without any documents as part of Act East Policy of the Modi government.
“It is Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji’s resolve to secure our borders. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar be scrapped to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern States bordering Myanmar,” Shah wrote on hios ‘X’ post.
Incidentally, the announcement has been made two days after the government took the decision to fence the entire 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar borders, which pass through Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
Fencing along the borders has been a persistent demand of the Imphal valley-based Meitei groups, which have been alleging that tribal militants often enter into India through the porous border. The Meitei groups also allege that narcotics are being smuggled into India taking advantage of the unfenced international border.
Shah had on Tuesday said besides constructing a fence along the entire Indo-Myanmar border, a patrol track along the border will also be paved to facilitate better surveillance. Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a hybrid surveillance system are under execution, he had added.
Manipur shares around 390 kms of porous border with Myanmar, but only about 10 kms has been fenced so far. In July last year, the state government shared data that around 700 illegal immigrants entered the state.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had also said that several persons from Myanmar tried to enter into his state but returned on seeing the presence of a large number of security personnel.
Mizoram too has seen an influx of anti-Junta rebels in thousands since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021. As per the government estimates, several thousand refugees are living in different parts of Mizoram since the coup. Mizoram shares a 510-km-long porous border with Myanmar.
Apart from Manipur and Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh shares a 520-km border with Myanmar while Nagaland shares a 215-km border with the country.
Manipur has been witnessing sporadic violence. Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. And, since then over 200 people have been killed in the continuing violence.
