GUWAHATI: Manipur’s apex Naga organisation, United Naga Council (UNC) on Thursday suspended its “trade embargo” in Naga areas following a request from the state government.
The trade embargo has remained enforced since Monday midnight.
The UNC had resorted to this action in protest against the India-Myanmar border fencing and the scrapping of the free movement regime (FMR).
The UNC in a statement said it convened an 'emergency presidential council meeting' following the receipt of a letter from the state government for the resumption of a tripartite meeting among UNC, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the state government “on the issue of abrogation of FMR and border fencing along the imaginary Indo-Myanmar border in Naga areas.”
“The assurance of the government that there will be prior consultation with the UNC and other stakeholders before the stated works are taken up was well received (at the meeting),” the statement said.
Earlier, in a letter addressed UNC president Ng Lorho, Manipur Chief Secretary, Dr Puneet Kumar Goel stated that the MHA had been engaging with the UNC on the issue of fencing of the international border between India and Myanmar in Naga-inhabited areas, and the state government also received the UNC’s memoranda and representations on the subject.
“In this connection, it is to inform that the Central Government noted the concerns raised by UNC and other stakeholders. Accordingly, the Central Government has been holding and will continue to hold dialogue with the UNC and other stakeholders for prior consultation before fencing works are taken up. The next tripartite meeting with UNC will be held on a mutually convenient date and venue,” the letter to Lorho read.
Manipur’s Naga organisations are demanding the reinstatement of FMR and an immediate halt to the border fencing work.
They said their traditional boundary extends up to the river Chindwin in Myanmar.
Nagas have a sizeable population in that country.
On August 26, talks between an 11-member delegation of three Naga organisations, including UNC, and central government officials held in New Delhi on the twin issues had failed.
In a memorandum submitted to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the UNC had stated that Nagas living across the border shared all ties with the Nagas on this side of the border in terms of socio-economic, cultural, religious, land matters, etc.
“These bonds predate the colonial demarcation of boundaries and are integral to our identity, traditions, and way of life. As such, abrupt abrogation of FMR and construction of physical border fencing…have adversely impacted and disrupted the natural flow of community and familial interdependent relationship…” the memorandum said.
The FMR was signed between India and Myanmar in 2018 as part of the Centre’s Act East policy, promoting cross-border movement up to 16 km without travel documents.
The objectives were to encourage people-to-people contact and boost the Northeast’s economy. The FMR was scrapped during the ethnic violence in Manipur.