Guwahati: The Manipur government is setting up two temporary shelters for the refugees arriving from war-torn Myanmar — one at Haolenphai village under Moreh sub-division of Tengnoupal district and another at Gamphazol village in Chandel district.
According to Manipur tribal affairs and hill areas minister Letpao Haokip, this comes after the Centre’s “green signal” to the BJP-led state government to support refugees arriving from Myanmar “on humanitarian considerations (sic)”.
Speaking to ThePrint, Haokip, who heads a cabinet sub-committee to look for a possible solution for the matter, said the decision has come as a “policy matter of the state government, while adopting a humanitarian outlook to the problem”.
“It happens world over. Crores of people from Croatia have gone to Romania. On humanitarian grounds, we have considered providing shelter to refugees for the time being. After the war ends in Myanmar, they will be deported back to their country. We sought permission from the central government which has given us the green signal verbally,” said Haokip.
In March 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) noted that India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 Protocol. It said state governments and Union territory administrations have no power to grant ‘refugee’ status to any foreigner.
“Because of this, we had been apprehensive about taking decisions,” the minister added.
About 4,000-5,000 refugees have streamed in from Myanmar since the 2021 coup, Haokip told ThePrint. The movement has intensified since the air strikes in Tamu township of Sagaing region last month. Around 1,600 of them are living in Chandel while about 3,000 are currently in Tengnoupal, the minister said.
According to the state government, as many as 210 “illegal migrants” have entered Manipur from early last year to February 2023. Responding to a question from Sugnu MLA Kangujam Ranjit in the assembly on 24 February, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said there were 393 documented “illegal migrants” in Manipur, out of whom one has been deported to Myanmar, 107 are in judicial custody, 105 are at detention centres, and 180 have been released on bail.
The decision to provide temporary shelter to the refugees also comes after reports of violence in the neighbouring areas close to the border, Haokip said.
Escalated violence
On 23 March, the Myanmar military bombed the People’s Defence Force (PDF) camp in Kauntong village of Tamu, about 4 km from Manipur, and opposite Border Pillar 81 along the Indo-Myanmar border.
Three PDF fighters were killed in the attacks. Almost the entire village was reportedly burnt down by the Myanmar army on the night of 26 March, civilian sources from Myanmar told ThePrint over phone.
Following the clashes, the Manipur government also deployed additional security forces along the international border.
Refugees in Manipur are mostly from Sagaing Region, Chin State and Magway region of Myanmar. They largely belong to the same ethnic group of Kuki-Chin-Zomi-Mizo tribe, bound by ethnic and kin ties.
Members of the local community are also helping settle the families that fled junta (military) atrocities since the February 2021 coup. A healthcare camp will be set up, and the refugees would also be given identity cards, Haokip told ThePrint.
“The village chiefs have offered wood for building shelters. Everyone is helping us, we thank the people of Manipur, especially the tribals from hill areas,” he added.
The state government has released a refugee fund of Rs 20 lakh for five districts — Pherzawl, Churachandpur, Kamjong, Tengnoupal and Chandel — where Myanmar nationals have taken up accommodation, said Haokip.
Meanwhile, though the state is setting up temporary shelters, many refugees do not wish to put up at the camps and have taken rented accommodation in the hills.
“Most of them (the refugees) are living in rented accommodation close to schools where they can admit their children, or near their workplaces. Many don’t want to stay in the camps for various reasons,” a Burmese rights activist at Moreh who did not wish to be named told ThePrint.
“It seems they (Indian authorities) have become more understanding of the situation, but the reality will be more difficult for the refugees than they presume,” she added.
Change in policy
Manipur began arresting refugees from Moreh sub-division on 27 January. The death of a refugee on 26 February at the Foreigner Detention Centre near Sajiwa jail in Imphal East district also drew appeals from rights groups to secure refugee rights for the Myanmar nationals.
The government formed the cabinet sub-committee headed by Haokip last month to look into the rehabilitation of Myanmar refugees.
The sub-committee also has Water Resources Minister Awangbow Newmai, and Law Minister Thounaojam Basanta Kumar. The team first visited Haolenphai village on 26 March for an inspection and interacted with the refugees there.
On 29 March, the team visited Gamphazol village in Chandel, the other site for a temporary shelter.
They also carried out an inspection last Saturday for setting up temporary centres at Singngat in Churachandpur district.
Two years of refugee crisis
According to media reports, the Union home ministry wrote to the chief secretaries of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh on 25 February, 2021, to check illegal influx from Myanmar. Advisories were also issued to the border guarding forces along the Indo-Myanmar border, including the Assam Rifles, to “stay alert and take appropriate action to prevent possible influx into Indian territory.”
On 26 March that year, the then Special Secretary (Home), M. Gyan Prakash, wrote to the deputy commissioners of Chandel, Tengnoupal, Kamjong and Ukhrul, directing them not to open any camps for food and shelter and those seeking refuge should be “politely turned away”. However, according to media reports, the letter also stated that in case of grievous injuries, refugees should be provided with “medical attention on humanitarian considerations”.
Following the notifications, strict checking was conducted by police and troops of Assam Rifles in Tengnoupal district on 27 March, 2021, local media reported. Security forces reportedly sent back some of the Myanmar nationals trying to cross the border.
On 29 March, 2021, the central government decided to withdraw its earlier letter — “to avoid misunderstanding”. The Special Secretary (Home) stated that the “contents of the letter have been misconstrued and interpreted differently” and that the state government was taking all humanitarian steps, including treatment of injured Myanmar nationals, according to media reports.
On 30 March that year, the online edition of The Telegraph, London, had reported this reversing of policy was a result of “international outrage over the leaked memo”. It was referring to the 26 March letter to the state government.
Around the same time, a majority of Chin refugees from Myanmar had found shelter in Mizoram due to strong ethnic and familial ties between communities on both sides of the Tiau River, which marks the border between India and Myanmar. The locals have been voluntarily providing relief to the Burmese nationals.
India and Myanmar have a Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows people living along the border to travel 16 km into each other’s territory without visa. The 1,643 km Indo-Myanmar border remains a viable option for smugglers, traffickers, and also insurgents.
The incomplete fencing and the artificial boundary line have made it easy for people of both countries to cross over either side. The unhindered movement has also led to cross-border smuggling, mostly from Tengnoupal district in Manipur and Champhai district of Mizoram.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
Also read: ‘No option to return’ — Manipur court says 71 Myanmarese held are refugees, not illegal immigrants