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Manipur govt withdraws earlier order to ’politely turn away’ Myanmar refugees
- Myanmar's security forces have killed at least 510 civilians in nearly two months
- On 10 March, the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to the chief secretaries of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh and the Assam Rifles guarding the Indo-Myanmar border, to check influx of people
The Manipur government on Tuesday withdrew an order that barred the local district administration from offering food or shelter to the refugees from Myanmar that might flee into the state.
In a fresh letter, H Gyan Prakash, the special secretary (home) of the government of Manipur, wrote: "It appears that the contents of the letter have been misconstrued interpreted differently."
"The state government has been taking all humanitarian steps and had recently taken all steps, including taking them to Imphal to treat the injured Myanmarese nationals. The state government continues to provide all aid," it added.
Prakash said that to avoid the misunderstanding, he has directed to convey the decision of the government that it has decided to withdraw the letter.
In an earlier order issued to deputy commissioners of the Chandel, Tengnoupal, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Churachandpur districts on Monday, the state government had told officials to only provide medical attention in case of "grievous injuries" on "humanitarian consideration".
"As a fallout of the events taking place in the neighbouring country, Myanmar, it is reported that the country's national have been trying to enter into India," the government had written.
In view of this, "District administration should not open any camps to provide food and shelter," the government told local officials.
The state government had asked locals to "politely turn away" all Myanmarese nationals seeking refuge in Manipur.
"Aadhar enrollment should be stopped immediately and Aadhar enrolment kits to be kept in safe custody," added the order.
The letter came in the backdrop of Myanmar's Ambassador to the United Nations appealing to the Indian government and various state governments to provide shelter to refugees given the humanitarian crisis in his country.
On 10 March, the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to the chief secretaries of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh and the Assam Rifles guarding the Indo-Myanmar border, to check influx of people from that country and also to identify the illegal migrants and deport them.
Crackdown on protesters
Myanmar's security forces have killed at least 510 civilians in nearly two months of efforts to stop protests against a 1 February coup that overthrew the democratically elected government, reported Reuters.
Heavy clashes erupted on the weekend near the Thai border between the army and fighters from Myanmar's oldest ethnic minority force, the Karen National Union (KNU).
About 3,000 villagers fled to Thailand when military jets bombed a KNU area after a KNU force overran an army outpost and killed 10 people, an activist group and media said.
Thai authorities denied accounts by activist groups that more than 2,000 refugees had been forced back, but a local official said it was government policy for the army to block them at the border and deny access to outside aid groups.
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First Published:30 Mar 2021, 12:05 PM IST
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