Naga Students Stand Firm: Opposition to Indo-Myanmar Border Fencing Intensifies

KOHIMA: Naga student groups have again reiterated their stand against the alleged construction of a fence along the Indo-Myanmar border in Kamjong district, they claimed, without proper consultation or consent from the affected Tangkhul villages.

Yarchuiso Kashung, Tangkhul Katamnao Long president, also the president of the Tangkhul Southern Students' Union, addressed the media on Wednesday at Manipur Press Club, Majorkhul, Imphal. He said the organizational joint memorandum to Chief Minister N Biren Singh was submitted along with the Zingsho Katamnao Long, commonly called the Eastern Students' Union, on September 20.

The memorandum appeals for an immediate stop to the border fencing project and up to such time as discrepancies in the international boundary are resolved, they strongly oppose permanent fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border in Kamjong district.

He said that the official letters about border fencing carried objectionable content, which made the community protest and present pertinent questions. He also mentioned that marking Chassad as a Kuki village, falling under the jurisdiction of Sampui, a Tangkhul village in the Kamjong district was irrelevant and not needed.

He questioned whether the Central government is pursuing an agenda to create division and misunderstanding among communities by including such objectionable content in official communications. He further made it clear that while signing an agreement on March 10, 1967, between India and Burma now Myanmar, the Kabaw Valley, popularly known as the rice bowl of Manipur, was ceded to Myanmar.

The two student organizations acknowledged the effort New Delhi was putting into containing the increasing number of illegal immigrants in that region. However, they argued that ending FMR and permanently closing the international border would not help in solving the problem of influx from neighboring Myanmar.

It acknowledged the removal of the FMR and the construction of border fencing could at least solve part of the problem, but it argued that such practices would cause more problems and infringe on human rights.

He further appealed to the two governments to try to address the critical problem; he suggested an end to the Free Movement Regime, instead of closing it, and further underlined that they should find some effective ways to cope with the current situation. It further evinced the elaboration to update the National Register of Citizens, establish a Population Commission, and so on strictly enforcing the ILP.

Yarchuiso has also threatened that if the fencing work continues to be carried out forcefully, they will start various forms of peaceful protests and non-cooperation against the government.

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