The Manipur government announced the Center on Wednesday ‘Protected Area Regime’ re-enforced or ‘Protected Area Permit’ states as well as Mizoram and Nagaland, all three of which share a border with Myanmar.
A statement by the BJP government in Manipur said the move was necessary in view of security concerns from neighboring countries, bringing back restrictions after 13 years. The Manipur government has blamed illegal immigration from Myanmar as a major factor in the ongoing conflict in the state.
The Manipur government said the Center has reimposed the PAR through a communication sent to the chief secretaries of the three states, withdrawing the exemptions “with immediate effect”.
Incidentally, senior officials from both Mizoram and Nagaland told The Indian Express that they have not received any directive to this effect from the Union Home Ministry. “What we know about this, we have only seen in media reports. We are still awaiting these instructions,” said a top home department official from Nagaland. A top official from Mizoram also said the same.
There has been no word from the Center on the Manipur government’s announcement.
The Union Home Ministry is yet to notify the change in the existing guidelines to include these three states from PAR.
According to Union Home Ministry guidelines, foreign nationals are not permitted to visit ‘protected areas’ as defined in the Foreign Nationals (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, “unless it is established to the satisfaction of the Government. Extraordinary reasons justifying such visit.” The guidelines also specify certain areas within protected areas that can be visited by tourists with a permit. Prior permission from the Union Home Ministry is required to allow protected areas for reasons other than tourism.
In areas not open for tourism, prior approval of the ministry is also required to obtain permission for tourism.
As of 2011, the regime extended to Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, all bordering states.
However, in 2010, it was relaxed for the entire region of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland first for a period of one year, and then extended periodically. PAR remains in place in other areas.
The relaxation was aimed at promoting tourism in these states, at the time the UPA government at the center requested the state governments to lift the restrictions.
But even with this relaxation, some restrictions continued. For example, nationals and foreign nationals of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan origin still need prior approval from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for entry into these states.
During the ongoing conflict, the Manipur government and most parts of Meiti civil society have blamed the uncontrolled influx of “illegal immigrants” from neighboring Myanmar from the Chin community, which is ethnically related to the Kuki-Zomis and Mizos. It was one of the main reasons for the instability of the state and the current conflict.
The Manipur government had earlier pressured the central government to scrap the Free Movement Arrangement (FMR) in a mutual agreement with Myanmar, which allowed tribals living on both sides of the border to travel and stay up to 16 km inside the other country without visas. up to two weeks. In January this year, the Center announced that the FMR has been scrapped, and the entire length of the porous Indo-Myanmar border that runs along Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh will be fenced.
Although the Manipur government welcomed these decisions, they were strongly opposed in Mizoram and Nagaland as the international border was cut through the Naga and Kuki-jo-Chin communities living on either side of it. The FMR was conceived to protect their traditional right of free movement across borders.
PAR re-introduction will further restrict movement in these states.
A former Chief Secretary of Manipur again criticized the decision to introduce PAR. “I don’t think the existing situation warrants bringing in this kind of restrictive regime. If the concern is irregular entry across the Myanmar border, it can hardly be addressed. As people crossing the border will apply for permits to do so. No,” said the former official.
While Nagaland’s tourism and home ministers did not respond to queries from The Indian Express, the state is emphasizing on its tourism. The recently concluded Hornbill Festival, the state’s biggest tourist attraction, attracted 2.05 lakh visitors, of which 2,527 were foreign tourists.
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