File photo of border post No. 79 on the Indo-Myanmar international border in the border town of Moreh in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, bordering the town of Tamu in Myanmar. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has introduced a new protocol to regulate the movement of people living within 10 km on either side of the largely unwalled international border. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Months after announcing the complete suspension of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has introduced a new protocol to regulate the movement of people living within 10 km on either side of Myanmar. Unsecured International Borders.
A senior government official said Hindu The notification to end the FMR, which includes the bilateral agreement with Myanmar, is yet to be notified by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on February 8 this year that the FMR was scrapped to ensure the country’s internal security and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s northeastern states. However, the new guidelines indicate that the regime has not been removed but stricter rules have been introduced, such as reducing the range of free movement from the earlier 16 km to the current 10 km.
“Verbal announcements to end FMR have been made but a formal order is awaited,” a government official said.
On February 16, Manipur Governor in an order regarding temporary suspension of FMR at Manipur border said, “MHA, Government of India has recommended to MEA, GoI to cancel FMR and a formal order in this regard is awaited.”
The repeal of the FMR was opposed by the states of Nagaland and Mizoram. The Nagaland government, led by the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had passed a resolution in the state assembly against scrapping the FMR.
In Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh attributed the ongoing communal violence, which has claimed more than 250 lives since May 2023, to the irregular movement of people across the border. On September 23, 2023, he asked the MHA to cancel the FMR on the Indo-Myanmar border. The Manipur government had suspended the FMR in 2020 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A senior government official said that pressure from political circles and civil society groups was one of the reasons for finalizing the “Directions for Regulation of Cross-Border Movement of People in the Border Areas of India-Myanmar Border (IMB)” 43 from prescribed entry. and exit points, rather than abolishing the regime altogether.
Family and Caste Relations
The FMR came into being in 1968 because people on both sides of the border have family and caste ties. The territorial limit of free movement was then 40 km, which was reduced to 16 km in 2004 and further regulations were introduced in 2016.
According to the new guidelines, access by HinduResidents crossing the Myanmar border from India will be given a “border pass” by the Assam Rifles to stay in the neighboring country for seven days. The Assam Rifles is the primary border security force along the 1,643 km long border with Myanmar with Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).
For entry into India from Myanmar, individuals will have to report at designated border crossing points and fill a form. The Assam Rifles will inspect the documents and then security and health checks will be conducted by the State Police and Health Department officials respectively. Assam Rifles will upload all the forms on the Indo-Myanmar Border Portal, record the biometrics and issue the border pass with the applicant’s photograph and QR code. A deposit must be made when the pass is returned at the same crossing point before the completion of seven days.
The same procedure will be followed for Indians who want to go to Myanmar.
The protocol states that the police will conduct physical checks to confirm the visit of Myanmar nationals according to the details given on the border pass and will take legal action against anyone who violates the conditions.
Eight pilot entry and exit points will be operationalized immediately with stabilization of the software and deployment of state police and health representatives.
14 more entry points will be activated on procurement and installation of biometric machines and the remaining 21 points will be activated by putting in place the necessary infrastructure.
The Home Minister had also announced the installation of fences on the border last February. Implementation of the FMR was never strong, officials said, as there was no standard document or border pass recognized by both countries. Although the Assam Rifles were deployed along the border, the FMR was implemented by the state government officials from the border pass. At other international borders such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, border checkposts are manned by immigration authorities under the MHA.
published – Dec 25, 2024 09:27 pm IST