End 'Free Movement Regime' In India-Myanmar Border: Manipur Chief Minister

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today said his government has asked the Home Ministry to cancel the free movement regime along the India-Myanmar border and complete its fencing. The free movement regime allows people living close to both sides of the India-Myanmar border to go 16 km into each other's territory without any documents.

Mr Singh told reporters the government will continue to deal with the influx of "illegal immigrants" and highlighted the need for complete fencing of the India-Myanmar border.

"The Home Ministry has taken steps to fence 60 km of the international border in Manipur," he said.

Mr Singh said the Manipur crisis was the result of unplanned policies of the previous governments, and not an immediate aftermath of any recent decision.

"Our government has requested the Home Ministry to cancel the free movement regime. Also, security forces have not properly guarded the border. Instead of being deployed at zero point, they were found guarding the border 14-15 km inside Indian territory," Mr Singh said.

"We have to stay focused on real issues in the state, namely dealing with the influx of illegal immigrants, taking up welfare activities for internally displaced people and fighting massive poppy cultivation," he said.

More than 175 people have been killed and several hundreds injured since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, when a tribal solidarity march was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribes status.

There are allegations that illegal immigrants from Myanmar were behind the recent violence. Manipur shares a 390-km border with Myanmar.

A Meitei organisation said the violence is a manifestation of the tension over deforestation, poppy cultivation and change in demography in certain areas of the state, mainly caused by illegal immigrants from Myanmar.

It is alleged guns were supplied to insurgents in Manipur from Myanmar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)