Mizoram, Feb 13: The NGO Co-ordination Committee, a conglomerate of five main NGOs in Mizoram, submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to reconsider the fencing of the Indo-Myanmar border and the scrapping of the Free Movement Regime (FMR).
The memorandum was received by the Secretary to the Governor at Raj Bhavan.
The memorandum expressed the NGO Co-ordination Committee's concern about the Centre’s decision to abolish the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the construction of border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border.
The memorandum mentioned, "Being one of the signatories of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP), we believe that our country (India) would have taken measures to assert the rights of indigenous peoples who are divided by international border, as stated in Article 36 of UNDRIP. But we are astonished by the Government of India's decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) as well as its attempt to fence the border instead of maintaining and developing relations between the people living on both sides of the border."
It further stated that it is a privilege to express that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) has been a vital mechanism in maintaining the ethnic and cultural linkages between the Mizo people residing on both sides of the border.
Furthermore, the NGOs proposed the abolition of the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and the implementation of border fencing would have a detrimental effect on these vital ethnic and cultural connections, disrupting the harmonious coexistence and cultural exchange that have been integral to the lives of the Mizo people.
The NGO Co-ordination Committee comprises five major NGOs in Mizoram, viz., the Central Young Mizo Association, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (student body), the Mizo Students Union, the Mizo Upa Pawl (Mizoram Elders Association) and the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (Association of Mizo Women).
